As I am on the Windows Insider Program, I get advanced announcement of coming events from Microsoft and also asked to participate on the development of Windows 10.
Microsoft has announced one of the most significant developments in Windows 10: Mixed Reality
Microsoft has announced one of the most significant developments in Windows 10: Mixed Reality. I will be getting a Windows 10 mixed reality update as part of my membership in the Windows Insider Program and probably will write future blogs on this new and astounding development.
Mixed reality is breaking down the barrier between the virtual and physical reality. Using a virtual reality device (Hololens) and seeing your hands as you work on a 3D image of a real object is wild. With this device you can bring in a holographic image of another person and collaborate with him. Yikes! Your device can map your environment spatially or you can teleport into the next meeting and bring your team if you so desire. This is wild!
To those of us who work with our computers crunching numbers or a word processing document, this is nothing short of breathtaking. Microsoft believes that the market for these devices will be 80 million per year. Right now many of our devices do not work with each other or provide different user interfaces.
Windows 10 is the first platform to have Windows Holographic which can mix real people and the virtual world fostering creation and collaboration. Windows 10 has built into itself, the human, and environmental and object understanding that is critical for this mixed reality. Microsoft has invited all of its OEM, ODM and hardware parterres to build devices with the Windows Holographic platform.
This astonishing development will create new business opportunities across the board to develop new apps and ancillary items for mixed reality. Microsoft calls its mixed reality device, “Hololens” and has begun shipping these developer kits in March across the country to places like NASA, Case Western Reserve University, Volvo, and more.
How do Hololens work?
Hololens creates holographic computing with no markers, no cameras, no wires, no phones, and no connection to a PC. The developer kit is described as a headset with:
- Pair of concentric circles unfolding like two rings of a 3D solar system
- The inner circle circling your head with a ratcheting dial to tighten it down.
- Beneath the visor are a pair of lens that glint with rainbow light.
- Bringing into view objects that only you can see.
You can activate the virtual objects by bending your index finger to “airtap” them. You can also activate objects by using voice commands. I imagine that it will take some practice to use the Hololens. Significantly, one can use apps from the Microsoft store to run on Hololens and this will provide additional experiences.
The future of computing has never looked better. I hate to end this blog on bad news, but the new Hololens will cost $3000 dollars. It will take a while for us to get them.
Perry J. Mitchell is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer and owns Perry’s Computer Repair
