Final Wednesday, augmented actuality (AR) software program studio Niantic partnered with Qualcomm to leverage the latter’s Snapdragon Areas prolonged actuality (XR) platform for geotagged immersive content material and supporting {hardware}.
The partnership sees Niantic combine its Lightship Visible Positioning System (VPS) — a service for designing and distributing location-based AR content material — into Snapdragon to optimize immersive content material distribution. The agency will absolutely combine its AR software program improvement equipment (SDK) onto Qualcomm Applied sciences’ Snapdragon Areas platform in 2023.
The collaboration permits the companies to speed up and scale outside AR content material throughout units like smartphones and headsets. It additionally goals to advertise outdoor-ready AR headsets, an important house to get pleasure from AR content material, in keeping with Niantic.
Maryam Sabour, the Head of Enterprise and AR Headsets at Niantic, added,
“The affect of AR on our each day lives is but to be absolutely realized and there are a lot of extra milestones to return. We’re excited to construct its future collectively”
Niantic’s VPS SDK permits AR content material creators to distribute immersive, interactive, and shared visualizations overlaid on a real-world location. The agency first noticed success with geotagged content material with its massively standard Pokemon: Go smartphone app which launched AR to shoppers at scale.
Creating AR {Hardware}
Niantic and Qualcomm are additionally creating a reference design for AR sensible glasses purpose-built for outside use.
The reference design leverages Qualcomm’s lately introduced Snapdragon AR2 chipset. Qualcomm’s product permits a consumer to design immersive units primarily based on micro kind issue parts, which give higher processing energy, cooler working temperatures, and aggressive software program integrations.
The conceptual system will combine Niantic’s product portfolio and AR distribution community to optimize immersive experiences.
AR Content material Distribution with Niantic, Qualcomm Snapdragon
Niantic’s famed Lightship ARSDK powers immersive geotagged content material. The service powered Niantic’s Pokemon undertaking, and following its success, the agency used Lightship in follow-up purposes.
Moreover, in November final 12 months, Niantic launched the Lightship ARSDK for third-party builders. The transfer opened the gates for AR builders designing refined immersive experiences with Niaintic’s answer.
In recent times, Niantic additionally gained notable capital from a sequence of funding teams valuing the corporate at roughly $9 billion in November 2021.
Lightship instruments allow customers to put AR content material in real-world areas, permitting teams to work together with the immersive belongings. The SDK leverages Niantic’s customized AR map of the world to distribute shared content material precisely. Moreover, the AR globe tracks core knowledge to optimize distributed content material, akin to a tool’s real-world place, with centimetre-level accuracy.
Furthermore, the agency updates its map continually in order that builders, manufacturers, and enterprise shoppers have a software to leverage location-based immersive content material utilizing its product portfolio.