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[stoff]

AR stuff like this just isn't an improvement to anything.
Just look how much Google Glass had to strip from it's original vision just because what was once presented as quick, responsive and direct, turned out to be uncontrollable, unhelpful and distracting.

 

[jbug617]

Nate Ralph has more tweets

@NateRalph: And Minecraft! Sorry, Holobuilder. I poked sheep and blew up a bench and barely noticed the power cord tethering me to the ceiling.

@NateRalph: The HoloLens dev models are clunkier than what we saw today, but Skyping with someone who's drawing on the wall in front of you is surreal

 

[Anton Sugar]

GPS would work well as an app for this.

Navigation would be huge.

Like, would it be possible for there to be a hiking app, that already is loaded with topographical data, so the app "knows" the environment you're in? An offline map, so to speak?

Think of collaborating with other hikers. Having them note areas of interest that you couldn't find otherwise, marking nice routes, climbing spots, good places to camp, etc.

And that's not even mentioning the "social game"-ification that this could promote or take on, you know?

 

[Stevey]

Hyped

 

[oldergamer]

Google glass approached it in a different manner. A game is different then just seeing road signs.

 

[SlickShoesRUCrazy]

Very cool stuff.

 

[Coolwhip]

hoLOLens

Looks pretty cool though.

 

[foolishoptimist]

The applications for this depend a lot on how opaque the image can be.

Have they not said anywhere what the resolution of the image is?

 

[Graphics Horse]

If you really want to get anal about the word Hologram, the regular sci-fi theme of objects floating in the middle of rooms aren't holograms either, so go and complain to sci fi authors.

 

[Ding II]

I agree with the.... detractors that the "holographic" buzzwords are pretty confusing and disappointing when used in this context. Goggle-based AR and actual holograms are two entirely separate technologies. MS is showing off the former while claiming it's the latter. That's confusing at best, fraudulent at worst. But oh well, I agree that "holograms!" is easier to market to most people.

The tech itself might be very interesting. I'm looking forward to hearing impressions and more about the technical details.

And who knows, maybe there are some actual holograms involved somewhere. (Not projected out in space, Star Wars style, but maybe some form of holographics happen within the optics of the thing.) I've read odd and seemingly nonsensical descriptions of photons bouncing "millions of times" within processors and in between RGB colored lenses. I have no idea what they're talking about, but it sounds pretty novel.

 

[VlaudTheImpaler]

A pokemon game with Hololens...

Do you guys remember these?

Imagine something like that or any kind of pet game with AR. I can imagine having a pet just running all the time while I'm doing other AR related things and I just look over and there it is sitting on my chair playing with its tail or something.

Heck, playing cards could actually come back in style if they did what Nintendo does with the 3DS AR cards but obviously much better. Imagine Magic the gathering or any other TCG right there in AR but with a battlefield and character models that would scale depending on available room space.

The possibilities man...

 

[Anton Sugar]

The applications for this depend a lot on how opaque the image can be.

Have they not said anywhere what the resolution of the image is?

I'm really curious about this. Wired impression almost made it sound VR quality when he stepped onto Mars.

 

[elfinke]

That Wired article is pretty great, especially since it was written in October (released today, though obviously).

I love love the idea of having a huge (and I guess potentially high framerate/resolution) TV wherever I like, via this device.

Or the Hololens v2 later down the line. Or the Magic Lamp. Whatever. I just want a ethereal TV to play games on, that doesn't actually exist in the real world, that isn't bound by traditional LCD display technology (in so far as needing 50+ inches of glass and plastic).

 

[Hubble]

This will be reaally cool for cooking!

 

[Welfare]

I think it's because of MS's use of Halo terms in other features of Windows, but I still read HoloLens as HaloLens.

 

[Hideous Snake]

um at the very least... this headset could act like illumiroom... but far better

and that's if the developer is doing almost nothing.

I will give it a try of course but im sure that i'll stick with the controller

 

[cyberheater]

Taking it a step further, just to be clear. The physical CD you held in the store doesn't need to be something you actually walk out of the store with once you've made your purchase.
You purchase digital data. Back at home you may have a shelf which appears to have hundreds of individual boxes with CDs of your favorite music and movies, or a bookshelf that appears to have thousands of physical hardcover books. But in fact you only need to have 3-5 physical objects that are blank slates and have the shape of a CD or a book etc.

Most of the time when we actually want to touch something and handle it with our own two hands, we're only touching a very small part of it at any given moment. The rest is scenery interpreted by our eyes as identically tangible. That's why this illusion could work.

Yeah. That would be so cool. Just holding a slate and it's a book with animated drawings. Your walls are huge 3D tv screens or have animated wallpaper when they are not.
Even look at a shut cupboard but can see what's inside because it's overlaid on the door.

Turn the lights off. Lean back and start staring at star fields and constellations. A virtual planetarium in your own living room.

The possibilities are endless.

 

[DopeyFish]

I will give it a try of course but im sure that i'll stick with the controller

you can use a controller wearing the headset too

you aren't limited with AR... tons of flexibility

 

[Isomac]

I want to play Warhammer tabletop game on my kitchen table and not clutter it with figures

 

[Raist]

Wonder what the battery life is

Consiering this thing is supposed to have 4 cameras, some sort of projector, three different processors (of which two are apparently "as powerful as a laptop"), various gyros, I'd say probably around 15 seconds.

 

[StudioTan]

Except it's not a hologram, it's just glasses with a projector and a camera. We've seen AR stuff like this before, just not integrated as well. Even so you'll be wearing stupid glasses which are unbearable enough in the movie theatre.

They showed off an undoable concept in their video then they showed something that pretended to be that concept.

What projector and camera?

 

[jem0208]

Turn the lights off. Lean back and start staring at star fields and constellations. A virtual planetarium in your own living room.

Welp, now I want one.


Build me a virtual planetarium devs!

 

[cyberheater]

I want to play Warhammer tabletop game on my kitchen table and not clutter it with figures

That was the first thing I thought of when I saw the MS video. Actual animated table top gaming.
See your men running and gunning to a set piece. See the explosions, see the orcs hiding and talking to each other.

It would be absolutely awesome and a game changer.

Consiering this thing is supposed to have 4 cameras, some sort of projector, three different processors (of which two are apparently "as powerful as a laptop"), various gyros, I'd say probably around 15 seconds.

LOL. Well I think the demo units have a tether but the consumer units will to have some sort of miracle battery solution.

 

[maxcriden]

Do you guys remember these?

Imagine something like that or any kind of pet game with AR. I can imagine having a pet just running all the time while I'm doing other AR related things and I just look over and there it is sitting on my chair playing with its tail or something.

Heck, playing cards could actually come back in style if they did what Nintendo does with the 3DS AR cards but obviously much better. Imagine Magic the gathering or any other TCG right there in AR but with a battlefield and character models that would scale depending on available room space.

The possibilities man...

Neat idea, but at that point, what about all the real pets that need homes?

Spoiler

yes yes the jerk store IS running out of me

 

[Anton Sugar]

Do you guys remember these?

Imagine something like that or any kind of pet game with AR. I can imagine having a pet just running all the time while I'm doing other AR related things and I just look over and there it is sitting on my chair playing with its tail or something.

Heck, playing cards could actually come back in style if they did what Nintendo does with the 3DS AR cards but obviously much better. Imagine Magic the gathering or any other TCG right there in AR but with a battlefield and character models that would scale depending on available room space.

The possibilities man...

Yeah, I realize these are likely pipe dreams, but they're saying that the headset processes terabytes of data per second and has state of the art environment mapping.

Could you take a walk around your property, get it "mapped", and then play a game that's based on that environment?

Like, could you go out to the garden with your kid, designate a bucket as a "planted" target, and tell your kids that whoever picks the most (of whatever) "wins"?

People do menial tasks all the time in games, because there is a sense of progress. If you could merge ACTUAL menial tasks with the interface/rewards of a game...chores would take on a whole new meaning, haha.

 

[VlaudTheImpaler]

Welp, now I want one.


Build me a virtual planetarium devs!

Can you imagine virtual galaxies that you can pinch and zoom into solar systems and examine planets, read info, name them...

Imagine a 4X space strategy game...

 

[thewhitehawk]

I'll take this with a cup full of salt if you guys don't mind. I don't suffer from poor memory since the last time Microsoft announced something similar.

 

[Freeman]

I don't like this when it comes to games, I think VR is much more adequate as a first step.

AR seems much farther away than VR when it comes to providing a satisfying experience, those MS PR videos look like pure BS (not unlike Project Milo).

 

[Anton Sugar]

Can you imagine virtual galaxies that you can pinch and zoom into solar systems and examine planets, read info, name them...

Imagine a 4X space strategy game...

I think this could be HUGE for strategy games.

 

[DopeyFish]

I think this could be HUGE for strategy games.

You dedicate a table for the game.... fun thing is... you can still use a KBM if you really want to... all the headset would act like is the camera and monitor

 

[BibiMaghoo]

I want to play Warhammer tabletop game on my kitchen table and not clutter it with figures

GW would ruin entire nations with the cost of the DLC. It would make Skylanders and Amibos look like kinder egg prices in comparison.

 

[tuxfool]

That was the first thing I thought of when I saw the MS video. Actual animated table top gaming.
See your men running and gunning to a set piece. See the explosions, see the orcs hiding and talking to each other.

It would be absolutely awesome and a game changer.

I do believe this is one of the CastAR demos. Table Top gaming?

 

[cyberheater]

I'll take this with a cup full of salt if you guys don't mind. I don't suffer from poor memory since the last time Microsoft announced something similar.

But technology is improving all the time and the early reports coming in from folks that have tried it are very positive.

 

[FantasticMrFoxdie]

I don't like this when it comes to games, I think VR is much more adequate as a first step.

AR seems much farther away than VR when it comes to providing a satisfying experience, those MS PR videos look like pure BS (not unlike Project Milo).

Damn, kind of a bummer. I was assuming this does both AR and VR. Thats what the whole Mars thing sounded like

 

[tuxfool]

Damn, kind of a bummer. I was assuming this does both AR and VR. Thats what the whole Mars thing sounded like

I don't think you can interact with the martian surface, then again VR isn't currently much better in the interaction department. From what I read, shiny or bright objects will pass through the image, breaking the illusion somewhat.

 

[Lazlo]

Yeah. That would be so cool. Just holding a slate and it's a book with animated drawings. Your walls are huge 3D tv screens or have animated wallpaper when they are not.
Even look at a shut cupboard but can see what's inside because it's overlaid on the door.

Turn the lights off. Lean back and start staring at star fields and constellations. A virtual planetarium in your own living room.

The possibilities are endless.

You'll have to wait to see the FOV before you have a wall of TV's, but I'm sure most people will settle for one amazingly large TV. Think about using it on an airplane for example. No need to turn the lights off either (think localized dimming)

 

[DopeyFish]

I don't think you can interact with the martian surface, then again VR isn't currently much better in the interaction department. From what I read, shiny or bright objects will pass through the image, breaking the illusion somewhat.

Just becuse you can't in the demo doesn't mean it's not possible

 

[cyberheater]

I do believe this is one of the CastAR demos. Table Top gaming?

It seems that CastAR actually physically projects and image onto a surface. This does something a bit different.

 

[efyu_lemonardo]

Yeah. That would be so cool. Just holding a slate and it's a book with animated drawings. Your walls are huge 3D tv screens or have animated wallpaper when they are not.
Even look at a shut cupboard but can see what's inside because it's overlaid on the door.

Turn the lights off. Lean back and start staring at star fields and constellations. A virtual planetarium in your own living room.

The possibilities are endless.

Even trivial stuff like when people pretend to use their finger to squiggle something in the air. Now they don't have to pretend. They can even create 3D objects out of lines by squiggling in 3 dimensions. Once you don't have to concentrate on visualising an imaginary object yourself you can be free to make it much more complex.

It's a very natural extension of how we already communicate visually with gestures. If someone on the street asks you for directions, the path you point out to them can materialize as arrows and labels (or actual google street map data) in real time, and when you've finished explaining, the other person can take the 3D object you've just created in front of him and fold it up and "put it in his pocket".

Conducting an orchestra, you could actually provide a whole new level of intricate instructions to your players. Sign language could be interpreted as a command to display actual words in the air so non-signers can understand. Better yet it could display interactive 3D representations of the thing the person is describing. It has the potential to be incredibly intuitive.

Can you imagine virtual galaxies that you can pinch and zoom into solar systems and examine planets, read info, name them...

Imagine a 4X space strategy game...

I would love to use this kind of interface as a teaching/learning instrument.

 

[jbug617]

He is going to do a full write up but posted some impressions.

@GI_AndyMc: Important first impression. In the videos I thought it filled your entire field of view, but it's more like a screen floating in space.

@GI_AndyMc: I'd say it's like a 16x9-ish monitor floating about 7 to 8 inches just in front of your face.

 

[tuxfool]

Just becuse you can't in the demo doesn't mean it's not possible

Yeah, of course, but how would such interaction take place?

It seems that CastAR actually physically projects and image onto a surface. This does something a bit different.

Yup, but for the table top gaming experience there is little practical difference.

 

[jem0208]

He is going to do a full write up but posted some impressions.

Hmm, that's a bit disappointing.

 

[sunofsam]

I want to play Warhammer tabletop game on my kitchen table and not clutter it with figures

Yeah. That'd be pretty slick. Boardgames could be great.

 

[MJLord]

I think this could be HUGE for strategy games.

3D Snooker (by which I mean the balls can move vertically as well as horizontally)

 

[Anton Sugar]

Hmm, that's a bit disappointing.

Yeah, the Gizmodo impressions sound the same--he says he was disappointed by the FOV at first, but it ended up not distracting him.

 

[golem]

Yup, but for the table top gaming experience there is little practical difference.

Eh? Big difference for multiplayer

 

[Quasar]

Seems like it has many of the functions I wanted out of Glass over time. Just in a form factor less appealing.

Also seems like the kind of thing expected out of the whole Magic Leap deal.

 

[Striek]

Clunky real demo with questionable use case. Slick faked/rendered demo on a whole different level.

People positing ideas they almost certainly know aren't viable for the technology.

We never learn. Groundhog day, groundhog day, groundhog day...

 

[LordOfChaos]

More numbers needed on that "more powerful than a laptop" bit. In terms of what? I really don't believe something that small is going to be beating laptops with 35, 60, even down to 15 watt TDPs. Maybe 5 watt Core M level, but even that's pushing it in that form factor.

 

[Anton Sugar]

Clunky real demo with questionable use case. Slick faked/rendered demo on a whole different level.

People positing ideas they almost certainly know aren't viable for the technology.

We never learn. Groundhog day, groundhog day, groundhog day...

Impressions so far have been positive. Gizmodo mentions a demo where he repaired or installed a light switch. Someone on Skype was guiding him through repairing it, drawing circles around the switch, marking wires, etc., that showed up directly in the wearer's "reality".

I think the educational possibilities alone are pretty amazing. Being able to "be there" remotely and help someone is spectacular.