LiquidVR | Immersive Virtual Reality Technology | AMD

What is Virtual Reality?

Virtual Reality or VR is a computer-generated environment that aspires to deliver immersive, interactive and intuitive user experiences that seem every bit as real as the physical world. VR creates a sense of realism by simulating a users physical presence within a software-created world, assisted by powerful computer hardware, software, and visual technologies.

Currently, VR requires powerful computing and graphics capabilities, advanced VR software, a camera/device that tracks your movements, and a specialized goggle-style headset or head-mounted display unit (HMD). The VR headset creates a three-dimensional effect and enhances the illusion of depth, similar to how special 3D eyeglasses create a sense of depth when viewing 3D movies, although the technology is vastly different.

LiquidVR is an AMD initiative dedicated to making VR as comfortable and realistic as possible by creating and maintaining whats known as presence a state of immersive awareness whereby situations, objects, or characters within the virtual world seem real. Guided by close collaboration with key technology and ecosystem partners, AMDs innovative LiquidVR technology enables beautifully rich and immersive VR experiences by simplifying and optimizing VR content creation, unlocking many unique AMD hardware features designed to seamlessly interplay with headsets.

AMD believes that VR has an incredible future ahead, and is committed to ensuring that people using AMD products and developers creating VR content to run on AMD products will enjoy and create the best possible VR experiences. AMDs current VR technology initiative focuses on the Three Cs of ensuring an enjoyable VR experience: content, comfort, and compatibility.

We expect a wide variety of VR devices to emerge in coming months and years. Many of these devices may represent entirely new categories, and may not initially have native support from content and operating system ecosystems. LiquidVR is designed to help make the end-to-end installation experience as intuitive as possible particularly for the display and GPU subsystem portions.

An amazing range of visual experiences are being developed by the content creators for VR, and we need a hardware and software strategy that is different than the one-size-fits-all model employed for most 2D applications. With LiquidVR, users of AMD technology can build multi-GPU and multi-core CPU systems with solutions available on the market today.

To take advantage of the benefits of AMD LiquidVR technology, users will require: a PC with a LiquidVR-compatible AMD Radeon graphics product installed, an HMD compatible with AMD GPU technologies and AMD LiquidVR technology, and a compatible AMD Catalyst graphics driver.

All Radeon GPUs based on the Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture support the current AMD LiquidVR feature set. However, the minimum performance requirements required for the best VR experience will vary between different HMD/content platforms.

The following Radeon graphics products are recommended for use with the Oculus Rift:

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The following Radeon graphics products are recommended for use with the HTC Vive:

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We will evaluate product requirements for additional VR headsets as they become available.

Currently, VR requires powerful computing and graphics capabilities, advanced VR software, a camera/device that tracks your movements, and a specialized goggle-style headset or head-mounted display unit. A system that utilizes AMD LiquidVR technology will unlock many unique hardware features designed to seamlessly interplay with headsets to enable smooth and immersive VR experiences.

Any PC equipped with a compatible Radeon GPU can support AMD LiquidVR technology, though some VR applications may have their own minimum performance requirements. We are also working together with system builders and VR headset vendors to qualify systems that have been specifically configured to provide an optimal VR experience check amd.com/VR for up-to-date information.

AMD is working with major HMD vendors and intends to support the widest possible variety of VR products upon their commercial release. Both Oculus Rift and HTC Vive support LiquidVR technology.

VR headsets are available from various VR HMD manufacturers today. Users will need to obtain a VR headset compatible with AMDs GPU technologies and AMD LiquidVR technology. Please contact VR HMD manufacturers directly for pricing and availability.

The latest AMD Radeon Software supports AMD LiquidVR technologyfor compatible AMD Radeon graphics products on Microsoft Windows based systems. Download it here.

We are working with a wide range of leading VR game and game engine developers to take advantage of the LiquidVR feature set. However the technology is by no means limited to games the benefits are applicable to a broad spectrum of VR applications, including interactive cinema, education, simulation, telepresence, and much more.

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LiquidVR | Immersive Virtual Reality Technology | AMD