Intel abandons its autonomous virtual reality headset project

Intel abandons its autonomous virtual reality headset project

Summary

End clap for the Alloy Project. Initiated by Intel a little over a year ago, this virtual reality headset designed to operate independently will not see the light of day. Chronicle of an unexpected failure. 

It could have been a small revolution in the field of virtual reality headsets. The Alloy Project, announced by the company in August 2016 promised a completely autonomous system. But the company has just announced that it would never see the light of day. She should now focus on other projects related to virtual reality.



An exit announced by Intel for the end of the year

Intel abandons its autonomous virtual reality headset project

It's a mini thunderclap in the microcosm of virtual reality. Announced last year, the subject of a conference at CES 2017 in Las Vegas, the Alloy Project has now been abandoned by Intel. However, at the beginning of the year again, the company announced its exit for the last quarter of 2017. If you were waiting for it to make it a Christmas present, your plan will have to be revised!

This virtual reality headset, or rather “fused reality,” was designed to be completely autonomous, without a PC or smartphone. It had to carry two Intel RealSense cameras, vision accelerators, and a battery. The concept of merged reality consisted of using the real setting as a virtual environment. Its abandonment by Intel does not necessarily mean the disappearance of the idea since Intel has authorized other companies to take over the technologies.


The company does not give up ambitions in VR

Intel abandons its autonomous virtual reality headset project

What are the main reasons for this abandonment by Intel? The main one is the difficulty in finding an economic partner to develop this helmet with them. This lack of enthusiasm could be explained by the difficulties and the potentially very important costs of an autonomous system. In addition, many manufacturers (Dell, HP, Lenovo, Acer, and Asus) are already release their own systems running Windows for the end of the year. The difficulty of integrating everything into a single helmet while keeping it “usable” has also perhaps proved to be very important.



It is important to note, however, that Intel is not definitively drawing the line from the virtual reality field. The company does not intend to miss its opportunity when it is already in difficulty in the mobile processor sector where Samsung is now the world's leading manufacturer. She will continue to work with HTC to bring its wireless technology called Wigig on the Vive. At the same time, she is still working on adapting her Portal Ridge to allow streaming from Steam VR to a smartphone and her connected virtual reality headset.


 

To find out everything about virtual reality headsets, discover new products and innovative trends, our tests and reviews, go to our dedicated section.



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