Qualcomm releases first-generation Snapdragon AR2 platform, aiming to revolutionize AR glasses

The company launched the first platform specifically designed for head-mounted AR devices - the first-generation Snapdragon® AR2 platform, further expanding its XR product portfolio.

The platform adopts a groundbreaking multi-chip architecture, which reduces power consumption by 50% and improves AI performance by 2.5 times, enabling small, thin and high-performance AR glasses.

▪ Several OEMs have entered different stages of product development using Snapdragon AR2, including Lenovo, LG, Nreal, OPPO, Pico, QONOQ, Rokid, Sharp, TCL, Vuzix and Xiaomi.

November 16, 2022, Hawaii - During the 2022 Snapdragon Summit, Qualcomm Technologies launched the first-generation Snapdragon AR2 platform, which provides groundbreaking AR technology and will help create a new generation of powerful, thin and light AR smart glasses. The new Snapdragon AR2 platform was designed from the beginning to revolutionize the design of head-mounted glasses and create a new era of spatial computing experience that integrates the real world and the metaverse.

Designed for AR: To create ultra-thin, high-performance AR glasses, the company uses a multi-chip distributed processing architecture combined with customized IP modules. The PCB area of ​​the main processor of the Snapdragon AR2 platform in AR glasses is reduced by 40%, the overall AI performance of the platform is improved by 2.5 times, and the power consumption is reduced by 50%, which can support AR glasses to achieve power consumption of less than 1W. This will support the creation of a richer experience on AR glasses and longer-term comfortable wearing, meeting the needs of consumer-level and enterprise-level use scenarios.

AR distributed processing architecture: In order to achieve a more even weight and reduce the width of the left and right temples, the Snapdragon AR2 platform adopts a multi-chip architecture, including an AR processor, AR co-processor and connection platform. Snapdragon AR2 can dynamically allocate delay-sensitive sensing data processing directly to glasses terminals, offloading more complex data processing requirements to smartphones, PCs or other compatible host terminals equipped with the Snapdragon platform.

• The AR processor is optimized for low latency motion-to-display (M2P) and supports up to nine parallel cameras for user and environment understanding. Its enhanced perception capabilities include a dedicated hardware acceleration engine that can improve user motion tracking and positioning, an AI accelerator that reduces the latency of high-precision input interactions such as hand tracking or six degrees of freedom (6DoF), and a heavy-duty processor that supports a smoother visual experience. Projection engine.

• The AR coprocessor aggregates camera and sensor data and supports eye tracking and iris authentication for visually focused rendering, optimizing workloads for only what the user is looking at to help reduce power consumption.

• The connection platform uses Qualcomm FastConnect™ 7800 connection system to enable extremely fast commercial Wi-Fi 7 connections, making the latency between AR glasses and smartphones or host terminals less than 2 milliseconds. Integrated support for FastConnect XR Software Suite 2.0 enables better control of XR data to improve latency, reduce jitter and avoid unnecessary interference.

AR Ecosystem: In addition to the transformative Snapdragon AR2 technology, building an end-to-end solution that encompasses hardware, a full suite of sensing technologies, and software tools is critical to creating immersive experiences. To allow developers to create outstanding head-mounted AR applications, the Snapdragon AR2 platform and the second-generation Snapdragon® 8 mobile platform are now optimized to support Snapdragon Spaces. The Snapdragon Spaces™ XR developer platform is designed to pave the way for developers to reinvent head-mounted AR content and help drive the entire AR glasses market segment.

Hugo Swart , vice president and general manager of Qualcomm Technologies' In its thin and stylish design, as differentiated demands for VR, MR and AR device technology and appearance continue to emerge, Snapdragon AR2 will become another masterpiece in our XR product portfolio that defines the metaverse experience, helping OEM partners. Revolutionizing AR Glasses.”

Rubén Caballero, corporate vice president of MR, devices and technology at Microsoft, said: "Microsoft and Qualcomm are working closely on the needs of the Snapdragon AR2 platform to help create dedicated basic technologies to unlock new possibilities for AR experiences. The innovative features of the Snapdragon AR2 platform will Transforming head-mounted AR devices and transforming immersive production work and collaboration. We are excited about the innovative technologies coming from Qualcomm and its partners.”

For more information, please visit the first-generation Snapdragon AR2 product webpage. To view the live replay, please visit the Snapdragon Summit page.