Microsoft Project Volterra Announced: All We Know About It
Microsoft has just released a new project called “Project Volterra” in its build 2022 event. It is a device powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon SoC that will enable the developers to explore “AI scenarios” using Qualcomm’s new Neural Processing SDK.
According to Microsoft, Project Volterra will be featuring a “best-in-class” neural processor that will deliver superior computing capacity with efficiency.
This Qualcomm Chip will be ARM-Based that will enable the developers to test and build native-ARM apps with the support of app development applications such as Visual Studio, VSCode, etc.
Project Volterra is a prelude for developers who wants to develop native-ARM apps. This project comes with the native support of VSCode, Visual C++, NET 6, Visual Studio 2022, Java, Windows terminal, Windows subsystem for Linux, and Windows subsystem for Android. Additionally, support for open-source projects such as Python, Node, git, and LLVM will be added soon.
The neural processing SDK toolkit for Windows will analyze the performance of the deep neural networks by debugging and executing developers’ commands on windows devices.
It will also provide tools for executing and converting AI models on Snapdragon-based Windows devices with support for additional APIs to target specific processor cores with different performance and power profiles.
The Future of Project Volterra:
This new Qualcomm neural processing SDK for windows, combined with Project Volterra, is said to deliver a massive performance boost for Windows users. It will be achieved by leveraging the efficient and powerful performance of “Qualcomm’s AI Engine.”
Now, this new AI tool is not limited to Project Volterra, as eventually, this system will end up in the consumer laptops based on Windows.
Recently Qualcomm has released a Snapdragon 8cx Gen3 SoC that is specifically engineered to compete with the likes of Apple M-series silicon. This new system-on-chip by Qualcomm features an AI accelerator and Hexagon processor that can be majorly effective in AI video and photo processing.
In 2022, dedicated AI chips are becoming a new norm after the introduction of the widely successful Macbook M1 by Apple. Every other mobile chip manufacturer is working on their AMR-based SoCs.
Microsoft is among the major player as they are working rigorously to add ARM chip support to their newly released Windows 11.
