Qualcomm and Lenovo launch new augmented reality partnership to expand developer ecosystem

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The caller merchandise combines the Snapdragon Spaces XR Developer level and the ThinkReality A3 astute glasses.

Qualcomm and Lenovo announced a caller concern this week with enactment from telecoms and gaming companies to grow the beingness of augmented reality bundle engineers. The companies are combining the Snapdragon Spaces XR Developer Platform and the ThinkReality A3 astute glasses to marque it easier to physique AR apps. Developers tin usage the level to physique caller 3D applications for AR glasses oregon adhd AR features to existing Android smartphone applications.

"Snapdragon Spaces is designed to enactment the democratization of XR by taking a horizontal, unfastened transmission attack truthful developers tin rapidly bring their ideas to beingness and scope a wide scope of extremity users," said Hugo Swart, vice president and wide manager of XR, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. said successful a property release.

Snapdragon Spaces is based connected the Khronos OpenXR specification to guarantee portability and is the archetypal headworn AR level optimized for AR Glasses tethered to smartphones with an OpenXR conformant runtime, according to the company.

Jon Pershke, vice president of strategy and emerging business, Lenovo Intelligent Devices Group, said successful a property merchandise that the ThinkReality A3 is the archetypal AR astute glasses instrumentality to enactment Snapdragon Spaces.

"Snapdragon Spaces volition assistance the developer assemblage and our customers make adjacent much worth successful their AR solutions and grow the capabilities connected mobile devices coming to marketplace aboriginal adjacent year."

SEE: Augmented world for business: Cheat sheet

Developers tin usage the "environmental understanding" capabilities successful Snapdragon Spaces to physique AR experiences for headsets oregon astute glasses that harvester elements from the virtual and the existent world. A instrumentality with "environmental understanding" allows users to consciousness and interact with carnal indoor spaces. Features see spatial mapping and meshing, occlusion, level detection, entity and representation designation and tracking, section anchors and persistence and country understanding.

Lenovo's ThinkReality A3 astute glasses tin make virtual monitors for concern users oregon a guided workflow for workers connected a manufacturing floor. The glasses tether to the Moto g100 smartphone and prime Lenovo PCs.

There are respective astute glasses connected the marketplace and a fewer person app marketplaces.

The Epson MOVERIO BT-300 has an HD display, a high-resolution camera and an apps marketplace that includes contented and applications. The Vuzix M300 astute glasses are designed for endeavor users, person 64GB of representation and a store that includes apps for Teams and Zoom. SOLOS from Kopin is designed for athletes and tin measurement a user's show including elapsed time, speed, powerfulness and bosom rate. There besides are a assortment of AR apps designed for the glasses.

SEE: The metaverse: What is it?

There are augmented world SDKs for Android and iOS arsenic good arsenic 1 from Facebook, Google, Vuforia, Wikitude and EasyAR.

Qualcomm is besides gathering relationships with telecom providers including Deutsche Telekom, NTT DOCOMO, INC. and T-Mobile U.S. and gaming companies to enactment the adoption of AR hardware and apps.

Building a developer ecosystem

Snapdragon Spaces includes SDKs for respective 3D engines, including the Unreal Engine from Epic Games. Marc Petit, vice president and GM, Unreal Engine, Epic Games said successful a property merchandise that his institution is supporting this developer-first attack with Epic MegaGrants for AR glasses creators.

"Integrating Unreal Engine with Snapdragon Spaces volition empower creators to physique beautiful, high-fidelity AR apps that tin beryllium enjoyed anywhere, anytime," helium said. "At Epic we are moving to physique an unfastened metaverse wherever creators tin conceive, share, and present unthinkable real-time 3D experiences and find occurrence done favorable concern models.

The institution plans to integrate the caller Lightship developer level from Niantic arsenic well.

John Hanke, laminitis and CEO of Niantic, said successful a property merchandise that the caller merchandise complements his company's extremity for developers to physique satellite standard AR applications.

Timoni West, vice president of virtual world and augmented world astatine Unity, said successful a property merchandise that by gathering intelligent AR apps that are context-aware, Unity tin absorption connected launching products that bring down technological barriers and let anyone to physique AR environments.

"In a satellite filled with creators, inventors and innovators, the metaverse simply can't beryllium arsenic a walled garden, and we consciousness that Snapdragon Spaces brings america person to that reality," West said. "The utilization of AR Foundation and Unity MARS companion app with Snapdragon Spaces enables creators to rapidly and easy marque large immersive experiences that usage real-world data."

SEE: Why jumping into the metaverse could beryllium a atrocious idea

AR developers tin use for a spot successful the Snapdragon Spaces Pathfinder Program. This task is designed to physique the AR ecosystem and volition supply aboriginal entree to level technology, task funding, co-marketing and promotion and hardware improvement kits.

Lenovo and Qualcomm expect the merchandise to beryllium mostly disposable successful Q2 2022.