When Qualcomm put out its newest mobile CPU, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845, it preempts future plans for content immersion; while it did drop hints, all act as markers to the coming Qualcomm VR reveal.
It will make its official reveal for all to try-out at the upcoming Mobile World Congress 2018. (MWC 2018).
The next-gen Qualcomm VR reveal will feature the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845. Its main purpose is to play up the platform’s role in the mobile virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) space. To be more specific, it will empower stand-alone XR headsets. For clarity sake, XR refers to Xtended Reality and represents the entire immersion ecosystem, including VR, AR, and mixed reality.
What Qualcomm is doing, basically, is taking away the cables and enabling these immersive systems to operate on their own.
According to Hugo Swart, Head, VR/AR Business Group, Qualcomm Technologies, the goal is to push the innovation envelope further. Of course, he is referring to what Qualcomm has in mind for its mobile processors and immersive technologies moving forward.
“We continue to deliver new advancements in technologies for our customers. After all, they are now gearing up to capitalise on the growing standalone VR industry. With the next-gen Qualcomm VR reveal, we’re supporting the next wave of [immersion devices] for all to [engage and] create immersive experiences of the future,” Swart shares.
As expected, the next-gen updates for the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 is extensive. It will include the latest Qualcomm Adreno 630 Visual Processor and Adreno Foveation. The former promises outstanding integrated graphics and video display processing capabilities, with up to 30% better graphics and power efficiency. As for the latter, it combines graphics rendering with eye tracking to understand where the user is looking. It will, constantly and consistently, direct the highest graphics resources to where the user is physically looking; providing the sharpest visuals possible.
The new Qualcomm VR platform will also come with Six-Degrees-of-Freedom (6DoF) and SLAM mapping capabilities, ensuring seamless delivery of Roomscale. Together, all these features will track user movements and their location within a room. This is to enable users to walk freely around the XR environment without cables or separate room sensors. As for audio delivery, there is the dedicated Qualcomm Hexagon Digital Signal Processor (DSP).
More details about this new XR platform will be out once MWC 2018 rolls over.
More MWC 2018 stories can be found in the targeted tag that is now used to curate the coverage for this event.
