Despite how camera manufacturers claim that their devices are smart or intelligent, the fact remains that they will not work unless they are connected to the Internet. Qualcomm wants to change this trend by developing a cutting-edge chip that will allow a security camera to be aware of what it is shooting or aiming at while offline.
The Snapdragon 618 IP camera platform combines a powerful six-core, 64-bit CPU, next generation GPU, embedded DSP together with advanced video analytics to move beyond the smart camera to a “conscious camera,” that not only streams 4K HEVC, but can perform on-camera video analytics such as object detection, facial detection and recognition, multi object tracking, and Qualcomm® Zeroth™ object classification. With such intelligence on the camera, customers can move from expensive, server-based video analytics in the cloud to more reliable camera-based analytics. By only streaming data when qualified events happen, the new Qualcomm Technologies camera platform is designed to reduce network bandwidth requirements and cloud storage costs for customers using cloud-based security services. 
“Moving the video analytics processing from the server to the camera at the point of capture will open up a new class of big data applications,” said Anthony Murray, senior vice president and general manager, IoE, Qualcomm Technologies International Ltd. “Qualcomm Snapdragon processors already power over 500 smartphone designs with 4K UltraHD video capability, so it’s natural for us to bring this same technology leadership into IP camera space.”
The Snapdragon 618 IP Camera platform is a comprehensive reference design for a 4K HEVC IP camera with incredible computation power and robust connectivity. Built around the 64-bit Snapdragon 618 processor, it features:
- Integrated X8 LTE with Global Mode and advanced Carrier Aggregation up to 2x20 MHz in both downlink and uplink
- LTE Cat 7 with support for peak speeds of 300 Mbps download/100 Mbps upload
- Comprehensive, fast connectivity including 802.11/a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi®, GPS, Ethernet, and Bluetooth® Smart 4.1
- Six-core, 64-bit CPU with dual 1.8GHz ARM® CortexTM-A72 + quad 1.2GHz Cortex-A53 cores
- Next generation Qualcomm® Adreno™ GPU and Qualcomm® Hexagon™ DSP together with the six-core 64-bit CPU to provide complete, heterogeneous computing platform for conscious camera advanced analytics and imaging
- Dual image signal processors (ISP) to offer support for up to 21MP images and 4K video with dedicated hardware h.264 and HEVC encoding, offering as much as a 50 percent reduction in bandwidth
- Power management IC with integrated audio codec supports efficient battery operation
That could potentially lead to a new class of always-on, always-connected devices (think medical wearables that don't need to pair with a phone) with tremendously long battery lives.
Cameras and devices using its new platforms could start to appear in the first half of next year.
