Qualcomm and Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport Extend Strategic Partnership Focusing on High-Speed Communications and Wireless Power

AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM), and Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport today announced the companies will extend their long-standing partnership in continuing to develop and test high-speed wireless communications, as well as the wireless transfer of power for Formula One.  These tests will leverage highly advanced connected car solutions, such as 802.11ac Wi-Fi^®, 802.11ad Wi-Fi, 5G New Radio (NR), cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) and Qualcomm® WiPower^™ wireless charging, on the track. Qualcomm Technologies and Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport remain committed to developing innovative solutions, leveraging the expertise of both companies.

Expanding beyond the initial tests utilizing 5 GHz 802.11ac Wi-Fi technology in 2015, Qualcomm Technologies and Mercedes-AMG Motorsports continued to work together in 2016 to test high-speed wireless download of vehicle data using 802.11ad Wi-Fi technology in the 60 GHz band. During the field trials, race engineers utilized both technologies to gather data directly from the team's race cars while in the pit and garage. Utilizing the 60 GHz band, the team has been able to show real-world throughputs of 1.5 Gbps, which is 3.5x faster than performance results previously achieved with the prior 5 GHz solution. In addition, lab testing using both 5 GHz and 60 GHz simultaneously indicates that throughputs close to 2 Gbps can be achieved, resulting in 4-5x improvement in speed from previous implementation.

This work continues to showcase significant improvements from the previous wired data offload system, which required a plug-in connection from the car to computers in the pit garage. Test results also validate how quickly and efficiently data can be pulled from the vehicle, as well as to help evaluate vehicle performance under extreme race conditions. Qualcomm Technologies will continue to evaluate performance increases in the 60 GHz and 5 GHz off-load programs, as well as explore new technologies to make it possible for Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport to send data straight to their race engineers without making a pit stop by utilizing new emerging 5G wireless and C-V2X technologies.

In addition to the wireless transfer of data, Qualcomm Technologies and Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport will collaborate on testing the wireless transfer of power using a WiPower interface. Evaluating various difficult-to-access interfaces on the vehicle, the teams intend to replace physical connectors with wireless power interfaces, thus enabling rapid dismantling and reassembly of vehicle parts during complex repair resulting from on track incidents.

"Qualcomm Technologies has been delivering wireless communications, including cellular, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth^® to the automotive industry for over a decade," said Derek Aberle, president, Qualcomm Incorporated. "Working closely with Mercedes, Qualcomm Technologies has been able to fine-tune and advance our technologies under the extreme conditions of a race track to deliver the most cutting-edge solutions for advanced vehicle applications."

"Winning in Formula One means working with the best in order to innovate in every area – and this is what our partnership with Qualcomm Technologies brings us," continued Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport. "Not only have we worked to develop solutions for the track, which give us a competitive advantage each race weekend, but these projects serve as a laboratory for cutting-edge solutions that will make their way into automotive applications in the near future. It's the perfect demonstration of how the high-tech environment of Formula One can accelerate the development of technologies with applications a long way beyond racing."

Qualcomm Technologies has a long-standing reputation as a trusted advisor and technical resource to Daimler, and is continuing to work closely in developing state-of-the-art connected car solutions for Daimler's next-generation vehicles. 

About Qualcomm

Qualcomm's technologies powered the smartphone revolution and connected billions of people. We pioneered 3G and 4G – and now we are leading the way to 5G and a new era of intelligent, connected devices. Our products are revolutionizing industries, including automotive, computing, IoT, healthcare and data center, and are allowing millions of devices to connect with each other in ways never before imagined. Qualcomm Incorporated includes our licensing business, QTL, and the vast majority of our patent portfolio. Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, operates, along with its subsidiaries, all of our engineering, research and development functions, and all of our products and services businesses, including, our QCT semiconductor business. For more information, visit Qualcomm's website, OnQ blog, Twitter and Facebook pages.

Qualcomm and WiPower are trademarks of Qualcomm Incorporated, registered in the United States and other countries. Wi-Fi is a registered trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance.  Bluetooth is a registered trademark of Bluetooth SIG, Inc. Other product and brand names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Qualcomm WiPower wireless charging technology is licensed by Qualcomm Incorporated.

Qualcomm Contacts:
Pete Lancia, Corporate Communications
Phone:  1-858-845-5959
Email:  [email protected]

John Sinnott, Investor Relations
Phone:  1-858-658-4813
Email:  [email protected]

SOURCE Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

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