Chip giant Intel is teaming up with Total Immersion to introduce augmented reality features into its upcoming computer chips.

The revelation came at the Reuters Global Media Summit, where Antoine Brachet, marketing chief of Total Immersion, said that his company is working closely with Intel on its chipset to introduce some augmented reality features like gesture recognition.

This is a highly significant move, as it means that augmented reality technology would come as part of the hardware itself and not require software downloads to work, which will help with the growth and adoption of the technology.

Intel invested in Total Immersion in March, signalling a vote of confidence in the relatively new augmented reality sector. That investment might pay off with a new feature that Intel can tout over competitors, but Total Immersion has not limited itself to Intel, as it also inked a recent deal with rival chipmaker Texas Instruments.

Augmented reality works by overlaying real life images and videos with digital information, including text and graphics. For example, check out this magician's use of augmented reality to enhance a card trick.

Augmented reality has yet to expand to become a major consumer technology, but it has shown a lot of potential, with UK supermarket chain Tesco introducing it to help people see products before they buy them online.

It is not yet clear when we will see the new Intel chips, but Brachet suggested that it would be between two and three years, depending on how well consumers accept the technology.

Source: Reuters


Read more: Intel and Total Immersion plan augmented reality chips by VR-Zone.com