Qualcomm today announced the new Snapdragon AR2 Gen 1 Platform to enable sleek, highly capable AR glasses. Qualcomm built Snapdragon AR2 from the ground up for the headworn glass form factor.
“We built Snapdragon AR2 to address the unique challenges of headworn AR and provide industry-leading processing, AI and connectivity that can fit inside a stylish form factor,” said Hugo Swart, VP at Qualcomm.
The main highlight of AR2 Gen 1 is its distributed architecture to better balance the weight and decrease the arm width on either side of the glasses. Instead of a single powerful chip, Snapdragon AR2 includes an AR processor, AR co-processor and connectivity platform. AR2 can distribute the processing of latency-sensitive perception data directly on the glasses and offloads more complex data processing requirements to a Snapdragon-powered smartphone, PC or to other compatible host devices.
Qualcomm claims that the main processor in AR2 is 40% smaller when compared to XR2 and the overall platform delivers 2.5x better AI performance while consuming 50% less power.
Surprisingly, Microsoft worked closely with Qualcomm to define the AR2 platform.
“Microsoft worked closely with Qualcomm on the platform requirements for Snapdragon AR2 to help define the purpose-built, foundational technologies to unlock new possibilities in AR experiences,” said Rubén Caballero, Corporate Vice President of Mixed Reality, Devices & Technology, Microsoft. “Snapdragon AR2 platform innovations will revolutionize headworn AR devices that will transform immersive productivity and collaboration and we look forward to seeing the innovation that Qualcomm and its partners will bring to market.”
