At the Snapdragon Summit in 2022, Niantic took the stage today to showcase the latest version of its AR headset reference design, powered by Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon AR2 Gen 1 platform. Niantic, which was spun out of Google in 2015, is best known for its Pokémon Go game.
The reference design has a very thin, transparent display, while the rest of the computing hardware appears to be housed in a module behind the head.
Niantic’s first prototype (see below) is powered by Snapdragon XR2 Gen 1, which is connected to the phone and battery via a power cable and two very visible cameras.
Niantic’s latest reference design with the Snapdragon AR2 Gen 1 also has cameras on both sides, but they are more discreet. The other requirements were a wireless design, portability, compactness and robust performance.
Qualcomm describes the Snapdragon AR2 Gen 1 as its first chip designed specifically for AR, following generations of products that have focused on chips that support augmented and virtual reality use cases. The Snapdragon AR2 Gen 1 features a “multi-chip distributed processing architecture” consisting of an AR processor, AR co-processor and connectivity system that are spread across two side bars or even bridges of the glasses, rather than on a single board. Officials say the platform offers groundbreaking AR technology that will help create a new generation of powerful, thin and light AR smart glasses. The new Snapdragon AR2 platform was designed from the ground up to transform the headset form factor and usher in a new era of spatial computing experiences where the real world meets the metaverse.
Niantic also shared real footage shot through the lens of its prototype device, containing gameplay, guided navigation and a demo with business information (coffee shops) overlaid on a real-life map.
In addition to Niantic, Qualcomm said that Lenovo, LG, Nreal, OPPO, Pico, QONOQ, Rokid, Sharp, TCL, Tencent, Vuzix, and Xiaomi are all developing Snapdragon AR2 Gen 1-based devices. Meanwhile, Microsoft has been working with Qualcomm on the AR2 Gen 1 for a while now.
