ZF and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. announced a technology collaboration to provide a cutting-edge and scalable ADAS solution that combines advanced AI compute and perception capabilities. Powered by Qualcomm Technologies’ Snapdragon Ride™ system-on-chips (SoCs), the solution delivers a powerful and flexible platform for automated driving.
ZF’s ProAI supercomputer additionally integrates Snapdragon Ride™ Pilot and Vision stack for faster time-to-market and delivers turn-key systems to automotive manufacturers. This collaboration brings together state-of-the-art automotive computing and real-time perception, enabling automakers to deploy scalable ADAS solutions across a wide range of vehicle types and automation levels—from regulatory functions up to Level 3.
With Snapdragon Ride, the ZF ProAI supercomputer is capable of serving as a domain, zone, or central controller, while supporting enhanced computer vision, sensor fusion, and decision-making control logic, or all of these functions in a single end-to-end (E2E) AI model. The result is a robust, open architecture that allows for seamless integration of third-party software features, giving automakers the flexibility to tailor solutions to their specific needs. Key components of the collaboration include:
ZF ProAI: The ProAI family from ZF is an automotive-grade central computer suitable for all vehicle platforms, software applications and E2E architectures. The highest configuration level is a multi-domain capable edition with multiple performance boards and a computing power of more than 1,500 TOPS.
ZF ADAS functions: ZF offers ADAS functions, encompassing approximately 25 safety, comfort, and parking features, including hands-off navigate on autopilot (NOA) as the most advanced feature. Vehicle manufacturers can select the functions they want to use for a particular vehicle series from a pool of functions in an individual, modular, and scalable manner. These functions are also available as stand-alone software-as-a-product.
Snapdragon Ride Pilot: The system uses camera-based AI perception for detecting objects, recognizing lanes and signs, parking assistance, driver monitoring, and real-time mapping. System configurations scale from a single forward-facing camera to multi-camera perception. Surround sensing performance is improved through a high-fidelity bird’s-eye-view (BEV) architecture, advanced fisheye camera processing, and integration with radar to help minimize latency and to help enhance safety in complex scenarios. Hardware-software co-design and network optimization help manage computational resources efficiently. The system is ready to enable advanced hands-free highway cruising with automated lane changes and urban-assisted driving. Ride Pilot is a safety stack for regulatory functions proven and deployed in over 60 countries globally.
Qualcomm Technologies’ open integration platform: Engineered with a modular system architecture, the platform supports dynamic allocation of compute resources and facilitates interoperability across heterogeneous vehicle electronic control units (ECUs). Its sophisticated abstraction layers and standardized interfaces enable seamless deployment of advanced ADAS and infotainment functionalities, with provisions for over-the-air (OTA) software updates and multiple vehicle feature enhancements over time.
Enabled by a broad development toolchain: A central pillar in enabling seamless integration of ADAS features. It comprises a robust set of software resources, simulation environments, and APIs designed to accelerate development, testing, and deployment of perception and compute capabilities on the Snapdragon Ride platform. This toolchain empowers automakers and their engineering teams to rapidly prototype, validate, and customize ADAS and infotainment functions, offering flexibility for tailoring solutions to diverse vehicle requirements. By streamlining workflows and supporting collaboration across hardware and software layers, the development toolchain makes innovation not just possible, but more efficient and scalable as systems and vehicle fleets evolve.
Together, ZF and Qualcomm Technologies are delivering the next generation of vehicle intelligence—designed to meet the growing demands of software-defined vehicles, improve safety, and accelerate the global adoption of automated driving technologies.
“We are pleased to deepen our longstanding collaboration in advancing ADAS innovation with ZF. By combining our strengths in high-performance automotive computing, perception, and computer vision, we’re enabling automakers to deliver intelligent, safer, and more cost-effective driver assistance systems across their vehicle portfolios,” said Anshuman Saxena, vice president and general manager, ADAS and Robotics, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “Our relationship reflects our shared commitment to accelerating the future of mobility through scalable, software-defined solutions that truly matter to consumers and the industry alike.”
“We are proud to further expand our collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies in the field of market-leading driver assistance systems for software-defined vehicles and new E/E architectures,” said Dr. Christian Brenneke, head of ZF’s Electronics and ADAS Division. “The combination of ZF’s scalable, cross-domain ProAI computing platform with the Snapdragon Ride platform from Qualcomm Technologies offers our customers additional design options for ADAS and infotainment systems in vehicles.”
