AMD buys into wireless VR: Is it the start of something bigger?

AMD buys into wireless VR: Is it the starting time of something bigger?

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Nitero aims to change VR by making it wireless

It'southward no secret AMD has had its struggles in both the CPU and GPU markets, and has been left behind by Nvidia when it comes to the booming area of GPGPU (General Purpose computing on GPUs). AMD is aiming to change things up past focusing heavily on the emerging VR and AR markets. It has been working difficult over the concluding several years to become a dominant supplier of GPUs for use in VR and AR, including sponsoring device companies similar SulonQ and even VR-based internet cafes. Now, it has acquired Nitero, maker of chips for wireless streaming of VR content to farther barrier its position.

Ditching the wires is crucial for the hereafter of AMD'due south VR effort

MoVR is a signal amplifier that has the ability to be programmed to rapidly change its transmit direction While the undisputed leader in loftier-cease VR is PC-based solutions, the vast majority of actual devices in the marketplace are mobile headsets that rely on existing smartphones. Sure, Google Cardboard is more or less a toy, and Samsung's Gear VR is aught that would make a PC gamer proud. Simply along with Fantasize, they are a lot less expensive, and a lot easier to use than the tethered versions attached to high-ability PCs. Given how much AMD is betting on VR for its time to come success, it makes sense that it will do everything it can to level the playing field. That starts with getting rid of the clunky tether.

There are a number of competitors working on wireless VR — we've covered both Vive partner TPCAST and MIT's MoVR research project. But Valve's significant investment in Nitero make it a fairly safe choice for AMD. Nitero'south applied science promises very low latency (the company says "on the order of 100s of microseconds") which makes it ideal for VR, and claims that information technology does not crave line of sight — making ideal for room-scale VR.

Still, in the CES 2016 demo, there were some connectivity issues as the user moved around. At the time, Nitero said it would be developing a better solution for non-line-of-sight, possibly including multiple RF arrays. Of course that in plough will drive up the cost and the complication of the solution. Another part of the systems' effectiveness comes from built-in data compression, ranging between about four:1 and 16:i, and a power requirement under a milliwatt.

Nitero is full of promise, but still a bet on the future

The TPCAST receiver clips onto the top headband of the Vive Just similar every other wireless VR organization we know of, Austin-based Nitero's 60GHz chipset isn't available in whatsoever product offerings yet. After the CES 2016 demo, and promises of a product by the end of 2016, not much has come out publicly besides the Valve investment. So nosotros don't know when to expect a product from AMD, or when the chipset will be incorporated into mainstream headsets similar those from Oculus, Vive, and Sony — virtually certainly not until 2018.

AMD also stressed the importance of the intellectual holding and the team it gains with the conquering. Those are ever important, but often when they are mentioned that prominently, information technology means the company needed to notice a buyer, which likely ways its technology needs boosted investment to bring information technology to market.

Information technology may besides signal a broader push into wireless chipsets for AMD. Nitero CEO Pat Kelly will proceeds the newly created position of Corporate VP of Wireless IP at AMD, and Nitero was also reportedly working with makers of 360-degree cameras and devices to provide them with wireless technology. AMD competitors Qualcomm and Intel already have wireless chip divisions, so with wireless becoming an important piece of VR solutions, AMD may feel it needed to have its ain offer.