Getting a Closer Look on Microsoft’s HoloLens!
During Microsoft’s most recent event, they have revealed the upcoming release of their latest Windows operating system dubbed as Windows 10 which made millions of users eagerly waiting and filled the Internet with news, forums, posts and other updates related to it.
This most recent announcement has become even more interesting and exciting to almost all users around the world when the software giant declared that Windows 10 is going to be given away as a FREE update for 1 year after its official release.
However, that’s not the only announcement that Microsoft made which really caused a great stir on the Internet. Yes! There’s this other announcement made toward the end of the recent Microsoft event and it is the release of a new device called “Microsoft HoloLens”. But, just what exactly is this device all about? What does it do and how will it affect the future of computing and online as well as offline gaming?
The answers to these questions are what we’re going to discuss in greater detail in this tutorial plus some other bonus information about this upcoming device which will surely revolutionize the way people do the most basic tasks that are done with an ordinary computer.
With this device, Microsoft is now set to changing how we interact with the virtual world and make even greater innovations in the world of gaming, social media and communication so if you’ve been intrigued by this brand new breed of device that seems to get head-on with Google Glass and Facebook Oculus then you are actually reading the right article because in here, we’re going to shed more light to all the information which the news intentionally left a little bit vague to create more excitement and anticipation among interested users.
A Little Bit of History
Microsoft HoloLens is actually a headset which users can wear in order to enjoy a whole new world of computing. The project is led by its chief inventor Alex Kipman and is also called “Project Baraboo” or simply “Project B”. It has been under development for over 5 years and Alex is also the person behind the very successful Xbox Kinect which was released in 2010 and easily bacame the all time fastest-selling gaming device that world has ever seen.
The secret behind the success of Xbox Kinect is its revolutionary way in letting gamers control their characters on the screen. This motion-sensing accessory for the Xbox gaming console has really proved to be one of the most successful device that Microsoft’s gaming team have ever developed and everything was made possible by Alex Kipman.
But that’s not the end of everything, even 2 years before Kinect was released in the holiday season of 2010, Microsoft already conceived the idea of a holographic interface and it was not after 5 years of Kinect’s release that the chief inventor Alex Kipman was able to put all the dots an finally develop a revolutionary device that would surely change how we interact with the virtual world.
Project HoloLens is still on its prototype at present but Microsoft, during the event mentioned of its release being set at the same time of the release of Windows 10. Specification for the device were also kept secret for now except for its CPU, GPU and what Microsoft calls a “Holographic Processor” so as to keep the public excited for its formal release.
A Device to Change the World of Computing
With the invention of wearable devices like Google Glass, Oculus and now, Microsoft HoloLens, the world of computing is now moving up for a major change that will make things a lot easier to control and even more personal for each user. In an exclusive interview, Alex Kipman said:
“The next era of computing won’t be about that original digital universe. It is about the analog universe and the analog universe has a fundamentally different rule set” he explained.
This means that the way we interact with computers which is through a screen while providing input to it with the use of a mouse and a keyboard will utterly change in the next generation of devices that will be in the market real sooner. Computers used to follow the commands set by the programs that you use but in the future, you are going to compute in the physical world with the use of your own voice and other physical gestures in order to execute tasks and get data.
The interface will now be layered on top of the actual physical objects and computer programs will be more able to accept, digest and process data enabling them to recognize and handle the more complex computing situations. Cyberspace will literally get out of the digital box and be all around you in the physical world where you live in.
Microsoft HoloLens at Work
After the big announcement of Windows 10 being given our for FREE during its first year, Microsoft also had a demonstration of how HoloLens works. Microsoft has achieved an awesome innovation in the world of computing by incorporating the stuff that used to be confined in the virtual world into a user’s real world. Thanks to HoloLens, users can now view hologram representations of the digital world and interact with it wherever they go.
Just imagine playing Youtube videos on your living room’s concrete wall or playing games on the ceiling while you’re lying down on your bed. By creating Hologram versions of everything, Microsoft is really making the farthest leap among its competitors and this would surely translate to even more satisfied customers.
However, everything is still on its developmental stage and as Alex said, there are still a lot of things to improve in order for it to work flawlessly. This kind of device won’t have a keyboard but instead, it will be controlled by hand gestures and the user’s voice so the need to really make it work perfectly is an important aspect to focus on before it finally hits the shelves.
The device is set to be rolled out for testers in spring and Microsoft will also open it for developers by then. As for the exact date of release, Microsoft has not mentioned any date yet but we will probably know once everything has been streamlined for both Windows 10 and HoloLens. For now, all we can do is wait and anticipate this new device that is now paving its way to its final public release.
Watch Microsoft HoloLens in Action
After Microsoft’s announcement of the new device that they are preparing, their official Youtube channel has uploaded the videos of the demonstration done for the device and as well as the official commercial for it. You can watch these videos by following the links below.
With HoloLens, Microsoft promises to provide a whole new world of computing which blends all your digital needs into your real world and the best for this device is still yet to come. As developers add new programs that will run in it, HoleLens will surely be one of the greatest invention that we will all see since PCs and smart devices came into our world.