Qualcomm announces new Snapdragon 845-powered VR headset reference design

It looks like Qualcomm is committed to helping push button forward mixed reality and augmented reality engineering science.

The scrap manufacturer has revealed its new Snapdragon 845 standalone headset reference pattern, as well as a most identical headset that'southward powered by a smartphone display and processor.

"We constitute that having the chip lonely wasn't enough for united states to be successful in this space… we know that SoCs (organization-on-chips) demand to be customized and optimized for VR and AR," said Hugo Swart, business organisation and production VR lead at Qualcomm, during a contempo interview with MobileSyrup about the company's new standalone Snapdragon 845 pattern.

The key feature that separates the new headset from past Qualcomm VR reference designs is the device's expanded tracking ability. Dissimilar Qualcomm's previous reference design, which shared similarities with Google's various Daydream headsets, the new model features room-scale tracking functionality. The previous VR reference design was only capable of tracking iii degrees of head move.

The new tracking functionality allows the headset to detect objects in front of the user, thank you to its 2 congenital-in front-facing cameras, calculation some other layer of immersion from an experience and gameplay perspective. Swart also says that much of the technology that powers the device'southward head-tracking and room-scale functionality was developed in-house at Qualcomm.

"We telephone call it inside-out considering yous don't need any accessories, you don't need an external photographic camera to rail your movement. Nosotros do it with computer vision within the device," said Swart.

Bringing room-scale to more affordable mobile VR headsets that are likewise untethered is a pregnant leap forward for the AR/VR industry. Previously, just expensive VR headsets powered by expensive PCs — such as the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive, for example — were capable of room-scale tracking.

From a technical perspective, the Qualcomm says that its new VR headset reference pattern is powered by the company's upcoming Snapdragon 845 processor, coupled with an Adreno 630 visual processing unit. In total, the bit manufacturers' new processor features includes xxx pct faster graphics performance and xxx percent improved power efficiency.

Other new features include eye tracking functionality and more chiefly, the ability to support displays that characteristic up to 2K resolution. Given how apparent the pixelated 'screen door' effect many lower-end VR headsets often is, this could event in a meaning jump forrard in quality for less pricey VR headsets.

Qualcomm says the company has helped launch more than 20 VR and AR devices over the last few years, amounting to a mix of those that are standalone, as well every bit smartphone-powered headsets.

Information technology'due south important to keep in mind that Qualcomm'south headset is just a reference pattern and non an actual device that'southward set to be commercially released. That said, Swart says that Qualcomm has a number of manufacturing partners and that the company is working with "key companies." A quick look at past partners, including HTC and Lenovo, is a good indication of where we'll likely see the company'southward technology integrated in 2018.

Looking to the hereafter, Swart describes the Snapdragon 845's reference design as an incremental, simply necessary improvement to the burgeoning VR/AR industry, comparing the technology' electric current position to where the smartphone industry in one case was nearly a decade agone.

"If y'all retrieve 10 to 15 years ago, how the smartphone industry grew, it was not one year to the next to what we have today. It started small in the sense of the number of users and apps and richness," said Swart.

"Then after a number of years, you see improvements. Then, 5 years later you say 'wow, what a alter in our lives that this technology has provided.' we're going to see the same thing in VR."