Qualcomm to Start XR2 Reference Design Programme for AR/VR/XR

Today Qualcomm is announcing that it will be reintroducing its Reference Design Programme for its upcoming XR2 chip for AR/VR/XR headsets. The company stated that after the success of its XR1 equivalent programme, they would be initiating with potential customers earlier in the cycle this time around in a similar way to how they approach smartphone vendors with its new handset SoCs.

The plan is to offer a unit that provides dual 2K LCD panels, 5G and 60 GHz support, no cables, 7 cameras, and the full software stack. This includes a full rundown of product design and hardware schematics, bill-of-materials details, layout details, and the appropriate SDKs to enhance and develop new models.

Reference Designs are a common feature in many industries, such as smartphones and laptops – the SoC manufacturer will give its partners an ‘example’ device, usually targeted at a high-end customer, such that the customer can use it as a base for any product they want to design themselves. Some vendors choose to use the reference design almost completely, while others ignore it, but the idea is that vendors can either provide a system with a quick time to market or take a bit longer and offer differentiation or a design at a different price point. Qualcomm’s XR2 reference design will enable this for the latest generation of AR/VR/XR headsets.

Qualcomm’s previous XR1 platform was very successful, with over 30+ designs reaching market using the Snapdragon platform. The goal here for XR2 is to go beyond that, by offering peak functionality that includes up to 3K*3K per eye, 8K60 video decode, better object detection and occlusion algorithms, 3D audio, foveation with eye-tracking and variable rate shading.

Customers interested in Qualcomm’s XR2 Reference Design platform should get in contact with their local Qualcomm representative.