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[M.D]

I was reading this article on Ynet, it's about Microsoft Israel firing 60 engineers (30 contractors and 30 from inside the company that have one month to find another position within the comapn, but it basically sounds like they got fired as well)

It mentions that they were working on HoloLens for the past 2 and a half years, based on the technology of a company that Microsoft bought in Israel 6 years ago.
The article says Microsoft is stopping the project and moving it to a different technology from the US. It's not clear from the article if they were the main development team or were working on just one aspect of the project, but it sounds more like the latter.

Here's thr article in Hebrew

http://m.ynet.co.il/Articles/4732513

 

[kadotsu]

Does the article specify the different tech? Is it still AR or will MS rush out a VR HMD?

 

[M.D]

Does the article specify the different tech? Is it still AR or will MS rush out a VR HMD?

No, the only thing it says is that this new tech is developed in the US

 

[Graphics Horse]

maybe they bought magic leap

 

[Danlord]

It would be really interesting and quite dramatic if Microsoft decided to go down the VR route instead of AR for gaming. HoloLens could adapt itself as a good tool for enterprise use, but I don't think they would make as much money out of it as it would as a gaming peripheral, and AR I don't think is going to be that big for gaming, whereas VR is.

Which also begs the question of how Microsoft is going to get VR applications to work on the Xbox One if they explore VR. Regular games often struggle to hit 1080p and the demand for 1080p60 without VR-specific optimisations is already too taxing. Microsoft has shown interest in research for the optics, where they created better optics for the Oculus Rift DK2 using off-the-shelf components, which the paper can be found here. Perhaps their improved optics could enhance appearance of 900p60fps games for VR better but I am doubting the Xbox One's capabilities to deliver that for VR. I guess we'll see.

Maybe they are just retooling the design of HoloLens, I remember when they bought the Isreal-based company for Kinect they redesigned Project Natal, so perhaps that's going to be the same with HoloLens.

 

[Dreamwriter]

maybe they bought magic leap

Google invested $500 million in Magic Leap, I don't think they would sell to Microsoft

 

[ashecitism]

Just saw this on r/oculus, interesting.

 

[M3d10n]

Maybe they found a better tech for the AR screen their internal team can't match? Hopefully one that allows for a wider FOV.

 

[Alx]

I was reading this article on Ynet, it's about Microsoft Israel firing 60 engineers (30 contractors and 30 from inside the company that have one month to find another position within the comapn, but it basically sounds like they got fired as well)

It mentions that they were working on HoloLens for the past 2 and a half years, based on the technology of a company that Microsoft bought in Israel 6 years ago.

Is it 3dv ? (I can't get to load the page in hebrew, and I don't read hebrew anyway *edit - doesn't seem to be mentioned)
I remember when they announced its purchase a few months before the kinect reveal, it was one of the first hints of their future activit in depth technologies.
I'm still wondering today how strategic that purchase has been (maybe for patents ?), since they ended up using Primesense technology for the first kinect.

 

[Maintenance]

Hoping the new technology will have a huge FOV.

 

[Alx]

Btw it's probably not worth bumping the other thread, but some MS devs have uploaded short videos "made with hololens"
http://microsoft-news.com/microsoft-employees-are-having-fun-with-hololens-at-their-homes/

 

[Stasis]

Heh, just read this on WCCF Tech, and they referenced getting it from here, specifically from OP's username =)

Been seeing this a lot lately on various sites. More than before it seems sites are getting their info here first. Or more GAFfers are now employed at said sites. Either way!

http://wccftech.com/hololens-might-use-different-tech-after-microsoft-fires-60-engineers/

 

[EvB]

It's likely to be the technology for the environment mapping rather than anything else.

They worked with primesense (an company from israel) for Kinect, but moved on to an in house solution (?) for the Kinect 2.0.

Apple then bought primesense.
It could be that MS want to keep licensing fees down again