HoloLens 2 Update News: Microsoft Announces AI Coprocessor for Next-Gen Mixed Reality Headset

By Kristinova V. Justimbaste, Christian Post Contributor Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Microsoft recently confirmed that the second installment of the mixed reality HoloLens headset, which is still in development, will come with an AI coprocessor.

Executive Vice President of HoloLens' Artificial Intelligence and Research Group Harry Shum made the announcement. The coprocessor will be used to analyze visual data directly on the gadget. With that in mind, the second version is expected to perform faster.

The AI coprocessor, which runs continuously "off the HoloLens battery," will not slow down the device's performance nor will it burn out the device's battery, unlike most devices today that come with an AI. By making the AI run on mobile devices and AR headsets, gadgets become more user-friendly. Since a stable internet connection will not be necessary by then, in turn, the device will become more secure, as data will not have to leave it.

The coprocessor will reportedly be placed inside the device's Holographic Processing Unit that processes information from on-board sensors, head-tracking cameras, the inertial measurement unit, as well as the infrared camera. With the contemporary AI, data from these fields will be analyzed using deep neural networks.

With the coprocessor's placement, the next-generation HoloLens will be able to recognize objects within its line of sight.

The race to build the next-generation AI processor is on. Microsoft is among the leading tech giants that are developing custom AI processors. ARM, Intel, NVIDIA, Google, and Qualcomm are doing the same as well. Rumor has it that Apple is, too, for its iPhone smartphone unit. It is dubbed the Apple Neural Engine.

The HoloLens is the world's first and only fully self-contained holographic computer.

The tech giant has yet to reveal a release date for the HoloLens 2, but it is expected to launch sometime in 2019.

More updates should roll out soon.