Qualcomm Technologies unveils AI innovations at MWC Barcelona

• Qualcomm unveils advanced AI technologies at MWC Barcelona, enhancing mobile experiences with new Snapdragon products and the AI Hub.
• Qualcomm brought a range of innovations to MWC.
• Qualcomm reveals cutting-edge AI models, staking a claim for leadership in mobile and PC tech advancements.

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. made a significant impact at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona by unveiling its latest AI advancements. These innovations, encompassing the new Qualcomm AI Hub and a suite of AI-powered commercial devices, utilize Snapdragon and Qualcomm platforms to elevate user experiences and offer robust tools for developers across various device types.

Durga Malladi, senior vice president and general manager at Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., introduced the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for smartphones and Snapdragon X Elite for PCs. These products mark a significant leap in the adoption of on-device AI. The Qualcomm AI Hub, developed under Malladi’s guidance, is designed to maximize the potential of these technologies, facilitating the creation of captivating AI-driven applications. The Hub, with its extensive AI model library, simplifies the integration of pre-optimized AI models into applications, improving speed, reliability, and privacy.

The Hub features a comprehensive collection of over 75 pre-optimized AI and generative AI models, including Whisper, ControlNet, Stable Diffusion, and Baichuan 7B. Optimized for Snapdragon and Qualcomm platforms, these models enhance AI efficiency, reduce memory usage, and improve power conservation across various device formats. The Qualcomm AI Engine accelerates hardware, yielding up to four times faster inferencing. This lets developers seamlessly integrate these models into their applications, reducing time-to-market and unlocking on-device AI benefits like immediacy and privacy.

These optimized models are accessible on the Qualcomm AI Hub, GitHub, and Hugging Face, with the Hub continuously updating with new models and extended support for various platforms and operating systems. Developers are encouraged to engage with these models on cloud-hosted devices powered by Qualcomm Technologies’ platforms for early access to new features and AI models.

Clement Delangue, co-founder and CEO of Hugging Face, expressed excitement about hosting Qualcomm Technologies’ AI models. Optimized for Snapdragon and Qualcomm platforms, these models are poised to revolutionize mobile development and edge AI applications, making AI more accessible.

Groundbreaking AI advancements from Qualcomm AI research

Qualcomm AI Research demonstrated the Large Language and Vision Assistant (LLaVA) on an Android smartphone for the first time. This large multimodal model, with over 7 billion parameters, processes text and images to facilitate complex interactions with an AI assistant, enhancing privacy, reliability, and personalization.

It also presented he first implementation of Low Rank Adaptation (LoRA) on an Android smartphone. Using Stable Diffusion with LoRA, users can generate customized images. LoRA optimizes AI models for efficiency and scalability, broadening the scope from language vision models to personalized AI assistants.

On the Windows PC front, Qualcomm AI Research showcased a 7+ billion parameter large multimodal model that processes text and audio inputs, generating detailed conversations about the audio.

Showcasing generative AI capabilities across device categories at MWC Barcelona

Qualcomm Technologies demonstrated its generative AI capabilities across various device categories:

• Smartphones: Flagship AI smartphones like the Honor Magic6 Pro, OPPO X7 Ultra, and Xiaomi 14 Pro were displayed, each featuring unique generative AI features.
• PCs: The Snapdragon X Elite’s on-device AI capabilities were showcased using the GIMP image editor, highlighting rapid image creation using generative AI.
• Automotive: AI-driven features were demonstrated with the Snapdragon Digital Chassis Platform, aimed at enhancing the driving experience.
• Consumer IoT: The Humane AI Pin, a novel screenless AI device running on Snapdragon, was featured.
• Connectivity and 5G Infrastructure: The Snapdragon X80 Modem-RF System and Qualcomm FastConnect 7900, the first AI-optimized wi-fi 7 system, were introduced. Additionally, AI enhancements in network management were showcased, including an AI assistant for RAN engineers, an AI-based open RAN application, and a 5G network slice lifecycle management suite.

The Snapdragon X80 5G Modem-RF System and FastConnect 7900

Qualcomm also announced the Snapdragon X80 5G Modem-RF System, the seventh generation of its 5G modem-to-antenna solution. The Snapdragon X80, featuring a dedicated 5G AI Processor and 5G-Advanced-ready architecture, achieves several world-first milestones. It is the first 5G modem with fully integrated NB-NTN satellite communications support and introduces a 6-antenna architecture for smartphones, 6X carrier aggregation, and AI-based mmWave range extension for fixed wireless access customer premise equipment (CPE).

The Snapdragon X80’s dedicated tensor accelerator powers revolutionary AI innovations, enhancing data speeds, latency, QoS, coverage, location accuracy, spectrum efficiency, power efficiency, and multi-antenna management. Malladi emphasized the Snapdragon X80’s role in advancing 5G and intelligent computing, showcasing Qualcomm Technologies’ synergy of cutting-edge AI and modem-RF technology. The Snapdragon X80 is set to empower OEMs and operators with unrivaled 5G Advanced capabilities and performance, with commercial devices expected to launch in the second half of 2024.

The recently introduced FastConnect 7900 is a groundbreaking wi-fi 7 system, the first to deliver AI-optimized performance integrating wi-fi 7, Bluetooth, and Ultra Wideband in a single chip. Utilizing AI, the FastConnect 7900 adapts to various environments, optimizing power consumption, network latency, and throughput. It integrates Ultra Wideband technology, wi-fi Ranging, and Bluetooth Channel Sounding, creating a suite of proximity technologies for enhanced security and device management.

Javier del Prado, Vice President and General Manager for Mobile Connectivity at Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., lauded the FastConnect 7900 as a technological marvel, setting new standards in Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth while integrating Ultra Wideband on a 6nm chip. Building on the legacy of Qualcomm’s first-gen Wi-Fi 7 technology, the FastConnect 7900 introduces a new connectivity paradigm, bringing advanced AI, proximity, and multi-device experiences to popular devices.

Qualcomm’s showcase at MWC Barcelona isn’t just about launching new products; it’s definitely a testament to its relentless pursuit of innovation in AI and mobile technology. From empowering developers with their AI Hub to pushing the boundaries with the Snapdragon series, Qualcomm is steering us towards a more connected and intelligent future.

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