Microsoft announced that the next generation of its mixed reality HoloLens headset will incorporate an AI chip. This custom silicon — a “coprocessor” designed but not manufactured by Microsoft — will be used to analyze visual data directly on the device, saving time by not uploading it to the cloud. The result, says Microsoft, will be quicker performance on the HoloLens 2, while keeping the device as mobile as possible.
The announcement follows a trend among Silicon Valley’s biggest tech companies, which are now scrambling to meet the computational demands of contemporary AI. Today’s mobile devices, where AI is going to be used more frequently, simply aren’t built to handle these sorts of programs, and when they’re asked, the result is usually slower performance or a burned-out battery (or both).
But getting AI to run directly on devices like phones or AR headsets has a number of advantages. As Microsoft says, quicker performance is one of them, as devices don’t have to upload data to remote servers. This also makes the devices more user-friendly, as they don’t have to maintain a continuous internet connection. And, this sort of processing is more secure, as users’ data never leaves the device.
