GM and Qualcomm Partner for Hands-Free Driver Assistance

Qualcomm Powers GM's Ultra Cruise with Snapdragon Ride Platform

General Motors’ forthcoming Ultra Cruise, a hands-free driver assistance system slated for release in 2023 beginning with Cadillac vehicles, will utilize the newest Snapdragon system-on-chip (SoC) from Qualcomm. This announcement, initially made during the 2022 CES, highlights Qualcomm’s increasing success in gaining automotive market share, particularly within the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) domain.

Snapdragon Ride Platform Details

The Snapdragon Ride Platform SoC was specifically engineered for both ADAS and automated driving applications. It represents one component within a broader range of cloud-connected platforms offered by Qualcomm, which automakers can integrate comprehensively or select individual elements from.

Ultra Cruise: An Evolution of Super Cruise

GM’s Ultra Cruise is positioned as a significantly enhanced version of its Super Cruise ADAS, which was initially launched in 2017.

The automaker anticipates that Ultra Cruise will be capable of managing 95% of all driving situations and, ultimately, function on all paved roadways throughout the United States and Canada. Achieving this ambitious goal requires a combination of advanced technologies.

Sensor Suite and Processing Power

GM is employing a combination of sensors – including cameras, radar, and lidar – which will first appear on the luxury electric Cadillac Celestiq. These sensors work in conjunction with GM’s proprietary software and Qualcomm’s processing capabilities.

The Ultra Cruise compute unit, approximately the size of two stacked laptops, incorporates two Snapdragon SA8540P SoCs and one SA9000P AI accelerator. This configuration delivers low-latency control functions via 16-core CPUs and provides AI processing exceeding 300 Tera operations per second for data from cameras, radar, and lidar.

Safety and Technology Specifications

The Snapdragon SoCs are manufactured using 5nm process technology. Furthermore, the compute unit integrates an Infineon Aurix TC397 processor to ensure system safety integrity.

The Aurix TC397 processor is classified as ASIL-D, representing the highest achievable level of automotive safety integrity.

Computational Capacity and Industry Impact

According to Ken Morris, GM Vice President of Electric, Autonomous and Fuel Cell Vehicle Programs, the entire compute system boasts processing power equivalent to several hundred personal computers. He stated it will elevate the company’s 2017 ADAS launch “to the next level with door-to-door hands-free driving.”

Nakul Duggal, Senior Vice President and GM of Automotive at Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., described the Ultra Cruise system, powered by Snapdragon Ride on Cadillac vehicles, as “an experiential and technological leap forward for the industry.”

Super Cruise and Ultra Cruise: A Comparison

Super Cruise leverages a sophisticated array of technologies, including lidar map data, precise GPS positioning, camera systems, and radar sensors. A crucial component is its driver attention system, designed to verify the driver’s continued focus on the road.

While utilizing Super Cruise, drivers are not required to maintain physical contact with the steering wheel. However, consistent eye tracking, ensuring the driver’s gaze remains forward, is a mandatory requirement for operation.

Ultra Cruise is anticipated to offer enhanced capabilities and broader operational availability compared to its predecessor. Despite these advancements, driver attentiveness will remain a necessity at all times.

This distinction clarifies that Ultra Cruise does not represent a “fully autonomous” Level 4 system. Such systems would permit vehicle operation without human intervention under specific circumstances.

Currently, companies like Cruise, a subsidiary of General Motors, are actively developing and aiming to deploy Level 4 technology within robotaxi services.

Building on Existing Technology

Ultra Cruise is engineered as an evolution of the existing Super Cruise functionality. Both systems employ a combination of cameras, radar, and lidar for environmental perception.

However, Ultra Cruise places a greater emphasis on real-time sensor data rather than solely relying on pre-existing lidar map data.

This approach facilitates the creation of highly accurate, 360-degree, three-dimensional statistical models of the vehicle’s surroundings, incorporating redundancies in critical areas for increased reliability.

Capabilities of Ultra Cruise

The enhanced capabilities of Ultra Cruise will enable the system to respond to traffic signals and adhere to established navigation routes.

It will also automatically maintain and observe speed limits, execute both automatic and on-demand lane changes, and navigate intersections with left and right turns.

Furthermore, Ultra Cruise is designed to avoid obstacles and facilitate parking maneuvers, including residential driveway parking.