Qualcomm opens R&D center to focus on Augmented Reality in Austria

Qualcomm has announced the opening of Qualcomm Austria Research Center GmbH, a new wholly owned R&D center established for the design and development of augmented reality and related technologies. The new research hub will enhance Qualcomm's existing R&D efforts in San Diego and build upon intellectual property recently acquired from Imagination Computer Services GesmbH, a leading developer of computer vision and augmented reality technology for mobile devices. In addition, a team of globally renowned augmented reality researchers from Imagination have joined the Qualcomm Austria Research Center.

Headquartered in Vienna, Austria, Imagination was founded in 1998 by leading researchers from the Vienna University of Technology to establish an early leadership position in vision-based mobile augmented reality. The company's technology has been featured in showcase augmented reality applications for a broad range of global consumer brands. Imagination's researchers have also been at the forefront of the academic community, publishing numerous important research papers in augmented reality and related fields over the past 15 years.

"Augmented reality allows people to visualize cyberspace as an integral part of the physical world that surrounds them, effectively making the real world clickable and linked," says Dr. Paul E. Jacobs, chairman and CEO of Qualcomm. "As part of our efforts to bring augmented reality to market, Qualcomm has been continually enhancing the capabilities of mobile devices with high-speed connectivity, powerful applications and graphics processors, GPS, cameras and other sensors. The acquisition of Imagination's leading augmented reality technology and the opening of the Austria Research Center will accelerate this vision of the mobile device as the remote control for your life, both in the physical and digital worlds."