Meet Vanitha Kumar, the Qualcomm inventor whose work on modem software helped make 5G a reality

Welcome to Qualcomm Invents. In this series, we’re talking with some of Qualcomm’s most prolific inventors about their work, the impact of their inventions, and their inspiration.

As consumers become more connected and reliant on mobile devices, it’s essential to push the envelope on a seamless mobile user experience. This has been Senior Vice President of Software Engineering (Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.) Vanitha Kumar’s professional mission.

With 25 years of experience in the wireless telecommunications industry — working with embedded software architecture, design, and development — Vanitha is passionate about the future of technology. Her background includes leading projects on multiple generations of cellular modem chipsets and working closely with customers, vendors, and cellular carriers to launch a vast array of devices and technologies. She is an inventor on more than 200 patents in the U.S. and abroad.

Vanitha is also passionate about the role of women in science and technology. She’s on the board of the Qualcomm Foundation, in charge of corporate giving and used to sit on the board of the Elementary Institute of Science, a non-profit organization that focuses on developing exposure and interest in STEM careers among young children.

We recently caught up with Vanitha to discuss her work at Qualcomm, her interests as an inventor, and her thoughts on the future of 5G — especially as it relates to the automotive industry.

The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Did you always know you wanted to be an inventor?

No, absolutely not. Growing up, when you think of inventors, you think of scientists in the lab — and I knew I wasn’t going to be a scientist in the lab. In fact, even at Qualcomm, it took me several years to realize the work that I’m doing counts as inventing.

What inspired you early on, and how do you continue to find inspiration?

Though I didn’t think of myself as a scientist or an inventor, I did know that I wanted to be an engineer because I like solving problems. What I didn’t realize initially was that finding interesting problems to solve is the definition of invention. I have a family background that’s very strong in math, and I loved science, so engineering was a very natural choice. If you grow up in India, it’s one of the first career options that’s presented to you. It’s not like I had to go looking far and wide to find a career that I liked — the first choice seemed like a perfect fit for me.

Here at Qualcomm Technologies, we are always working on so many new technologies. Finding problems to solve is the easiest thing to do because every day there are so many interesting challenges. When I started in the mid 1990s, Qualcomm was solving a lot of cool problems — setting trends in the industry and introducing new technologies to the world at scale. It was a very exciting place, and that was the hook for me.

Can you tell us about your work on modem software air interface technology? Specifically, how did you end up specializing in the technology that powers 4G-LTE and 5G?

All these technologies do one fundamental thing: enable our devices to connect to a network. It doesn't matter what network it is — 3G, LTE, or now 5G. CDMA2000 was one of the first 3G technologies. I got a front row seat to the evolution of that technology because I started on that project from day one. I got to work on many layers. I got to understand challenges across the whole spectrum. The team was much smaller, which meant I could ask a lot more questions, and there were a lot more opportunities for learning. I spent about seven years on 3G.

When the work on 4G started, there were multiple technologies being considered as possible options for 4G, and I was working on one of them called Ultra-Mobile Broadband (UMB). Eventually, the industry rallied behind one technology: LTE. This was a big breakthrough for the wireless industry, as it was much easier to push one technology forward as opposed to just discussing which one was superior. At that time, my UMB project got canceled, and I got moved to the LTE team. I didn't know much about LTE when I started, and I certainly didn't know it was going to be such a big deal. Because I had worked on many different technologies, it was easy to channel the ideas from all those different places into this new technology because at the end of the day, it was still about wireless connectivity.

When it was time to talk about 5G, I was given the opportunity to start that 5G software team from the ground up. We're a few generations into 5G chipsets and technology deployments now.

Could you give us a brief overview of what the software does in a cellular modem?

Cellular technology is very complex — there’s more than one technology. Some regions only have 3G or 4G, and some have upgraded to 5G. In fact, there are some places that still have the old 2G GSM technology.

When you talk about seamless connectivity, it means you can take a call or download emails anywhere. For that, you need all these technologies to be working together and handing off to each other in a seamless way. Every country has a different spectrum that they're allocated, and every spectrum has different RF properties, different propagation, different challenges with interference, and different levels of radio performance. Then you have different operator requirements, different infrastructure providers, and a whole range of different use cases — standard voice calls, texts, video streaming, gaming, IoT, connected intelligent vehicles, and so forth.

It takes a lot of effort to get any of these cellular technologies working right, and even more effort to get to a situation where you can drive around, walk around, or be on a train and still have the same quality connection. All this needs to be defined and operated by the software on your phone. You can get on a plane in California and land in Boston, and as soon as you land, your phone now suddenly knows where it is, how to look for the networks and find them. Then you come home, and you're able to seamlessly hand your data off to Wi-Fi.

This all requires a highly sophisticated RF front-end that’s well integrated with a device’s modem and can support all these versatile technologies — and do it in a way that's seamless for the user. When you put all that together, it makes for an immensely complicated modem software stack.

On top of diverse radio technologies and spectrum, there are also a multitude of deployment variations. So, the question becomes, “How do we make a software stack work for all the different operator requirements?” It's possible that one operator may want an experience in a very particular way, or they may want us to prioritize one network over another network. How do you handle all those requirements compared to a different operator in different parts of the world? We must ensure that across all these highly complex, super diverse deployments, we’re executing each one correctly.

And it’s no longer just important for basic calls and data. We all rely on our phones for everything. Whether you want to do video conferencing, play games, download movies, or play music — whatever it is, all of that must come with a uniform, seamless experience for the user. There's so much that goes on under the hood to make all that happen.

How has your work impacted the world?

Our teams at Qualcomm can say a piece of them literally exists in the palms of every single smartphone owner in the world. Today, connectivity is so critical, and I cannot even imagine what we would have done during the last two years without our cell phones. They helped us keep our sanity and feel connected — via education, work, healthcare, and staying in touch with family and friends. Right now, it’s fundamental to the fabric of our society.

Can you tell me more about how your work has informed and intersected with innovations that we’re seeing in the automotive industry? How close are we to most cars being connected and intelligent?

The automotive industry is leveraging the advancements we’ve made on wireless wide area network (WWAN) technology. Our modem chipsets are bringing the same high-speed connectivity and multi-SIM functionality that our smart device users love to connected cars. On top of this, 4G Cellular V2X technology brings additional safety through car-to-car and car-to-infrastructure communication. We should see the 5G version of CV2X in the next few years. New cars we can buy today are already significantly more intelligent than the cars we could buy in the past. As cars become equipped with more reliable high-speed connectivity, there’s an opportunity for more diverse service offerings. As cars “talk” more to other cars and the infrastructure around them, it will make for safer roads and a more intelligent network of vehicles.

What role do you see 5G playing in our world going forward?

5G to wireless, literally, is going to be like the internet to business. When we talk about cellular connectivity, it's no longer just about smartphones and tablets. With 5G, we’re talking about intelligence and connectivity all around us. The mission for 5G is to be able to connect everyone and everything, and everything to each other. It’s the dawn of a new level of connectivity and intelligence for all industries, whether it's smart cities, or energy, or healthcare, or agriculture, or transportation, or logistics, or industrial automation. Just name an industry and there is a role for 5G.

How has Qualcomm supported you and your efforts, and how would you describe the general culture of innovation at Qualcomm?

When I started, Qualcomm was under 5,000 employees, and there was very much a startup culture. Even today, I still feel the same startup culture of “We've got to make this technology work!” That fire is still very much alive.

That's one of the things I've always loved about Qualcomm. Plus, you’re always working on something cool. You're always trying to solve a very difficult problem. And there’s the freedom to say, "Let’s take the risk and go for it!" That culture is by far one of my favorite things about Qualcomm. To quote our CEO, “We make the impossible inevitable.”

My team is also amazing. They always keep me on my toes. They’re an incredible set of engineers who bring so much drive and energy to work every single day, and that really keeps me going. I've also been blessed to have mentors who've always encouraged and enabled me — always okay with me asking the difficult questions — and colleagues who have been super supportive. That collaboration and that focus on innovation and that fire, I think, is the best part of Qualcomm.

What advice would you give to a young or upcoming inventor?

I don't think you need to wake up with a cool idea to be an inventor. You just need to know the right problems to solve and need to ask the right questions. In a place like Qualcomm, the problems come to you because every day that's what we do. Problem solving is at the core of everybody's job description from day one. I would say that if you have a cool problem to solve, always look for opportunities to see if that is an opportunity to file an invention disclosure.

I think a lot of people underestimate their inventions, especially inventions that are building on something else. People don't always look at that kind of work as inventing, but it is. If you're improving on something, that still matters a lot because in technology we take baby steps. We do things one step at a time, and before you know it, the world is looking very, very different.

Read more about other inventors at Qualcomm: