CES 2022: GM's hands-free driving technology will use Qualcomm chips

GM's Ultra Cruise hands-free technology will be powered by Qualcomm chips, starting with the 2024 Cadillac Celestiq electric sedan, the automaker announced at CES 2022.

According to GM, the system-on-chip (SoC), dubbed the Snapdragon Ride Platform, will boost the processing power of the GM computing architecture to that of "several hundred" personal computers. The collaboration also means the entrance of Qualcomm into the market of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). 

Ultra Cruise aims to cover 95% of driving scenarios on 3.2 million km (2 million mi) of America's roads. 

Technological leap

The new computing architecture will be roughly the size of two laptops stacked together, and will include experiential SA8540P SoCs and one SA9000P AI accelerator, to process camera, radar, and Lidar inputs. 

The system requires the driver's attention at all times, so it is a not fully autonomous Level 4 system. GM says using Snapdragon Ride-powered Ultra Cruise on Cadillac vehicles will be "experiential and a technological leap for the industry."

Photo of GM Ultra Cruise computing architecture courtesy of GM.