In a strategic move that could reshape the future of spatial computing, VoxelSensors announced a new collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. to jointly optimize its breakthrough 3D sensing technology for Snapdragon® XR Platforms. The partnership centers on integrating VoxelSensors’ Single Photon Active Event Sensor (SPAES™) architecture with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon AR2 Gen 1 Platform, with optimized solutions expected to reach select partners by December 2025.
VoxelSensors has spent the past five years developing SPAES™, a novel 3D sensing system designed to overcome the persistent limitations of depth sensing in robotics and extended reality (XR). Unlike traditional sensors, SPAES™ delivers:
• 10x power savings
• Ultra-low latency
• Robust performance across varied lighting conditions
According to the press release, this leap in efficiency and responsiveness is critical for enabling Physical AI, a paradigm where machines interpret the world from a human point of view, learning contextually, predicting needs, and adapting through user-centered feedback loops.
As XR devices push toward lighter form factors and all-day wearability, traditional sensors struggle with power constraints and environmental variability. SPAES™ addresses both, offering a scalable solution that expands operational boundaries while capturing egocentric data to train more intuitive AI agents.
The collaboration will leverage VoxelSensors’ Andromeda 3 devkit, integrating its sensing capabilities with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon AR2 Gen 1 Platform. This pairing enables a flexible, low-latency 3D active event data stream—ideal for next-gen AR smart glasses and immersive XR experiences.
“With our sensors ideally suited for next-generation 3D sensing and eye-tracking systems, and our inference engine for capturing users’ egocentric data, we see great potential in enabling truly personal AI agent interactions only available on XR devices.”
Johannes Peeters, CEO of VoxelSensors
“VoxelSensors’ technology offers the potential to deliver higher performance rates with significantly lower power consumption, which is needed to achieve our vision for small, lightweight AR smart glasses.”
Ziad Asghar, SVP & GM of XR at Qualcomm Technologies
VoxelSensors’ partnership with Qualcomm Technologies arrives at a pivotal moment in the evolution of spatial computing, just as Microsoft officially winds down its HoloLens hardware development. While HoloLens once stood as a beacon for enterprise mixed reality, its discontinuation in late 2024 marked the end of a promising avenue for spatial data capture and immersive interaction.
What’s often overlooked is how HoloLens, with its advanced spatial mapping capabilities, could have laid critical groundwork for the kind of egocentric data collection that VoxelSensors now enables. Microsoft’s headset was designed to continuously map environments, updating spatial meshes in real time as users moved through physical spaces. This ability to build rich, persistent spatial maps from a human point of view was an early step toward Physical AI, where machines learn from how people perceive and interact with the world.
Had Microsoft continued to invest in HoloLens, it might have accelerated the development of spatially aware AI agents and lightweight AR wearables. Instead, the baton now passes to VoxelSensors and Qualcomm. Their integration of SPAES™ sensing with the Snapdragon AR2 Gen 1 Platform offers a new path forward, one that’s more power-efficient, latency-optimized, and tailored for all-day consumer use.
In essence, VoxelSensors is picking up where HoloLens left off, but with a sharper focus on miniaturization, energy efficiency, and egocentric data. This shift not only fills the void left by Microsoft’s exit but also redefines the trajectory of XR innovation, toward devices that are not just spatially aware but deeply personal and adaptive.
This collaboration signals a broader shift in the XR industry, from bulky headsets to sleek, wearable devices that operate seamlessly in real-world conditions. By combining VoxelSensors’ miniaturized sensing tech with Qualcomm’s chipset leadership, the partnership aims to accelerate mainstream adoption of all-day AR wearables.
With the first optimized solutions arriving by the end of 2025, developers and OEMs can expect a new wave of XR products that are smarter, faster, and more power-efficient, bringing us closer to a future where intelligent machines understand not just the world, but the people moving through it.
For more on VoxelSensors’ technology and roadmap, visit their official news page.
