Last year, Intel announced it was working on a standalone virtual reality (VR) headset called Project Alloy. Originally slated for release in 2017, now it seems the device will not be making an appearance, as Intel has cancelled the project.
Project alloy was designed to be a self-contained head-mounted display (HMD) with a separate controller, inside-out tracking and 6DoF control. It was meant to act as a ‘reference system’ with shared technology and open APIs.
It seems that Intel has decided to abandon the project, according to Road to VR, this is due to a lack of interest from Intel’s partners. There’s been no further information on why there was a lack of interest, or if there was anything specific that Intel’s partners objected to. There has been some speculation that might be due to Intel’s preferred manufacturing partners, such as Acer, Dell and Asus choosing to get involved with building Windows 10 mixed reality (MR) headsets.
A statement sent to Road to VR from Kim Pallister, Intel’s Virtual Reality Centre of Excellent Director, suggested the company was concentrating on developing other VR-related technologies, such as the WiGig link for wireless VR.
The statement said: “Intel has made the decision to wind down its Project Alloy reference design, however we will continue to invest in the development of technologies to power next-generation AR/VR experiences. This includes: Movidius for visual processing, Intel RealSense™ depth sensing and six degrees of freedom (6DoF) solutions, and other enabling technologies including Intel WiGig, Thunderbolt, and Intel Optane™. All of these Intel technology solutions are supported by a robust portfolio of software capabilities, and we’re building out a VR support ecosystem, from software design kits to reference designs, to spur innovation that’s enabling rich and immersive content. Project Alloy served as a great proof of concept for Intel and the industry – showing what’s possible in a high-performance, immersive and untethered VR experience. What we’ve learned through Project Alloy will inform future efforts.”
VRFocus will bring you further news on Intel’s VR projects as it becomes available.
via Mint VR