Qualcomm brings new Wi-Fi chip, robotics RB3 Gen 2 platform

Qualcomm announced its latest micro-power QCC730 Wi-Fi chip, promising improved range and data transfer rates while consuming less power and offering direct cloud connectivity. This dual-band micro-power Wi-Fi chip is aimed at IoT devices and Qualcomm is betting on efficiency with claims of 88% less power per data transfer compared to its previous generation.

The new Wi-Fi chip also brings direct cloud connectivity and Matter integration and features open source SDK and IDE as well as cloud connectivity offloading through software stack. It is pitched as an alternative to Bluetooth for IoT applications and can operate in hosted and hostless modes.

Alongside the QCC730, Qualcomm also announced its RB3 Gen 2 robotics platform with on-device AI for enterprise and industrial solutions. This is Qualcomm’s mid-tier offering in its robotics platform featuring Qualcomm’s QCS6490 CPU (8 cores, up to 2.7GHz), Adreno 643 GPU, support for multiple camera sensors, and an integrated Wi-Fi 6E chip. You also get Bluetooth 5.2 and LE audio.

Qualcomm is pitching the RB3 Gen 2 platform to a wider range of products with drones, cameras, and other industrial devices. Development kits come with a power supply, speakers, USB cable, and a development board. Qualcomm is also offering Vision Kits with mounting brackets, and Camera Serial Interface (CSI) cameras.

Qualcomm’s RB3 Gen 2 is expected to be available from June.