Microsoft has unveiled its HoloLens headset which will interface with Windows 10 and allow users to see computer-generated 3D objects overlaid on real surroundings. Other companies are continuing to develop AR technologies but with the might of Microsoft behind it HoloLens, unveiled last week at the firm’s HQ in the US, has a good chance of becoming widespread when it is released later this year.
Unlike Oculus Rift which features a closed in headset for a full virtual reality experience, HoloLens has see-through lenses which Microsoft says creates a more personal augmented reality experience for users.
Holograms are overlapped into a user’s vision of their environment and users can raise or lower their finger to ‘midair click’ and interact with these 3D images. A sensor array over in the headset tracks what the user is looking at and sensors on the frame tracks head movement.
Last week the unit was demonstrated with users creating 3D objects by moving their hands and using voice commands, playing Minecraft with the game’s graphics appearing in the walls, floor and furniture of a room, and taking Skype calls with the screen appearing in a nearby wall. In the last example, the other user on the Skype call could ‘see’ what the HoloLens wearer is seeing through the in-built camera and for instance, demonstrate how to fix a problem that the wearer is dealing with.
Further details, such as the price of the headset or how often it will need to be charged, have not yet been released.