Qualcomm introduces FastCV, the first mobile-optimized computer vision library for Android

Qualcomm has just announced FastCV, the first “mobile-optimized computer vision (CV) library” of APIs that will help CV applications run smoother on ARM-based devices, specifically Qualcomm’s second-gen and up Snapdragon processors. While this might not mean much to you now, it will eventually enable devs to implement apps that utilize face & gesture detection and recognition more efficiently. Qualcomm explains in a blog post:

FastCV is designed for developers interested in creating sophisticated CV apps, as well as CV middleware developers looking to build the frameworks necessary for everyday developers to include computer vision functionality in their apps. Of course, FastCV is the framework at the heart of our vision-based Augmented Reality (AR) SDK, because AR is much more precise and useful when it’s based on camera input than on location-based estimates. We anticipate FastCV will be used by middleware developers to build additional frameworks that will allow developers of computer vision apps to build compelling experiences around CV that take advantage of: gesture recognition, face detection, tracking and recognition, text recognition and tracking, and depth of field calculations.

The FastCV SDK will be made available for Android first on October 26 at the IEEE ISMAR conference in Basel, Switzerland, but you can grab it here if you have a validated Qualcomm developer account.