As Google Glass Fades Away, Microsoft HoloLens Promises and Even More Sci Fi Future

 Augmented Reality  

In a real surprise, Microsoft has announced is getting into holograms, and have built working augmented reality hologram hardware, called HoloLens.

Microsoft surprised everyone yesterday during their preview of Windows 10 in Redmond.  Windows HoloLens is an augmented reality wearable computer that is different than Oculus Rift and Google Glass—the system adds holograms to the world users see. The HoloLens headset is described as "the most advanced holographic computer the world has ever seen."

No cords, no phones, no wires, no tethers.  HoloLens is a true wearable, and uses brand new technology built to process the holograms.

Through the device's transparent lens, users can see the physical world and advanced sensors map it so that you can interact with digital media and physical reality in new ways.

The HoloLens also has spatial 3D sound that lets users to hear holograms and built-in spatial sound lets them hear holograms wherever they are in the room with pinpoint precision.

"As holograms, your digital content will be as real as physical objects in the room. For the first time, holograms will become practical tools of daily life," Microsoft claims.

The device is powered by Windows 10, and will be "available in the Windows 10 timeframe."

HoloLens is a fully functional wearable computer, that is very likely to be close to what the much talked about start-up Magic Leap is developing.  The headset is in the form of glasses, but unlike Google Glass, these glasses map the world around you, and make 3D models appear in your vision—even tracking your hands and voice as they interact with those virtual objects. Microsoft calls this mixed reality.

According to Microsoft, HoloLens intelligently maps the room you’re in, blending holograms with the environment around you. With the device, you can pin holograms to physical locations you choose so that your room becomes the canvas for your holographic projects and games. Depending on which users were in a building, for instance, they might each see different digital hologram art on the walls, or interact with them completely differently.

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With HoloLens, users can drag content off the screens of their devices so that they appear to float in space. A floating 3D cursor is used to click the space in front of you, can then be used to control and interact with the digital asset.

HoloLens is the brainchild of Microsoft's Alex Kipman, who also help invent the Kinect. What Kipman has done is to strap the Kinect sensors to your head, so that your environment can be tracked and the data used in a personalized interactive environment. The prototypes users tested has a field of vision that spans 120 by 120 degrees, which is much greater than the original Kinect, and this allows for sensing of users' hands as well.

The sensors flood the on-board computer, GPU and new, first-of-its-kind HPU (holographic processing unit) with terabytes of data every second. "This is everything that we need to step into the holographic landscape," Kipman said at the official unveiling. On the right side of the HoloLens, buttons allow users to adjust the volume and to control the contrast of the hologram. The device's electronics are vented out the sides, keeping the unit from feeling hot on users' heads.

Encompassing other Microsoft technologies, HoloLens is also integrating Skype calls, as was shown in a demonstration where a remote plumber helps a woman fix her sink.

"I don’t want to remove the headset, which has provided a glimpse of a combination of computing tools that make the unimaginable feel real."

In one of the demonstrations of the HoloLens, users can explore Mars with NASA scientist, Jeff Norris. "After exploring Mars, I don’t want to remove the headset, which has provided a glimpse of a combination of computing tools that make the unimaginable feel real," writes Jessi Hempel in Wired. NASA is also enthusiastic. Norris will showcase Project HoloLens this summer for agency scientists to use for collaborating on a mission.

Developers will be getting HoloLens this spring, and when that happens, we should expect some very interesting application ideas and models. As the video at the top of this post shows, developers are very excited about HoloLens (it is promotional content from Microsoft, but it is worth looking at.)

By 33rd Square

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