Here’s how Qualcomm plans on making drones smaller, cheaper, and more efficient

Qualcomm has announced it will be expanding its processor roster to include a line specially designed for consumer drones and robotics applications with Snapdragon Flight, a specially optimized 58x40mm board based on the Snapdragon 801 processor. 

“Today, drones are made from multiple component vendors providing separate solutions for photography, navigation and communications, adding to the cost and bulk of consumer drones,” said Raj Talluri, senior vice president, product management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “The Qualcomm Snapdragon Flight brings together the technologies that have defined the mobile industry onto a single board, enabling OEMs to build drones that are lighter, smaller, easy to use and affordable with long battery life and superior functionalities.”

Taking a look at some of the processor’s perks, Snapdragon Flight offers advanced processing power, real-time flight control on the company’s Hexagon DSP, built-in 2×2 WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, and a global navigation satellite system specially optimized to support location positioning. 

“Drones are enabling a broad range of applications such as aerial photography, the ultimate selfie accessory and sports filming, so the ability to shoot in 4K is a must-have feature,” Talluri added during the company’s announcement. “Qualcomm Technologies is already a leader in bringing 4K video capture to consumers having over 500 device designs powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon processors with 4K UltraHD video capability, allied with the highly integrated SoC, so it’s natural for us to support the same technologies in the consumer drone space.”

Qualcomm has stated Snapdragon Flight is available today for select OEMs — it is expected to be available in commercially available drones early 2016. Yuneec, a company recognized as a leading innovator when it comes to the development of consumer and professional drones, has already said it will incorporate the Snapdragon Flight processor into its drones, with the goal being to release a model based on the platform by next year. 

Via Qualcomm