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1. Qualcomm: Snapdragon Chip
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2. Intel: Atom Processor
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3. STMicroelectronics: STM32 Series
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4. Texas Instruments: OMAP3630
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5. Samsung: Artik Chip
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6. Atmel: MEGA2560 Development Board
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7. NVIDIA
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8. Nuvoton: MINI51 Series
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9. XMOS: XCORE Multi-core Microcontroller
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10. Rockchip: RK3288
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11. Allwinner: R16 Platform
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12. Leadcore: LC1860
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13. Huawei HiSilicon
1. Qualcomm
Controller: Qualcomm Snapdragon Chip
It features wireless communication, sensor integration, and spatial positioning capabilities.
Utilizing “RealSense” technology, it can create 3D maps and perceive the surrounding environment, allowing it to fly like a bat and actively avoid obstacles.
To leverage Qualcomm’s advantages in the drone sector, Qualcomm initiated acquisitions and investments in 2015, acquiring UAV development company KMEL Robotics in February and leading a $50 million Series C investment in competitor 3DR.
The fundamental advantage of Snapdragon Flight lies in reducing the manufacturing costs and selling prices of drones, due to 1. Qualcomm’s drone chips sharing processors and possibly other components with smartphones, enabling economies of scale; 2. High integration of chips, saving costs on multiple expensive modules, which reportedly account for 30%-40% of drone costs.
Compared to other major drone chip solutions, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Flight has the smallest CPU size and the highest clock frequency. It has been applied in domestic manufacturers’ small drone products like Hover Camera and Dobby.
2. Intel
Controller: Intel Atom Processor
It includes up to six Intel “RealSense” 3D cameras and uses a custom PCI-express card with a quad-core Intel Atom processor to process real-time information on distances and how to avoid nearby obstacles.
As traditional PC sales continue to decline, Intel is shifting its chip business to the booming drone market. However, compared to selling end products,Intel is more focused on providing solutions for drones, particularly in drone vision. Intel’s main advantage lies in its RealSense technology utilizing infrared laser, which avoids the extensive computation required for computer vision object recognition, thus improving accuracy.
In the market, Intel spent $60 million in 2015 to hire Typhoon H for promoting RealSense in the consumer market, and recently launched the Aero drone aimed at developers, also equipped with RealSense technology.
Additionally, Intel has previously invested in two drone companies, Airware and Precisionhawk, and in 2015 acquired wearable device and smart glasses manufacturer Recon, as well as the German drone manufacturer Ascending Technologies focused on algorithm research.
3. STMicroelectronics
Controller: ST STM32 Series
ST’s complete MEMS gyroscopes, accelerometers, sensors, and power management chips.
ST’s STM32L0 series microprocessors based on ARM’s Cortex-M0+ architecture focus on ultra-low power consumption, primarily targeting wearables, medical, and industrial sensor applications. ST has indicated that this year they have high expectations for drones. Previously, many products from the STM32 F0 and F4 series were used in drones.
4. Texas Instruments
Controller: TI OMAP3630
Micron flash memory, Texas Instruments power management + USB solutions,
Atheros 802.11b/g/n WiFi controller,
Bosch BMA150 accelerometer,
BMP180 barometric sensor,
InvenSense IMU-3000 gyroscope and motion processor,
Microchip’s PIC24HJ microcontroller.
5. Samsung
Controller: Samsung Artik Chip
Artik 10 features a 1.3GHz octa-core processor with 2GB RAM and 16GB flash storage. It includes Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy, ZigBee, and Thread.
Samsung launched the low-power Artik chip in May 2015, with three specifications, where Artik1 is only 12mm*12mm and costs less than $10. It is reported that specifications vary in processing speed, storage capacity, and wireless communication capabilities.This chip targets drones and smart home devices. The industry generally believes that Artik will become Samsung’s ace against Qualcomm and Intel, but strictly speaking, Samsung is still a latecomer.
6. Atmel
Controller: ATMEL MEGA2560 Development Board
AT91M55800A, ARM7TDMI core, embedded ICE interface, memory, and peripherals.
7. NVIDIA
Unlike Intel, which is attempting to leverage its processors to enter the drone market to compensate for weak PC sales, NVIDIA does not have an urgent reason to enter the drone market, as its core GPU business is growing at a rate of 7%, accounting for 82% of its revenue in the first half of 2016. It is understood that in 2015, NVIDIA provided chips for Parrot and its competitor DJI, and has developed the Jetson TX1 chip solution for the drone market, capable of handling various image recognition and advanced AI tasks, allowing drones using it to stay airborne longer. It is reported thatNVIDIA has also provided chip solutions for both DJI and its competitor Parrot.Of course, NVIDIA has not limited the potential of the TX1 board to drone applications; it can also be used in robotics, IoT devices, or laboratory equipment.NVIDIA also provides developers with libraries like OpenVX 1.1 to help them utilize the board.
8. Nuvoton
Controller: Nuvoton MINI5 Series
Low-end remote controllers use SOP20 packaged 4T 8051 N79E814; mid-to-high-end remote controllers adopt Cortex-M0 M051 series with ARM9 and H.264 video codec N329 series
9. XMOS
Controller: XMOS XCORE Multi-core Microcontroller
32-bit RISC core with a frequency of up to 500MHz, featuring Hardware Response I/O interface. Multi-axis drones require four to six brushless motors to drive the drone’s rotors. The motor driver controller is used to control the speed and direction of the drone. In principle, one motor requires one 8-bit MCU for control, but there are also solutions where one MCU controls multiple BLDC motors.
10. Rockchip
Controller: Rockchip RK3288
Although Rockchip showcased drone products based on RK3288 at this year’s CES, this is the first time it has been displayed and tested in China.
This drone product features a quadcopter with a wheelbase of 300mm, based on Rockchip RK3288 as the processor, with an integrated design for the camera and body, supporting 1080p video recording. The body weighs about 730g, with a flight time of 14 minutes. Features include one-click panoramic, fail-safe return, point patrol, one-click selfie, one-click orbit, and geofencing.
11. Allwinner
Emerging from Zhuhai, Guangdong, Allwinner launched the R8 portable Internet TV solution last year; at CES Asia 2015, it jointly launched the “Dingdong” smart speaker (Allwinner R16 solution) with JD; and at the US Next Thing, the $9 computer Banana Pi successfully crowdfunded nearly $2 million (Allwinner R8 solution).
These three products are all based on Allwinner’s R series chips targeting the IoT market. Last August, Remix launched the first Android PC based on Allwinner A64 chip—Remix Mini, which successfully crowdfunded nearly $1.5 million on Kickstarter. The recently launched Xiaomi drone also uses Allwinner’s latest R16 platform as the main control solution.
12. Leadcore
The DJI Phantom 4 has previously used the Leadcore solution LC1860, and Zero Zero Intelligence has also launched a binocular vision solution based on Leadcore LC1860. It is reported that Leadcore has also jointly established Pinecone Electronics with Xiaomi, focusing on the smart hardware field.
13. Huawei HiSilicon
Huawei is diving into the drone sector. Its wholly-owned subsidiary HiSilicon previously held a 70% market share in the security camera market, and subsequently launched the Huawei drone platform in July 2016, collaborating with local startup Zhouxin Technology to introduce a series of drone solutions based on Huawei HiSilicon chips.
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