BlackBerry Collaborates With AMD To Enhance Robotic Systems

The world of robotics has got a major boost in the last few years with the progress made in microchip manufacturing technology as well as powerful software development.

This is the avenue that BlackBerry (a provider of intelligent security software and services to enterprises and governments around the world and former leader in mobile phones) along with Advanced Micro Devices AKA AMD (a leading semiconductor company engaged in developing computer processors and related technologies for business and consumers) is looking to enhance, with their latest announcement.

So, what did BlackBerry and AMD reveal and how will it help businesses? Let’s explore!
 

What Did BlackBerry And AMD Announce?

 

• Through a news release puublished on BlackBerry’s website, the company announced it was collaborating with AMD to design next-generation robotic systems.

• The plan is to offer solutions that would enable new levels of low latency and jitter, while bringing in repeatable determinism, as well as address the need for ‘hard’ real-time capabilities in robotics-focused hardware.

• The collaboration will focus on building an affordable and powerful platform that enhances the performance, reliability and scalability of robotic systems to be used in industrial and healthcare sectors.

• This platform will combine BlackBerry’s QNX Software Development Platform (SDP) and AMD’s Kria K26 SOM (System-on-Module), which comes with Arm and FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Arrays) architecture.

• As per the release, “With Kria, an Arm sub-system can power the advanced capabilities of the QNX microkernel real-time operating system (RTOS) while allowing users to run low latency, deterministic functions on the programable logic of the AMD Kria KR260 robotics starter kit.”

• Benefits of this combination include enabling sensor fusion, high-performance data processing, real-time control, industrial networking and reduced latency in robotic applications, as well as the platform’s seamless integration and optimization of software and hardware components.

• The release further states that the integrated solution is now available to customers.

• The announcement of the collaboration came at Embedded World 2024, which is being held at the Nuremberg Convention Center in Nuremberg, Germany, where both companies have participated.

• Post the announcement, BlackBerry’s shares jumped over 7%.

 

What Did Stakeholders Say?

 

• Chetan Khona, Senior Director of Industrial, Vision, Healthcare and Sciences Markets, AMD, said, “With the QNX Software Development Platform customers can start development quickly on the AMD Kria KR260 Starter Kit and seamlessly scale to other higher performance AMD platforms as their needs evolve.”

• [Contd.] “Combining the industry-leading strengths of AMD and QNX will provide a foundation platform that opens new doors for innovation and takes the future of robotics technology well beyond the constraints experienced until now.”

• Grant Courville, VP Product & Strategy at BlackBerry QNX, said, “An integrated solution by BlackBerry QNX through our collaboration with AMD will provide an integrated software-hardware foundation offering real-time performance, low latency and determinism, to ensure that critical robotic tasks are executed with the same level of precision and responsiveness every single time.”

• [Contd.] “These are crucial attributes for industries carrying out finely tuned operations, such as the fast-growing industries of autonomous mobile robots and surgical robotics. Together with AMD, we are committed to driving technological advancements that address some of these most complex challenges and transform the future of the robotics industry.”

Do you think competitors should consider making similar moves? Do you think this move by BlackBerry and AMD will help the robotics industry grow further?

Let us know in the comments below!