microsoft hololens is the first fully
self-contained holographic computer to
run windows 10. now with the
introduction of hololens 2 every
hololens device provides
commercial-ready management capabilities
that are enhanced by the reliability
security and scalability of cloud and ai
services from microsoft on that note
let's check out microsoft's hololens
what you don't know
number 10 what's hololens microsoft
hololens is an untethered holographic
computer it refines the holographic
computing journey started by the first
generation of hololens to provide a more
comfortable and immersive experience
paired with more options for
collaborating in mixed reality polo lens
2 runs on the windows holographic os
which is based on a flavor of windows 10
that provides users admins and
developers with a robust performant and
secure platform hololens microsoft's
holographic augmented reality headset or
mixed reality if you're being picky took
everyone by surprise when it was
unveiled at a windows 10 event at the
beginning of 2015. the hololens headset
a bold piece of hardware it was also the
first sign that microsoft was taking ar
and vr seriously with the second sign
being its line of lower end windows
mixed reality headsets however it also
comes with a bold price three thousand
dollars now whether you bought the
development edition in march of 2016 or
grabbed the version opened up to anyone
with a microsoft account a couple months
later that bold price stayed bold
surprisingly the development edition of
the hololens comes with plenty of
software consumers can actually use and
the device is accessible enough that you
don't need to be a developer to work
with it once you get used to the limited
field of vision of the holograms and
master the somewhat awkward bloom and
airtap gestures required to control it
there is definitely some fun to be had
right out of the box
number nine depth camera part of the
hololens magic is the depth camera it
works like a smaller version of the
kinect camera on xbox but it uses one
tenth of the power and has a field of
view equivalent to a 15 inch screen from
two feet away the depth camera is what
hololens uses to see and understand your
environment so they can figure out where
your desk is which hand you're holding
out for gestures and help track your
head movements with help from other
sensors on the device
number eight cover your walls with web
pages the hololens can run some normal
windows 10 apps displaying them as
glowing windows floating in the air
microsoft edge comes installed on the
hololens development edition so you can
just open up a bunch of different web
browser windows and scatter them around
the room they automatically snap to
walls if the hololens detects them and
you can manually place and resize them
anywhere around you where they will
remain
number 7 voice enabled and motion
tracking the hololens is controlled by
gestures voice and a small clicker
controller to make things a little more
varied the only physical controls on the
device are the power switch a volume
button and contrast controls for the
holographic lenses built-in voice
commands allows you to quickly navigate
and operate hololens 2 when your hands
are occupied with a task you can also
enjoy a new level of context and human
understanding hololens 2 understands
precisely where you're looking so it can
understand your intent and adapt the
holograms to your eyes in real time and
the best part is you can touch grasp and
move holograms in ways that feel natural
hololens 2 adapts to your hands for a
new found satisfaction in your
interactions you can move freely with no
wires or external packs to get your way
on the job and expand your holographic
canvas with high resolution large
field-of-view displays
number 6 hologram this is where hololens
gets really exciting because what you
see through the lenses isn't a simple
transparent version of your smartphone
interface like google glass microsoft is
going full ar with virtual 3d models of
objects that can either appear as part
of your real surroundings or combine
with reality to make up a completely new
one these aren't holograms in the
traditional sci-fi sense of projected
glowing 3d avatars but there are a
number of similarities for starters
microsoft is working on a feature it
calls pinning which allows the hololens
wearer to lock a hologram in place and
then move it around to view it from
different angles which makes that object
feel like a real part of your
environment thanks to a lack of wires a
big advantage over say an oculus rift
the hololens is truly portable so being
able to walk around a virtual object
becomes possible microsoft wants
developers to create new apps games and
experiences for hololens using its mixed
reality platform to do that you're going
to have to tie into windows 10 which
will make it easier for developers to
get on board so no it's not totally an
attempt to get windows 10 back in front
of our vision
number five video call on skype and
share holographic vision skype is
already available on the hololens and
it's pretty fun video calls appears
floating windows in front of you like
vid windows from reboot since the
hololens doesn't have any cameras
pointing at you your video feed instead
shows whoever you're talking to on your
own view complete with any holograms
you've set up around the room
number four the sound effect a big focus
of vr companies such as oculus vr has
been on the audio as this can make the
difference between creating a truly
immersive environment and leaving
wearers cold since the hololens is ar
not vr there's less of an obsession with
tricking your mind into believing it
somewhere it's not but sound is still
part of the package as we said the
speakers sit above your ears and will
deliver spatial audio this means that
in-app or in-game audio will come from
different directions based on where you
are in relation to the virtual object
making the sound just like you know real
life
number three the lenses blending virtual
models environments and holograms with
well reality means that the lenses are
transparent similar to those found in
google glass as well as rival smart
glasses and goggles from sony and others
there are two one for each eye and they
are made up of three layers of glass
blue green and red a light engine above
the lenses projects light into the
headset and tiny corrugated grooves in
each layer of glass diffract these light
particles making them bounce around and
helping to trick your eyes into
perceiving virtual objects at virtual
distances
number two real-time applications if you
have a big empty room and want to
decorate it the free hollow planner app
lets you see what it will look like
before you do any heavy lifting hollow
planner is a very limited demo that lets
you place cabinets chairs desks shelves
and tables around any room there are
only a few dozen very simple pieces of
furniture to choose from but you can at
least see what a cabinet will look like
in an empty corner it's a fun glance at
the future of home decor and shows how
furniture and home improvement companies
can use the hololens in the future
number one apps and games so the tech is
here and it feels like the future but
what can you actually do with a hololens
headset microsoft showcases a small
selection of the nearly 150 hololens
apps on its website which includes the
likes of skype and other interesting
games and experiences two of the newest
experiences are hollow guide and hollow
here hollow guide will well guide you
through low visibility areas why hollow
here can instantly translate speech into
sign language for deaf people there's
also tmrn which can overlay prompts and
instructions on a real piano to help
turn you into beethoven there are plenty
more too hollow studio lets you create
holograms and turn them into 3d objects
using a 3d printer action gram beta uses
holograms to tell stories and robo raid
is a mixed reality first person shooter
that uses gestures and gaze to fire at
the enemy microsoft has also announced
that hololens will be compatible with
all universal windows 10 apps including
onedrive maps remote desktop groov music
and microsoft office apps but it's here
where things get really interesting if
it doesn't get more legit than nasa
wanting to play one of the first demos
microsoft was pushing no less or walking
about on the surface of mars scientists
at nasa's jet propulsion laboratory will
view images captured by the curiosity
rover through hollow lens headsets in
order to work as if they're really there
on the red planet it just cannot get any
better than this so what do you think
what do you make of microsoft's hololens
how much are you looking forward to it
let us know in the comments below we
hope you enjoyed watching the video as
much as we enjoyed bringing it for you
see you next time and goodbye
[Music]