Qualcomm Announces Vuforia for Digital Eyewear, Powering the Next Generation of Augmented Reality Experiences

SAN DIEGO, Sept. 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM), through its subsidiary, Qualcomm Connected Experiences, Inc., today announced the Qualcomm® Vuforia™ mobile vision platform will empower developers to build augmented reality (AR) applications for a new generation of digital eyewear.  The new Vuforia Software Development Kit (SDK) for Digital Eyewear will deliver a major advance in user experience – allowing interactive 3D content to be visually aligned with the underlying world.  This capability will enable new applications in hybrid VR/AR gaming, shopping, and education, as well as across a wide range of enterprise and industrial uses.  

The Vuforia platform provides advanced computer vision functionality for recognizing images and objects in the user's field of view.  It also leverages Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ processors to minimize the motion-to-photon latency that is so essential in delivering an authentic AR effect. 

Snapdragon processors are products of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated.  The Vuforia SDK for Digital Eyewear also includes an easy-to-use calibration method that enables Vuforia applications to dynamically adapt to a wearer's facial geometry, thereby providing an optimal experience.  

The Vuforia SDK for Digital Eyewear was designed to converge with recent innovations in digital eyewear devices, including the ODG R-7 and the Epson Moverio BT-200.  Announced today by ODG, the R-7 represents the state-of-the-art in digital eyewear with a fully integrated one-piece design, a stereoscopic see-through display system, wireless connectivity and the revolutionary computing power of the Snapdragon 805 processor.  The R-7 offers users and developers unparalleled performance and versatility, and is initially targeted at government and industrial applications.

The Epson Moverio BT-200 smart glasses has an integrated see-through display system and utilizes a two-piece design.  The smart glasses component includes sensors and the display system. The Android-powered control unit contains all other electronics and provides a touch pad for user interaction.  The Moverio BT-200 is available now and is ideal for both consumer and enterprise augmented reality applications, including: environmental games, training solutions, museum experiences, and more.

Vuforia is also the first vision platform to enable a new class of hybrid VR/AR experiences on the Samsung Gear VR Innovator Edition powered by Oculus.  With Vuforia SDK for Digital Eyewear, developers will be able to extend the capability of Gear VR further to incorporate AR experiences within VR applications, as well as create immersive AR applications for gaming, education, and shopping. 

"The promise of digital eyewear is to create a heads-up display for our daily lives.  While the realization of this promise remains in the future, Vuforia is taking a big step in the right direction by enabling a first generation of applications for consumer and enterprise use," said Jay Wright, vice president of product management for Qualcomm Connected Experiences, Inc. "Developers will now have the tools required to build experiences that will drive the adoption of the digital eyewear category.  We look forward to seeing what developers make possible."

The Vuforia SDK for Digital Eyewear will be available this Fall as a beta for a select group of developers. To apply for the beta, please visit: https://developer.vuforia.com/support/contact/beta. For videos related to Vuforia for Digital Eyewear, please visit: https://www.youtube.com/user/vuforia. 

Vuforia is a mobile vision platform that enables apps to see and connect the physical world with digital experiences that demand attention, drive engagement, and deliver value.  The platform leverages Qualcomm's mobile technology leadership and provides best-in-class augmented reality experiences. Vuforia is supported by a global ecosystem of more than 100,000 registered developers in 130 countries and has powered more than 10,000 apps for iOS and Android phones and tablets.  Additional information is available at www.vuforia.com.

About Qualcomm Incorporated

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) is a world leader in 3G, 4G and next-generation wireless technologies. Qualcomm Incorporated includes Qualcomm's licensing business, QTL, and the vast majority of its patent portfolio. Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, operates, along with its subsidiaries, substantially all of Qualcomm's engineering, research and development functions, and substantially all of its products and services businesses, including its semiconductor business, QCT. For more than 25 years, Qualcomm ideas and inventions have driven the evolution of digital communications, linking people everywhere more closely to information, entertainment and each other. For more information, visit Qualcomm's website, OnQ blog, Twitter and Facebook pages.

Qualcomm Vuforia is a product of Qualcomm Connected Experiences, Inc.  Qualcomm Snapdragon is a product of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

Qualcomm, Vuforia and Snapdragon are trademarks of Qualcomm Incorporated, registered in the United States and other countries.  Other product and brand names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Qualcomm Contacts:

Katie Merrick
Phone:1-858-658-3469
Email: [email protected]  

Emily Kilpatrick
Phone:1-858-845-5959
Email: [email protected]  

Warren Kneeshaw
Phone:1-858-658-4813
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Qualcomm Incorporated