Looks like Qualcomm is prepping to change augmented reality and hopefully take it to new levels by launching their mobile augmented reality SDK this fall, starting with an android beta. They want to eventually get the SDK on other devices too. They cite what they call the “quantum leap in the mobile experience” as their reason for going this route. Their initial partners will be Mattel and Unity Technologies and they hope to make waves in this latest area of technology that is just starting to grow and find its place. (pun not intended)
The Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em game from Mattel will show up in an augmented reality version as proof of concept. This will hopefully bring AR beyond the typical virtual layer above the live image from your camera for finding points of interest. This will bring AR/VR to mobile games maybe with a Kinect-ish experience on Android.
Unity Technologies will include this AR SDK in their game development package. No images or video is available yet to show any of this in action yet but it is all mentioned in the press release.
If you are a dev you can sign up now to get into the beta, and also be involved in the dev challenge hosted by Qualcomm based on their SDK when it is released. Check it out here if you are interested.