What is the mysterious accessory "Processor Unit" of Sony's VR headset "PlayStation VR"?

VR headset for PlayStation 4 scheduled to be released in October 2016 "PlayStation VRIn addition to the body of the VR headset "Processor unit"Equipment called is attached. This is not for expanding the graphic performance of PlayStation 4, but it seems to be a device that makes the world of VR more real with technology that takes advantage of Sony's unique strength.

PlayStation VR's processor unit does not add any power to the PS4 | Polygon
http://www.polygon.com/2016/3/16/11247288/playstation-vr-processor-unit-ps4

You can understand what kind of hardware the PlayStation VR is by watching the following movie.

PlayStation®VR | Coming October 2016 - YouTube


The black rectangular parallelepiped in the bundle list of PlayStation VR is the processor unit. Footprint is the same size as CD album jacket.


Processor unit equipped with HDMI port has thickness of 4 CD cases.


this isThe VergeIs a real picture of the processor unit taken at the venue of GDC 2016. It seems to be connected between PlayStation 4 and PlayStation VR.


According to its name, CPU and GPU are installed in the processor unit. At first glance, it seems to be a terminal for strengthening graphic performance for VR as an external graphic of PlayStation 4, but according to Chris Norden of Sony engineer, strengthening the audio function is a big role .

In order to make the world of VR more realistic and increase the immersive feeling, not only fine images but also advanced sounds are necessary. By converting the sound into 3D audio in real time, the processor unit can create a more realistic virtual reality world by generating sound from every direction 360 degrees in the ears of the user wearing the PlayStation VR headset.

The processor unit also has a GPU and performs graphics processing, but this is for drawing "social screen" which outputs the video being played on the headset to the external monitor at 720p, and the PlayStation 4's It is not meant to increase GPU performance.

PlayStation VR is expected to be able to produce VR space more than Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, depending on the processor unit which audio equipment maker's unique sound technology was introduced.