At CES 2026, Qualcomm Technologies signaled the end of the “prototype era” for robotics. By launching a comprehensive, end-to-end robotics stack centered on the new Dragonwing™ IQ10 Series, Qualcomm is attempting to do for robotics what the Snapdragon platform did for smartphones: provide a unified, scalable “brain” that any manufacturer can use to build intelligent machines.
The Tech: Qualcomm Dragonwing IQ10 Series
The IQ10 series is designed to handle the massive compute requirements of Physical AI systems that don’t just process data but interact with the 3D world in real-time.
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The Specs: Featuring an 18-core Oryon CPU, the IQ10 delivers 5x the performance of its predecessor.
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Vision Power: Supports up to 20 concurrent cameras and delivers a staggering 7000 TOPS for heavy AI workloads.
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Safety First: Includes a dedicated “Safety Island” for mission-critical operations, essential for industrial humanoids and AMRs (Autonomous Mobile Robots).
Moving Physical AI Out of the Lab
Traditionally, robotics has been a fragmented field. A company might buy sensors from one vendor, a processor from another, and AI models from a third. Qualcomm’s new architecture integrates:
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Sensing & Perception: High-fidelity vision and spatial awareness.
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Planning & Action: Real-time decision-making via Vision-Language-Action (VLA) models.
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The Data Flywheel: A software framework for continuous learning and over-the-air (OTA) updates.
Also Read: NVIDIA Unveils Isaac GR00T N1: A New Era for Humanoid Robotics and Industry Acceleration
Strategic Partnerships: The Ecosystem Push
Qualcomm’s success hinges on adoption by the industry’s biggest innovators. Key 2026 collaborations include:
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Humanoids: Working with Figure to define next-gen compute for general-purpose humanoids.
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Industrial: Discussions with Kuka Robotics for factory-floor automation.
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Commercial Ready: Showcasing the VinMotion Motion 2 humanoid and Booster K1 Geek, both ready for deployment later this year.
The AI Take: Why This Matters for the Enterprise
Qualcomm is now in a direct “Edge AI” war with NVIDIA. While NVIDIA dominates in training models in the cloud, Qualcomm is betting that the real battle will be won at the “Edge” the physical location where the robot actually moves.
For businesses, this means the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for robotics is about to plummet. By moving away from custom-built “disjointed” systems to a standardized Qualcomm stack, enterprises can scale their robot fleets with the same predictability they once scaled their mobile device fleets.
