Both Microsoft and Google envision a not-so-distant future in which donning smart headgear to repair an elevator or assemble a tractor motor is the norm. Over the past several days, both tech giants have revealed they're each taking concrete and compelling steps to make that happen.
Microsoft just revealed that it's working on a new artificial intelligence chip to power its second-generation HoloLens headset. The coprocessor's chief job will be implementing deep neural networks — a machine learning technique with a structure that loosely resembles the human brain — into the HoloLens' core processing unit. A dedicated A.I. chip is necessary for a gadget like the HoloLens, says Microsoft, which must be able to comprehend large amounts of complex data gathered by its depth and camera sensors without latency. Microsoft hasn't said when it will release the updated HoloLens headset, but speculation at this point has it arriving in 2019 .