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Microsoft's Layout and Remote Assist apps are just what HoloLens needs
It's one thing to talk about how much HoloLens could help businesses, and it's another to show it. That's just what Microsoft did yesterday, when it led me into two elaborate demos for its latest Mixed Reality apps: Layout and Remote Assist. The former lets you design physical spaces virtually, rather than just relying on blueprints. Remote Assist, on the other hand, lets you collaborate with people while letting them see through your eyes using HoloLens. While they're not the sort of apps that would make HoloLens a must-have for everyone, based on my demos, they could make life easier for certain professionals. And that's exactly what Microsoft wants.
Leap Motion crafts a reference design for cheap AR headsets
Leap Motion is a company most famous for building a gesture-recognition doodad for PCs that wound up integrated into keyboards. Since then, however, it has built ever-smarter sensors that can bring hand gestures to VR without the use of dedicated controllers. Now, the outfit is taking its biggest ever, er, jump by announcing Project North Star, a proposed augmented reality headset it plans to open-source next week.
HoloLens adds mixed reality to a Japanese national treasure
One of the best ways to give centuries-old artifacts a modern touch is mixed reality. The technology allows you to add interesting elements to any object without actually touching or altering it in any way. Microsoft, for instance, has helped Tokyo-based mixed reality lab hakuhodo-VRAR turn a Japanese national artwork from the 1600s into an interactive experience for HoloLens. They're applying mixed reality to the The Folding Screen of Fujin and Raijin (Wind and Thunder God), explaining the motivations of its Edo-period artist, Tawaraya Sōtatsu, in an immersive experience.
The auto industry is head over heels for VR
Virtual reality and augmented reality are all over the North American International Auto Show floor. Chevrolet, Ford, Honda, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen are all using the tech to show off their latest cars and concepts. During the industry preview days (the show is open to the public through Sunday, January 28th) lines to try the experiences stretched around each booth. The value to prospective customers is directly tied to the quality of each experience, though, and that quality shifts dramatically from one automaker to the next. Instead of thoughtful experiences that work within VR's current limitations and are simultaneously informative and entertaining, more often than not, the VR implementations felt like cheap amusement park gimmicks with little regard for the user's comfort.
The most eye-catching cars and tech from NAIAS 2018 in Detroit
The North American International Auto Show's press and industry preview week is winding down, but the show is far from over. Next week the NAIAS opens to the public and if can't make it to the Mitten State yourself but still want a peek at what's tucked inside Detroit's Cobo Center, we've got you covered. HoloLens and VR? Check. A Chevy pick-up with snowmobile treads for tires? Mhrm. Same goes for a Mercedes G-Class Wagon trapped inside a brick of "amber" resin. Hell, we even got the Michelin Man to flex his muscles for a photo. There's a lot to see, so kick back, pour yourself a frosty beverage and peep the slideshow below on the biggest monitor available.
'Dance with flARmingos' hides a deeper discussion behind goofy moves
Flamingos are all legs and pink feathers -- an iconic symbol of kitsch America. They're still a bird though; a species that's struggled against global warming and human development on its habitats. For the past two years, artist Kristin Lucas' work has revolved around flamingos. She's adopted 20 of 'em, but suspected she'd never meet any of them. Dance with flARmingos tries to bring people closer to the bird, combining mixed and augmented reality tricks to immerse the attendee in a flock of strutting flamingos. Lucas' enthusiasm for the bird is infectious -- here's the story behind the project.
Microsoft sued over HoloLens patent infringements
Microsoft's HoloLens has hit a legal speed bump. The mixed-reality device, which is gaining traction with businesses, is at the center of a patent infringement lawsuit filed by HoloTouch. The Connecticut-based company alleges that HoloLens infringes on two of its patents -- dating back over a decade -- relating to its holographic imaging tech. HoloTouch is now seeking a jury trial and triple damages (although a specific amount hasn't been outlined), claiming that Microsoft "wilfully" knew about its patented technology for years.
'Dance with flARmingos' in a mixed reality mating ritual
Flamingos rule everything around her. Her clothes are covered in them. Her workspace is littered with representations of their spindly legs and hot-pink plumes. She's spent hours studying their migratory patterns, mating rituals and native environments. She's traveled the world speaking to conservationists and ornithologists to better understand them. She even adopted 20 of the winged icons to aid in her research and their preservation.
Microsoft HoloLens is now certified protective eyewear
Microsoft first launched HoloLens in 2015 as a gaming-centric consumer product, but so far, very few folks have so much as picked up a Minecraft block with the $3,000 device. Microsoft isn't complaining, though. HoloLens has been a big success with businesses, allowing designers to visualize digital changes on real-life objects and helping employees do complex tasks or high-tech sales demos. In fact, it's been so popular with companies that Microsoft is now expanding sales to 29 new European markets, taking the total up to 39 nations.
HoloLens is helping Ford designers prototype cars quicker
When Google released Glass Enterprise, it took a consumer-oriented product written off as privacy-invading nonsense and made it incredibly useful for businesses. Microsoft is effectively doing the same with its $3,000, not-yet-for-consumers HoloLens by introducing it to designers who find that price a relative bargain. Take Ford, which has been testing HoloLens over the last year to help stylists and engineers visualize and test products, considerably shortening the design phase.
Microsoft Hololens patent hints at a new wand-style controller
Microsoft has been focused more on mixed reality lately than Hololens AR lately, unveiling VR motion controllers and helping Dell, Lenovo, Acer, HP and others with their MR headset launches in May. It's still on the job with Hololens, though, as Twitter user @h0x0d (WalkingCat) discovered a Microsoft patent for a wand-like interface for the headset. It looks like it could serve as a gaming gun or business pointing device, as it comes with a trigger, buttons and a finger shield.
The next HoloLens will use AI to recognize real-world objects
We're all excited about the gaming potential of HoloLens, but Microsoft is also fixated on enterprise AR, much like Google now is with Glass. During a talk at the CVPR (Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition) conference in Hawaii, Microsoft Research VP Harry Shum revealed that it will be boosted by an AI co-processor on its holographic processing unit (HPU). The aim is to give the headset object and voice recognition skills that work in real time without the need for a cloud connection.
You'll never play 'Super Mario' like this
You have a lot of Super Mario games to choose from, but you'll probably never be able to play one of the most fun versions out there. That's because it was created as an unofficial augmented reality game by developer Abhishek Singh for the Microsoft HoloLens. It's a first-person AR game, to be exact, so you'll literally have to walk and jump around to avoid virtual pipes, step on Goombas and chase mushrooms. Singh told CNET that the thought of recreating a whole Super Mario Bros. level struck him while learning the basics of HoloLens development, because why not?
Inside The Mill’s mind-bending alternate reality art showcase
I stepped inside a small, dark room in a large, airy loft space in New York's Soho district early Wednesday morning. Our host fitted me with an HTC Vive and told to explore the world around me. Within moments, I was trapped in a glass box, surrounded by other people, also wearing VR headsets, also trapped in glass boxes, one of whom continued to claw at the glass until both of our headsets were consumed by our own flesh. We were one with the machines. Over the next two hours I watched semi-autonomous robots run in circles, randomly scribbling on large sheets of butcher paper; pulled the virtual puppet strings of a CGI llama that lip synced to Mariah Carey; watched as Reeps One, a world-famous dubstep beatboxer, created unique digital sculptures with the incredibly nuanced tones of his voice; and floated through a VR dreamscape using my breathing and brain waves to propel me upward.
I finally believe in Microsoft's mixed reality vision
For years, Microsoft has been talking about its dream of mixed reality -- the idea that AR and VR headsets can work together in harmony across virtual and physical environments. But until now, it really has just been talk. At its Build developer conference this week, I finally saw a mixed reality demo that made Microsoft's ambitious vision seem achievable. It was more than just shared VR -- something we've seen plenty of already -- it was a group experience that brought together HoloLens and Acer's virtual-reality headsets in intriguing ways.
Acer's and HP's Windows Mixed Reality headsets go on pre-order today
Microsoft's plan to bring augmented and virtual reality experiences to everyone is about to get a major boost. At its Build developer conference, the company announced that Acer's and HP's Windows Mixed Reality headsets will go on pre-order today in the US and Canada. The devices, which are geared toward developers, are expected to ship this summer from the Microsoft Store starting at $299 for the Acer headset. HP's, meanwhile, costs $329.
What to expect at Microsoft's Build 2017 conference
Microsoft's Build conference is not only about giving developers the tools they need to write apps or create Windows-friendly hardware but also Microsoft's chance to outline its vision of the future. What software and devices will matter in the months (or even years) ahead? And this time around, there's no shortage of new developments to discuss: Windows updates, the Cortana AI assistant, HoloLens, partner hardware and even a chance at new Surface gear. It's not necessarily clear what's likely to show up, but don't worry: That's what we're here to sort out. We've rounded up some of the most promising leaks, rumors and logical predictions to give you a sense of what to expect when Build 2017 kicks off May 10th.
Microsoft HoloLens becomes an AR assistant for spinal surgery
Since the HoloLens was introduced, Microsoft has pitched it as both a gaming peripheral and a practical assistant in the workplace. Professionals have already started using its augmented reality tech to help out, from building engineers donning it to visualize structural blueprints or Duke surgeons testing it during brain operations. Those were preliminary applications, but augmented reality software company Scopis has released a platform for HoloLens specifically to aid in spinal surgeries.
Acer's $300 Windows headset bodes well for the future of cheap VR
For Microsoft, the future of computing is not only virtual reality but also "mixed reality," the company's term encapsulating AR and VR experiences. That started with HoloLens, but that device costs $3,000 and is targeted at developers. Microsoft has something else in mind for consumers: $300 VR headsets from PC makers like Dell and HP. Until now, the closest we've come to Microsoft's mixed reality vision was by touching (but not using) a Lenovo headset. That all changed last week, when I put on Acer's Windows 10 headset.
Microsoft plans to bring mixed reality to the Xbox in 2018
Last year, Microsoft revealed it would open up its Windows Holographic Platform to other hardware manufacturers, and at CES, we got a sneak peek at a few different Windows VR headsets. At GDC this week, Microsoft revealed yet more plans for its mixed-reality platform. While its headsets are strictly for the PC right now, they will soon be coming to the Xbox -- as well as Microsoft's Project Scorpio console -- in 2018.
