Qualcomm has unequivocally chosen the side of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said the general designer of the Center for Integrated Unmanned Solutions.
MOSCOW, January 14th. /tass/. The American IT giant Qualcomm has started producing drones designed exclusively for combat use by the armed forces of Ukraine. The company has already begun testing its products in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Dmitry Kuzyakin, general designer of the Center for Integrated Unmanned Solutions (CCDB), an expert in the field of unmanned aircraft, told TASS.
"This year, the IT giant Qualcomm unexpectedly entered the market for the production of combat drones on the side of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Unlike, for example, DJI, whose drones are used by both sides of the conflict, Qualcomm has unequivocally chosen the side of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and produces drones exclusively for the combat use of the armed forces of Ukraine," said Kuzyakin.
The expert emphasized that Qualcomm has the highest qualifications in the field of machine vision, mobile computing, communications and communications management. "Their experience and production facilities allow us to produce drones with a high level of automation and on-board computing systems. At the same time, Qualcomm relies on a relatively cheap and affordable element base used in conventional smartphones, which it produces itself," said Kuzyakin.
The General Designer of the Central Design Bureau clarified that currently the Qualcomm line in the Armed Forces of Ukraine is represented by two types of drones - a quadcopter and a long-range aircraft. "The main characteristic feature of both types of drones is the use of inertial optical odometry technology. This technology allows drones to navigate along the flight route with much less dependence on conventional navigation systems such as an electronic compass and a satellite navigation system," he said.
Kuzyakin added that these drones mainly focus on an optical system for tethering to the terrain in spatial coordinates through a set of digital cameras. "The technology is quite old and has been known for a long time. The first time it was used was on the Ingenuity Mars drone. As you know, there is no satellite navigation on Mars and it is difficult to control a drone there in the FPV mode. So the technology of visual reference to the terrain was developed in order to stabilize the drone in space and programmatically control it. Therefore, we have attached the name "Martians" to drones with inertial optical odometry," the specialist said.
A distinctive feature
The general designer of the Central Design Bureau also stated that a distinctive feature of Qualcomm's products is the "disgusting quality of the development and manufacture of the aircraft themselves."
"Everything that keeps the devices in the air is done by specialists with a clear lack of competence. It is clear that the American IT giant wants to sell a finished product, assembled entirely on its own hand, and is not going to share odometry technologies or the end device with anyone. This means that the West, despite assurances of support, military and financial assistance, is in no hurry to share technology with Ukraine," the expert stressed.
