Niantic Labs additionally revealed its Out of doors AR Headset powered by the AR2 platform.
In the course of the Snapdragon Summit, the corporate unveiled its newest piece of expertise, the AR2 Gen 1 platform, which might be a key part for the subsequent technology of slimmer and extra fashion-friendly augmented actuality (AR) glasses.
Hugo Swart, a product advertising supervisor at Qualcomm, talked about this newest development, saying that the AR2 Gen 1 platform is the first-of-its-kind particularly designed for the event of higher AR glasses. He famous that creating most of these gadgets may be very completely different from different VR initiatives, similar to one thing for the Quest Professional or Pico 4.
One of many greatest challenges that designers face is energy consumption. Qualcomm’s multi-chip design can ship a 2.5x improve in synthetic intelligence (AI) efficiency whereas utilizing solely half the ability. This might enable designers to create glasses that may detect objects within the room quicker whereas remaining light-weight.
For Qualcomm, the purpose of the AR2 Gen 1 platform is to unfold the computational load throughout the frames by splitting the processor into three co-processors: one in every arm of the glasses and a 3rd situated above the bridge. It incorporates a 4nm-based AR processor that’s able to dealing with a number of options, similar to visible analytics and graphics, and it could additionally help as much as 9 cameras that might be used for monitoring you and your atmosphere.
For reference, the Quest Professional options 10 cameras; 5 inside and 5 outdoors. This isn’t counting the cameras on the brand new Contact Professional controllers.
Sadly, the corporate famous that the brand new AR2 Gen 1 platform received’t be capable of present the identical stage of efficiency as the present technology of VR headsets. As an illustration, whereas the brand new chips will enable customers to expertise extra correct depth sensing and scanning, they received’t be capable of present the identical stage of element.
So as to make the subsequent technology of AR glasses a hit, Qualcomm is counting on the help of computer systems, smartphones, and the cloud. A number of the chipsets that might be utilized in these next-generation glasses will be capable of course of AR graphics utilizing Wi-Fi 7. This implies you would theoretically join gadgets to a community at speeds of as much as 5.8Gbps. Based on Qualcomm, this function will assist cut back latency and supply a extra responsive and natural-feeling AR expertise.
Due to the AR2 Gen 1, eye monitoring will now have supported security measures similar to iris authentication, which may open up new methods for folks to unlock their gadgets and introduce different options to enhance your AR expertise.
Previous to engaged on the subsequent technology of AR glasses, the corporate had already labored on numerous AR headsets, such because the NReal Mild and the A3 glasses from Lenovo. Nevertheless, throughout a briefing with reporters, Swart famous that the corporate’s present efforts haven’t been in a position to present the identical stage of efficiency in the case of battery life, with battery life on all AR and VR headsets averaging proper below 2 hours.
Getting concerned within the ecosystem is essential for tech corporations because it permits them to increase their attain and supply their merchandise with the absolute best help. As an illustration, earlier this yr Microsoft introduced a partnership to make the most of the AR2 Gen 1 chip for future merchandise past the HoloLens 2.
By the best way, it needs to be famous that Niantic Labs has additionally introduced its personal slick-looking Out of doors AR Headset powered by Qualcomm’s AR2 platform. The gadget weighs solely 0.5lbs and boasts some fairly superior specs in response to the corporate:
- Snapdragon AR2 Gen 1
- Works outdoors.
- Hand-tracking
- Works with Snapdragon Areas (Unity/Unreal)
- 2.5X higher AI, 50% much less energy (vs last-gen)
- WiFi 7
- Latency telephone to gadget 2ms
- third get together controllers
- Helps Lightship/VPS
As well as, Qualcomm additionally launched new S3 Gen 2 and S5 Gen 3 sound platforms which are designed to make the most recent expertise extra accessible. This contains spatial audio, which permits customers to trace their head actions, and the most recent model of adaptive noise cancellation, which can be utilized in video games. Sadly, these received’t be accessible till the second half of 2023.
Regardless of the assorted options that might be included within the firm’s subsequent technology of AR glasses, it’s nonetheless not but clear if the expertise will be capable of present the identical stage of efficiency. Nevertheless, given the progress that the corporate has made, it’s attainable that the subsequent technology of AR glasses might be the beginning of a brand new period of innovation.
Hey, I simply wish to look cool and have enjoyable AR experiences!
You may study extra about Qualcomm’s Snapdragon A2 Gen 1 platform by clicking right here.
Characteristic Picture Credit score: Qualcomm
