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You might not be so familiar with Nitero, but the company has quietly become a pioneer in wireless tech solutions. Seeing the company’s success, AMD has announced that it has acquired intellectual property (IP) and ‘key engineering talent’ from the company.
Nitero’s phased-array beamforming millimetre wave chip is said to be of particular interest, as it apparently seen by AMD as a solution for the requirement for line-of-sight associated with traditional high-frequency mm-wave systems used in wireless VR and AR headsets. Ultimately, AMD is utilising this acquisition with a view to do away with wired VR headsets.
“Unwieldly headset cables remain a significant barrier to drive widespread adoption of VR,” said Mark Papermaster, AMD chief technology officer and senior vice president. “Our newly acquired wireless VR technology is focused on solving this challenge, and is another example of AMD making long-term technology investments to develop high-performance computing and graphics technologies that can create more immersive computing experiences.”
The deal also sees Nitero co-founder and CEO Pat Kelly join AMD as CVP of Wireless IP.
“Our world class engineering team has been focused on solving the difficult problem of building wireless VR technologies that can be integrated into next-generation headsets," said Kelly. "We are excited to play a role in furthering AMD’s long-term technology vision.”
AMD has not made any secret of its interest in virtual reality, but it has yet to launch any product in the space asides from its VR-ready Radeon graphics cards. This acquisition makes AMD’s interest even more pronounced and we wouldn’t be surprised to see AMD either launch its own headset or see its tech integrated into another vendor’s VR gear in the near future.
