KDDI and nreal Form Strategic Partnership to Plan, Develop Smartglasses Using XR Technology

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―Joint creation of experiences transcending time and space for a wide range of uses in the era of 5G―

  • KDDI CORPORATION

May 31,2019

KDDI CORPORATION (Headquarters: Chiyoda, Tokyo, President: Makoto Takahashi) has formed a strategic partnership with nreal (nreal, Headquarter: Beijing, CEO: Chi Xu) to create new forms of communication and to approach Spatial Computing in the coming era of 5G, including joint planning and development of smartglasses using XR technology in Japan.

In anticipation of the changes that will be brought on by widespread 5G telecommunications technologies, KDDI is moving forward with various partner companies to begin practical testing of smartglasses in Japan from June 2019. The devices will produce new experiences to transcend time and space with using XR technology.

In this comprehensive partnership, KDDI will help with the development of domestic Japanese products using the 'light' smartglasses technology developed by nreal. KDDI will help optimize the potential of smartglasses for the Japanese domestic market through practical testing. The effort includes customization for products that are easy for Japanese consumers to wear.
The 'light' smartglasses to be used in future verification tests are going to be connected to either smartphones or computing unit equipped with the Snapdragon (TM) 845 chipset made by Qualcomm, compatible with an AR/VR app that enables position tracking for users. They are the first smartglasses with a wide 52°viewing angle with only 88g of their weight.

Yasuhisa Yamada, KDDI deputy general manager for the product and customer service sector, welcomed the strategic partnership: "At KDDI, we anticipate the coming era of 5G technology as we work to make the world a more enjoyable place by integrating telecommunications and life design. I believe that XR technology is an essential part of that process, and through this partnership with nreal, we will create experiential value that will bring excitement to our customers. Moving forward, we will conduct verification tests using XR technology in every possible field together with our partner firms as we pursue the creation of new business models for the age of 5G."

"I think Japan will soon be a major market for smartglasses," said Chi Xu, CEO of nreal. "It is a great honor for us to be involved in making next-generation spatialS computing happen in this field together with KDDI, one of the world's major telecommunications companies."

As KDDI works to integrate telecommunications with life design, we will fulfill our role as a company that provides excitement, creating new kinds of communication through XR applications in the 5G era to generate new experiential value.

1. Comprehensive partnership overview

Joint planning and development of smartglass products for the Japanese market
Domestic verification testing in Japan with the partner company

2. Key features of nreal product

  • (1)
    'light' smartglass
    Weight: 88g
    Wide 52° viewing angle
    3 cameras (5MP RGB camera and dual SLAM cameras))
    Six Degrees of Freedom (6DoF) compatibility
    Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) compatibility
  • (2)
    computing unit
    Connected to 'light' smartglass with USB type-C cable
    Equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon (TM) 845 chipset
    Weight: 170g
  • The information contained in the news releases is current at the time of publication. Products, service fees,service content and specifications, contact information, and other details are subject to change without notice.