AI challenge pushes Microsoft further into chip development

Seattle

TECH companies are keen to bring cool artificial intelligence (AI) features to phones and augmented reality goggles - the ability to show mechanics how to fix an engine, say, or tell tourists what they are seeing and hearing in their own language. But there's one big challenge: how to manage the vast quantities of data that make such feats possible without making the devices too slow or draining the battery in minutes and wrecking the user experience.

Microsoft Corp says it has the answer with a chip design for its HoloLens goggles - an extra AI processor that analyses what the user sees and hears right there on the device rather than wasting precious microseconds sending the data back to the cloud. The new processor, a version of the company's existing Holographic Processing Unit, was due to be unveiled at an event in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Monday. The chip is under development and will be included in the next version of HoloLens; the company didn't provide a date.