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 totally combine its AR software program growth equipment (SDK) onto Qualcomm Applied sciences’ Snapdragon Areas platform in 2023.
The collaboration permits the corporations to speed up and scale out of doors AR content material throughout gadgets like smartphones and headsets. It additionally goals to advertise outdoor-ready AR headsets, an important area to take pleasure in AR content material, in line with Niantic.
Maryam Sabour, the Head of Enterprise and AR Headsets at Niantic, added,
“The affect of AR on our day by day lives is but to be totally 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 customers at scale.
Growing AR {Hardware}
Niantic and Qualcomm are additionally growing a reference design for AR good glasses purpose-built for out of doors use.
The reference design leverages Qualcomm’s lately introduced Snapdragon AR2 chipset. Qualcomm’s product permits a shopper to design immersive gadgets based mostly on micro type issue parts, which offer larger 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 challenge, 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 resolution.
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 property. The SDK leverages Niantic’s customized AR map of the world to distribute shared content material precisely. Moreover, the AR globe tracks core information to optimize distributed content material, akin to a tool’s real-world place, with centimetre-level accuracy.
Furthermore, the agency updates its map consistently in order that builders, manufacturers, and enterprise shoppers have a software to leverage location-based immersive content material utilizing its product portfolio.
