Hello my dears,
Lately I keep reading that AR glasses will replace smartphones.
That would mean a huge market is opening up here. And Qualcomm will play a key role here, with a large moat.
Could Qualcomm perhaps even become the new Nvidia as a result?
I look forward to your comments.
3D sensors are an important component of AR glasses. Qualcomm is relying on a promising new solution from Belgian start-up VoxelSensors.
VoxelSensors has developed SPAES ("Single Photon Active Event Sensor"), a new type of 3D sensor technology for AR glasses and robotics.
In contrast to conventional 3D sensors, which record complete images at fixed intervals, SPAES works on an event-driven basis: it only detects changes in light at the single photon level, from which high-precision voxel images of the environment are generated.
The 3D sensor technology requires less than 10 milliwatts and is therefore ten times more energy-efficient than conventional image-based models. At the same time, it achieves a latency of less than 5 milliseconds, enabling particularly fast data processing. Both factors are crucial for AR glasses, which have to manage with minimal energy consumption and low waste heat. The technology also works reliably both indoors and outdoors and under a wide range of lighting conditions.
Qualcomm and VoxelSensors cooperate
Qualcomm and VoxelSensors are now working together to optimize 3D sensor technology for Qualcomm's Snapdragon AR2 Gen 1. The three-chip solution for slim and lightweight AR glasses was presented at the end of 2022, but has not yet been used in any known model. The AR1 Gen 1, designed for simpler smart glasses, is more widespread and is used in the Ray-Ban Meta glasses and HTC Vive Eagle, for example.
The optimized combination of Snapdragon AR2 Gen 1 and SPAES sensor technology will be available to selected customers and partners from December 2025. The companies are leaving it open as to whether and which manufacturers want to develop AR glasses based on this technology.
AI glasses, AR glasses and mixed reality headsets stand or fall on their ability to capture the environment spatially and classify it semantically. Powerful and energy-efficient systems for spatial and object recognition are essential for this. 3D sensors based on SPAES or comparable technologies could play a key role here. In addition, SPAES could also offer a more efficient solution for eye tracking than before.
When asked by heise online, VoxelSensors said that the start-up also intends to optimize SPAES for other Qualcomm chipsets such as the Snapdragon XR2, which is used in mixed reality headsets such as Meta Quest 3.
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