SAN DIEGO — (BUSINESS WIRE) — August 17, 2021 — ModalAI today announced it will be the manufacturer and distributor of Qualcomm Technologies’ world first 5G and AI-enabled drone platform and reference design, the Qualcomm Flight™ RB5 5G Platform, available now for pre-order at ModalAI.com.

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Qualcomm Flight™ RB5 5G Reference Drone; Photo Courtesy of Qualcomm Technologies

The Qualcomm Flight RB5 5G Platform is a development platform that developers and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) can use to build drone and flight applications based on the Qualcomm® QRB5165 System-on-a-Chip (SoC). The QRB5165 SoC supports autonomous flight using 5G cellular technology and the 5^th generation Qualcomm® Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engine. See the drone design in action in this video.

“As a global digital transformation leader, Qualcomm Technologies is committed to providing on-device intelligence and premium connectivity drone solutions that will unleash innovation across industries, helping to develop smaller, lighter and safer drones. We are pleased to work with ModalAI as our distributor to scale these solutions,” said Dev Singh, senior director, business development and general manager of autonomous robotics, drones and intelligent machines, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

“Autonomous flight on the 5G network is here now – extending the flight path of drones to increase the value of a broad set of inspection capabilities,” said Chad Sweet, CEO, ModalAI. “Better yet, the platform is open to everyone. Together, ModalAI and Qualcomm Technologies are advancing the adoption and commercialization of drone technology.”

ModalAI worked with Qualcomm Technologies to design and develop the Qualcomm Flight RB5 5G Platform and reference design and will distribute and support it through its lifecycle with open-source software and applications.

The technology packed onto the Qualcomm Flight RB5 5G Platform is purpose-built for autonomous drones, giving developers an easy-to-use platform to create premium drones right out of the box. With high computing and ultra-low power consumption and advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and Visual Inertial Odometry (VIO) the Qualcomm Flight RB5 5G drone reference design supports longer flight time and runs more applications simultaneously.

The Qualcomm Flight RB5 5G Platform and reference design includes an airframe, integrated circuit board with QRB5165 processor, powerful heterogenous computing at low-power with AI, 5G and long-range Wi-Fi 6 connectivity that delivers 15 TOPS and supports 7 camera concurrency.

About ModalAI

ModalAI accelerates autonomy by providing innovators with robot and drone perception and communications systems that are manufactured in the U.S.A. The company’s highly-integrated AI-powered modules empower a variety of industries to utilize aerial and ground autonomous navigation systems that communicate on 4G and 5G cellular networks. Offering both start-to-finish custom design services and plug-and-play computing platforms, ModalAI helps manufacturers and independent builders get to market quickly and affordably.

Based in San Diego, California, ModalAI spun out of Qualcomm® in 2018 and leverages more than five years of prior research and development in the drone and robotic markets. For more information visit www.modalai.com.

Qualcomm and Qualcomm Flight are trademarks or registered trademarks of Qualcomm Incorporated.

Qualcomm Flight, Qualcomm AI Engine and Qualcomm QRB5165 are products of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries.

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Grace Singh
Portavoce PR for ModalAI
760-479-5738
Grace.Singh@PortavocePR.com