AMD's Vision of the Future is All About ''Surround Computing''
At today's Hot Chips Symposium, Mark Papermaster, Senior Vice President and CTO of AMD, talks about the future of "Surround Computing".
AMD shared with us that it has spent the last 10-20 years developing processors that could simulate "visual reality," and it's going to spend the next couple of decades turning that 'visual computing era' on its head and develop processors and platforms that start with an image (or series of images, or GPS data, or other environmental data), interpret their contents and context, and use that to deliver better real time experiences to users. Thie company told us that this will leverage both cloud and client based processing, tying together all of the technologies and architectures that AMD has to offer.
Looking at the vision of what Surround Computing is and what is might look like in not-too-distant future, AMD offered up this example:
"Imagine it’s noon and you’re heading out of the office for lunch. As you leave, your mobile device intuitively knows where you’re going by automatically calculating multiple data points streaming in from the built-in GPS, clock, maps and cloud database connection. Since it knows your preferences so well, it goes to your favorite restaurant’s website and checks the specials. A friendly automated voice inside your device springs to life and offers to take your lunch order. You reply, 'lunch salad to go,' and the device places the order for you. By the time you arrive at the restaurant, it’s ready for pickup. An electronic payment was completed while you were in transit, so you don’t even have to reach for your wallet. And all of this happens without downloading apps or typing on your phone."
It may sound like something out of the Jetsons, but keep in mind that this is AMD's visions for decades from now. No back to your regularly scheduled discussion on Surround Computing.
“Surround computing imagines a world without keyboards or mice, where natural user interfaces based on voice and facial recognition redefine the PC experience, and where the cloud and clients collaborate to synthesize exabytes of image and natural language data. The ultimate goal is devices that deliver intelligent, relevant, contextual insight and value that improves consumers’ everyday life in real time through a variety of futuristic applications. AMD is leading the quest for devices that understand and anticipate users’ needs, are driven by natural user interfaces, and that disappear seamlessly into the background,” said Papermaster during his opening remarks.
Papermaster explained that the Surround Computing Era will rely on "robust plug-and-play IP portfolios" including CPUs, GPUs, fixed function logic, and interconnect fabric. He also unveiled key details of AMD's upcoming "Steamroller" CPU architecture while underscoring the benefits of the industry-standard Heterogeneous Systems Architecture (HSA) that enables software developers to easily assign scalar and parallel compute workloads to the most appropriate compute units, and therefore optimize power.
"The road that leads us to the Surround Computing Era will be no less challenging and every bit as exciting as the 20-year journey in graphics processing that brought gamers from ‘Pong’ to today’s modern game titles that feature stunning visual realism,” Papermaster explained. “It will take an industry movement to complete this journey, and HSA provides the clear path forward to enable this next generation in computing."
Read more details from AMD during Hot Chips Symposium on its High Density (Thin) Libraries and Steamroller.




Back in the 1970's, one of Xerox's research teams built a modern-day desktop computer. It had colored GUI, network connection, and other stuff that other computers in the early-mid 1980's didn't have.
The management told the research team that developing computers has no future, and Xerox should only focus on printers.
Back in the 1970's, one of Xerox's research teams built a modern-day desktop computer. It had colored GUI, network connection, and other stuff that other computers in the early-mid 1980's didn't have.
The management told the research team that developing computers has no future, and Xerox should only focus on printers.
AMD has good ideas but they need more potential power. They need perhaps their own Fabs to do great works independently. They need like thousands of engineers not only in case of hardware but way into the software engineers too.
Most of all, they got idea...good but please hurry AMD!
*pun totally intended*
Personally, I'd like to see mass-adoption of the architectural improvements that the modular "fusion" architecture is capable of. Get rid of the crappy, old, archaic, and stale compiling that's been used for the last 2+ decades and make way for something revolutionary. AMD's already working on internal R&D to make this more-widescale, but until that happens...QUEUE THE RHETORIC!!!
I agree, but you have to remember that AMD's market share, and total income is minuscule compared to the one of other electronics companies, like Intel or Samsung.
Their research budget is probably larger than many, in a relative scale
Yet they are able to drive this progress, from the shadowy corners of a world consumed by advertising.
That is something to applaud.
Err...AMD have their own fabs...in fact, they have too much resources and nothing to produce until they're forced to separate the fab entity to become Global Foundaries.
Im sorry, mate, but Intel only leads on the highest 10% of the market. In the rest AMD is pretty much still capable of pushing some competition. I call fanboyism to you statement, even while Intel is a great choice, doesnt mean that AMD is dead now.
I thought AMD spun-off their own fabs as Global Foundries before 2010 due to excess fab resource, and then later abandoned GF due to production issues.
Perfect Christmas gift for every insecure, nutcase, psycho boyfriend to give to his petrified gf who is to scared to leave him for fear of being beat to death.
Thanks for the intelligent comment, you actually got me interested in something I had absolutely no idea about. Xerox...who would have thought?!
mediocre CPU's + crappy GPU drivers = epic fail
Crappy drivers for AMD GPUS? Really? what do you mean by crappy drivers? The fact that developers are more focused on The Way It's Meant To Be Played coding makes a company making crappy drivers? Last articles I saw here gave crossfire a win over SLI. Most cards are a win over Nvidia or equal to Nvidia. You remind me of this Rage game that put the blame on ATI's drivers for the crappy fps and artifacts, only to solve that problem by simply altering something in the game's own ini file?
Is a consumer supposed to be impressed by performance because one HIGH END card proves to be 5% faster than the competition and win its CROWN BACK? How many people buy such high end products? Amd is struggling to keep going without having to merge or being bought. For everyone's sake, pray they will succeed cause then you will find yourselves whining for absurd prices from the other two competitors. Look way back when that was the case.
Yes, uglynerdman, it is clearly a gimmick to boost up their stock market value for me. They seem to need some money.