Redshark News
Microsoft has unveiled HoloLens 2, an upgraded version of the
mixed-reality headgear and the nearest thing yet to being able to
interact Minority Report style with the dimensional internet.
But this is not aimed at gamers, visual entertainment, office workers or casual
punters. This is a hardcore piece of computing for industry which takes AR very
seriously indeed.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said at the launch event in
Barcelona that it was targeting use by large corporations in manufacturing,
design, training and even warfare. Actually he didn’t mention war or that the
firm has already drawn the ire of some of its own employees by selling an
arsenal of HoloLens 2 kit to the US military.
Like Google, Facebook and
noisy start-up Magic Leap, Microsoft thinks of AR as the next level of
computing, one that frees us from being tethered to hardware and that opens up
a spatial dimension to interfacing with the matrix.
“This new medium is just the
beginning of experiencing what's possible when you connect the digital world to
the physical world to transform how we work, learn and play," Nadella
said.
So, let’s run down the key
advances.
More comfortable: Had
to be really didn’t it? Each iteration will get lighter, and more discrete.
Although, a few ounces lighter the principal reason for an allegedly more
comfortable experience (Microsoft said it is three times more comfortable) is
that some of the system’s weight has been shifted to the back of the head.
Unlike Magic Leap One, the H2 doesn’t need its processing to be worn in a belt
pack, so it’s still more bulky than its nearest rival, but the ergonomics of
the new design are winning some plaudits even if it has been likened to wearing
a welder’s helmet. Maybe that’s the point?
Flip-up visor: Like
a welder’s helmet you can make eye contact with a real human and then flip the
glass down again for more virtual/reality fusion.
Double the field of view: The
original HoloLens had a 34-degree diagonal FOV; the new version has been upped
to a 52-degree diagonal FOV. In addition, resolution has leapt from 720p to the
equivalent of 2K per eye. It has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 processor an
on-board custom AI holographic co-processor.
Connects to Azure: Microsoft
has never been a hardware company and it isn’t about to change now. HoloLens 2
is built to be a cloud connected device and not just into its own Azure cloud
but via Azure to connect users of Android and Apple devices. It would mean a
user could generate a hologram in one place and have it shared by users on
multiple devices.
SDK for app developers: Microsoft
is rolling out a number of Dynamics 365 branded apps for HoloLens. They include
Dynamics 365 Product Visualize for showcasing products in 3D, Remote Assist for
helping visualise product or system repair issues (as mundane or as practical
as fixing a lift in a skyscraper) and a coming Dynamics 365 Guides application
for 3D training at scale. Those that have tried this out liken the experience
to a floating Lego manual for reality. Which sounds like it’s fun and easy and
satisfying to me. Better than say a floating Ikea manual for reality.
Retina tracking
extraordinare: Here’s where it gets even more interesting. Internal
cameras will track your eyes and recognise where you're looking so you don't
even have to move your head at all. That’s not new of course, but Microsoft has
given this the most full-bloodied representation yet. Eye tracking measures
your eye movement and uses it to interact with virtual objects. For example,
this means you can read a news story on a holographic browser, and the page
will scroll for you. There are incredible uses here for communication by the
physically disabled when all you need to pick, point and alter objects are your
eyes.
HoloLens 2 will also track
your hands without any additional controllers. It means you can walk up to a
virtual object in HoloLens 2 and manipulate it (push, hit, squash it) with your
hands. Microsoft calls it articulated hand gestures which means you can pick up
a hologram and move it in space. You can imagine all sorts of ways of
interacting with virtual objects including text, photographs and video with
this alliance of eye movement and physical gesture. It may eventually become as
second nature as scrolling with a mouse or typing on a keyboard.
Eye-tracking is also used for
biometric security, too. The HoloLens 2 has iris scanning via Windows Hello, so
users can instantly log in to Windows and launch their personal account or
remember personal headset preferences.
Brain-wave tracking: Microsoft’s
AR chief Alex Kipman said the HoloLens 2's eye-tracking cameras could also
measure your emotions via tiny eye changes. CNET reports that at Microsoft's
Human Factors Lab in Redmond Virginia, they are testing an EEG-sensing
headpiece to measure brainwave activity. "We didn't necessarily use this
much on HoloLens, but we see this as an opportunity ... we're using it on some
other things,” says the Microsoft spokesperson cryptically.
Shipping: Second
half of this year.
Costs $3,500: A
pricetag which reflects its target industrial market. Microsoft is also
offering HoloLens 2 as a bundle for three years along with a subscription to
its Dynamics 365 packages. Companies like Airbus, Bosch, Honeywell and Saab are
already test partners for HoloLens 2 and may value the ability to speed product
design or diagnose problems on an oil rig or production line with holographic
imagery and save the cost of physically sending technicians. Magic Leap One
goggles aren’t much cheaper at U$2,295 – but they are cheaper.
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