Introducing QCS8250: How connectivity, computing and Edge AI can transform devices across industries

Qualcomm Technologies is transforming industries, business models, and experiences with our IoT solutions. We’re connecting unconnected things, and in doing so, we’re helping reimagine how the world works, plays, and lives. Our robust technologies support existing and new industries with the power of our 4G and 5G computing and connectivity solutions. Today we launched a family of chipsets to address the digital transformation across industries — one highlight being the Qualcomm QCS8250, our most powerful IoT chipset yet.

With a premium processor that delivers our highest performance to date, The QCS8250 SoC expands premium-tier capabilities and features into exciting, differentiated IoT applications. This includes connected cameras, video collaboration, retail, healthcare, and fleet management segments. Furthermore, QCS8250 integrates premium camera and video capabilities, ultra-low processing power, and edge AI, to deliver innovative technologies to support a variety of IoT applications. And with support for 5G and Wi-Fi 6, for ultra-fast speeds, even more capabilities and applications can be unlocked.

Based on the 5th Generation Qualcomm AI Engine, QCS8250 delivers superior AI performance at low power for up to a whopping 15 TOPS of AI performance for compute-intensive machine learning applications. Powerful edge computing is made possible by the integrated Qualcomm Kryo 585 CPU, Qualcomm Adreno 650 GPU, and a Qualcomm Hexagon DSP with Vector eXtensions (HVX) with a new Tensor Accelerator. The Qualcomm Spectra 480 ISP, for example, enables superior camera features, for up to seven concurrent cameras, or up to 24 video streaming cameras, including up to 8K video encode/decode, 64-megapixel photo capture. And from long-range Wi-Fi 6 to both 4G and 5G, the SoC also features the industry’s most comprehensive list of connectivity options available, supported by robust hardware-based security that doesn’t compromise power.

To enable our customers, we purpose-built the QCS8250 with flexible design options meant to accelerate development and commercialization. This includes full form factor reference designs and development board offerings for prototyping, as well as off-the shelf system-on-module solutions and the flexibility of chip-on board designs for cost-optimization. And with support for Android, the SoC fits well into the ecosystem and is compatible with various open source tools.

There are countless applications for the QCS8250, but for now, here are a few that show its potential:

Frictionless retail for novel customer experiences

Digital transformation in the retail space is evolving rapidly, and the pandemic, in particular, is creating new opportunities for brick and mortar stores to adopt new technologies at unprecedented speeds. From smart carts and frictionless grab-and-go checkouts to augmented reality based virtual dressing kiosks, and digital displays, there are various ways the QCS8250 can e support novel customer experiences in retail.

Edge cameras and AI capabilities, for example, can make it easy for devices to identify what’s in your cart without you having to physically check out. Smart kiosks can even add biometrics and voice AI capabilities for customer loyalty support and voice AI capabilities. This not only creates enhanced experiences for customers but can also provide various benefits for the retail establishments. For example, these capabilities can help stores with loss prevention, inventory management, and video analytics.

Powerful AI hubs

Another use case for the QCS8250 is AI hubs, which can offload processing and transform various “dumb” devices into intelligent ones. Specifically, AI hubs can process the video and audio streams from simple IP cameras and sensors and other devices and run AI models for them — either on-device, at the edge, or near-edge. In total, up to 24 cameras can be supported by one AI hub. These devices can also integrate with the Qualcomm® AIC 100 solution as a scalable AI solution to utilize the cloud for faster AI acceleration, complementing the capabilities with big data analytics and training.

AI hubs powered by QCS8250 support both 5G and Wi-Fi 6, offering a private, secure network for all processing. They can be useful in enterprise security, smart factories, smart cities, retail settings, and more. And with the ability to process on the hub device itself, even mission critical applications can get an instant upgrade with this technology.

These AI hubs can be utilized across multiple segments from enterprise security, retail, smart cities, healthcare, and industrial applications.

More immersive video collaboration

Traditional conference room systems consist of a complex system of individual components which rely on an expert to install and piece together. But with QCS8250, we’re simplifying the complexity, adding intelligent features, and lowering the cost-of-ownership by eliminating the need for an external PC or NUC. The result is an easy to install and maintain all-in-one video conferencing device with advanced capabilities that support the needs of next generation video conferencing.

A QCS8250 all-in-one video conferencing solution can support multiple advanced AI directed 4K cameras, three ultra HD displays with independent content and multi-microphone arrays for far-field audio capture with excellent echo cancellation and noise suppression. With its advanced AI camera capabilities video meetings can be more immersive by capturing the essence and nuances of meeting participants. By intelligently switching between ultra-wide, wide, and telephoto lenses (all 4K), and zooming in and out to focus on who is speaking, you’re always using the right camera for the conversation or presentation, while maintaining ultra high-definition at all times. 

These powerful yet compact devices can support today’s most common video conferencing platforms. Moreover, to help customers get to commercialization quicker, we’re excited to announce a Video Collaboration Reference Design platform, that will be made available through our ODM AmTRAN and other designated distributors.

At Qualcomm Technologies, we’re always working to help the world connect, compute, and communicate. As we look toward the future, that means bringing more devices into the mix with premium connectivity that can unlock brand new capabilities and transform industries. From frictionless retail to seamless video collaboration, intelligent enterprise camera applications and beyond, the QCS8250 processor is delivering superior experiences for the next generation of connectivity.

Qualcomm QCS8250, Qualcomm AI Engine, Qualcomm Kryo, Qualcomm Adreno, Qualcomm Hexagon, Qualcomm AIC 100 and Qualcomm Spectra are products of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries.