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[Guy.brush]

no the sensors are on the glasses themselves

assuming they're the things above the nose

ah right, so it is self contained which is good. That sensorbar will prevent the device from ever getting real slim though probably.

 

[DopeyFish]

ah right, so it is self contained which is good. That sensorbar will prevent the device from ever getting real slim though probably.

well it may never get much smaller due to the requirement for the big RGB filter shield thingy

though it do expect that look to get smaller over time

 

[Doffen]

ah right, so it is self contained which is good. That sensorbar will prevent the device from ever getting real slim though probably.

The device still needs to cover your eyes, so how small could it become and still give you optimal experience?

 

[GTSweet]

Definitely has a lot more practical uses than VR as you can actually walk around your whole house while being able to see where you are going.

It's kind of nice to have Oculus Rift and Morpheus working on VR space with GoogleGlass/MagicLeap and Hololens working on more AR/Holo space.

Exciting times! SCIENCE! FUTURE!

 

[Granadier]

Sensors flood the device with terabytes of data every second,

Hahahahaha, I hope that is a typo on Wired's side.

-------

Misinformation aside, I think that this is some really fucking awesome technology, and I hope it sees production soon. I can't wait to start working with it.

 

[SystemUser]

The device still needs to cover your eyes, so how small could it become and still give you optimal experience?

OLED contact lenses that are powered via bio energy or induction and the brain could be worn as watch.

 

[DopeyFish]

Hahahahaha, I hope that is a typo on Wired's side.

it isn't.

they even say it in the MS conference

 

[ThatZedWord]

Business Insider impression: http://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-hololens-hands-on-2015-1

 

[Granadier]

it isn't.

they even say it in the MS conference

Then it's poorly worded.

There's no physical way that portable device could be actually handling that much data/sec.

It might be exposed to it, depending on how precise the sensors are, but in no way is it handling that much data.

 

[AuRoN89]

another video concept. nice trick

 

[DopeyFish]

Then it's poorly worded.

There's no physical way that portable device could be actually handling that much data/sec.

It might be exposed to it, depending on how precise the sensors are, but in no way is it handling that much data.

i thought they were doing a play on

"your brain processes terabytes of data every second" tbh

another video concept. nice trick

then where are all those hands on impressions coming from

 

[killer rin]

well it may never get much smaller due to the requirement for the big RGB filter shield thingy

though it do expect that look to get smaller over time

Like you said, it might not get smaller, but it will definately get lighter and maybe smaller in the back. The front will probably stay the same though, maybe shrinking a little if they can ever reduce the sensors

 

[Granadier]

i thought they were doing a play on

"your brain processes terabytes of data every second" tbh

Possibly. Just dumb PR speak meant to hype the product.

Using that analogy is just as dumb though.
"We just made something that is as powerful as your fucking brain."

 

[stolin]

What are your thoughts?

First thought...

 

[DopeyFish]

http://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-hololens-hands-on-2015-1

very glowing impressions

 

[RealityPales]

Edit wrong thread!

 

[Luigiv]

I think that's on purpose that they used that word instead of augmentaed reality because you still need to wear those glasses to see pictures being displayed just like Google glasses.

Real time holography is more like this and it has been accomplished without any glasses : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEaBqiLeCu0

No glasses, just a giant ass fucking glass screen. I totally have space in my living room for that.

Sorry to burst your bubble but you can't just project an image onto thin air, that's physically impossible. At the end of the day, there needs to be a physical screen of sorts somewhere in setup. No getting around that. HMD may look dorky but in the end they offer the most freedom when it comes to AR.

That's not to say that HoloLens itself will be any good (who knows, really?) but if the "Light Engine" does what I think it does (project images with real depth of focus) then this is a revolutionary next step on the road to AR that actually works.

 

[Raist]

Business Insider impression: http://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-hololens-hands-on-2015-1

We were trying on early demo versions of the glasses, and they were a lot clunkier than the prototype version shown on stage and in the picture at the top of this article. They were basically two pieces of glass and a series of head straps, with some odd metal cylinders here and there. There was also what looked like the main CPU unit, a several-pound black box that we draped around our neck, and we had to use a power cord during the demos. The whole setup was very steampunk, or like something from the Terry Gilliam movie "Brazil."

Heh. Doesn't sound weird enough for something out of Brazil though.

 

[LukasTaves]

The more I think about it, the more I think Phil's "watch to the end" is a hint that HoloLens and Xbox will be working together...

They will work together, they even announced it today

Windows 10 in all devices has hololens support built in. The new universal application model also has built in APIs for working with hololens. All it takes is for developers to create games for Xbox using the new application model that's coming with win 10.

 

[PSGames]

Imagine going to work to an empty desk with just a mouse and keyboard. Put on HoloLens and voila you have 3 virtual monitors for the ultimate multitasking experience. Complete with sticky notes and all. Would save the company money from having to buy multiple monitors plus the user could decide just how much screen space they need. Adding/subtracting/resizing screens as needed.

 

[justsomeguy]

The device still needs to cover your eyes, so how small could it become and still give you optimal experience?

Sunglasses size

 

[foolishoptimist]

My experiences with AR (iPhone, 3DS and Vita for proper AR, the likes of EyeToy and Playroom for pseudo-AR) have always been they're fun novelties, but fundamentally flawed from a gaming perspective. You have to play in the correct environment (well lit, open etc) which you have little control over for consoles. But the bigger issue is the user input and interaction with the game is limited.

The benefit of this over those AR experiences, is that it doesn't need to project the real world.

Playroom, and other AR often break down because the ability to stitch the real world with virtual is let down by grainy video caused by bad lighting conditions.

If it's using a depth camera similar to kinect, that will also be able get around the AR elements interacting/avoiding living room obstacles.

But there's no way I'm taking for granted that MS can pull off what they've shown in that marketing video.

 

[NoPiece]

Sunglasses size

 

[Giant Panda]

That's disappointing that it's AR. VR works much better for gaming.

 

[loaf of bread]

Wow, I never read or looked at any of the early Kinect marketing or impressions, just did for the first time today, I'm going to stay apprehensive at least for now on this.

 

[vin-buc]

http://www.wired.com/2009/06/project-natal/

Hilariously perfect.

Anyone read Engadget's hands-on? What you see on stage isn't it.

 

[Shaunboy97]

If it can really do all of this..... I'M IN!!!

 

[justsomeguy]

That kid is tiny

 

[vin-buc]

If it can really do all of this..... I'M IN!!!

Yup. Just like Kate dropping letters to Milo through the Kinect.

Its going to look exactly as it does in this promo video.

 

[jem0208]

That's disappointing that it's AR. VR works much better for gaming.

The actual applications of this are far greater than that of VR though.

VR can provide a more immersive experience for gaming and other digital media than standard screens. However this can have greater effect on how we interact with technology as a whole.

 

[Nealand Liquor]

Eventhough I am very excited for VR, strangely this doesn't do anything for me. I have yet to see any compelling AR software/games that makes me think "Fuck yeah! Thank god someone finally put my couch right in this game!"
I usually gawk at people's lack of imagination when it comes to poo pooing on VR, but I simply can't see my livingroom being an interesting backdrop to any game.

 

[Allard]

That's disappointing that it's AR. VR works much better for gaming.

Its not meant for just gaming, in fact I imagine 90% of the its overall use is going to be corporate/business/developer centric if it works as advertised. It was announced as a tie in to Windows 10 as an "Out of the Box" experience within the Operating System. Just happens that of course there will be obvious uses with Xbox and gaming on PC as well.

 

[Adrian]

pretty much like the SEER

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1942860935/seer-the-first-ar-helmet-that-makes-you-a-real-iro

 

[Brudinho]

The more I think about it, the more I think Phil's "watch to the end" is a hint that HoloLens and Xbox will be working together...

This was Project Fortaleza , they just changed it from a Xbox to a Windows device
So yup , they will be working together

 

[ChosenPredator]

God sims have never been so intriguing with this thing, Black & White 3 with MS Holo lens muahahaha

 

[Anton Sugar]

Then it's poorly worded.

There's no physical way that portable device could be actually handling that much data/sec.

It might be exposed to it, depending on how precise the sensors are, but in no way is it handling that much data.

Yeah, I think that may be a cumulative total of several different data streams/processors.

 

[Clinton514]

Cool but no thanks. I don't need anymore gimmicks. Unless this is useful for actual work, to hell with wasting my money on this type of entertainment.

 

[pastrami]

Yeah, I think that may be a cumulative total of several different data streams/processors.

And probably takes into account compression.

 

[oldergamer]

If VR is really better for gaming, then why has it taken so many years for something compelling or practical to be done with it? we've had the technology for a long time, yet it still hasn't taken off and likely never will to the extent some people are envisioning.

I think the biggest barrier to entry for VR is that you are covering up someones eyes, which naturally nobody but hard core really gets accustom to. For instance I couldn't put a VR set on my 5 year old and expect her to play or want to play. I could do that with AR tech as she would still be able to see whats going on around her.

I think the real difference comes in that you can walk around AR and/or interact with it using things other then a controller, this is different to traditional AR that couldn't be interacted with. VR can be enjoyed without moving around, but you still need a controller or keyboard & mouse.

Both are different experiences, but AR I think is actually more user friendly/casual.

 

[tuxfool]

The comment-chain I quoted was talking about how you could theoretically use AR as VR


Not really, FoV is in terms of how far you can put an object out there and only matters for AR. For something like a game or oculas rift, your not putting a window 30 feet away, you are rendering the scene twice from two different angles, the FoV is baked into the render and then what you get is an image which you place over each eyes. So for AR you are just placing the render at FOV=0 essentially.

Now if the developer wanted to bake the real world into the game world, thats when the FOV would begin to matter because then it would only be able to superimpose your games rendered scene within that area.

The other person was asking about turning the glasses into an oculus rift. The oculus has a much wider drawable fov of 100º. As these glasses cannot match that and bleed from the outside they would make a poor oculus replacement.

 

[HokieJoe]

This thread seems terribly briney.

 

[Anton Sugar]

Been gathering some impressions:

Twitter:

@tomwarren: I just locked my phone, laptop, and everything into a locker and experienced Microsoft HoloLens. Holy shit.

@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.

@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

Gizmodo: Project Hololens Hands-On: Incredible, Amazing, Prototype-y as Hell:

It's basically exactly what Magic Leap promises to deliver, except I can independently confirm it exists and that it legitimately blew my mind.

Like when I broke through a real-life wall with a Minecraft shovel and found veins of precious ore inside. Or when I installed a real-world light-switch in less than six minutes, with a guy named Joe on Skype drawing circles around the wire nut and voltage tester I needed to avoid frying myself. Or when I set foot on the surface of Mars without ever leaving my office, helping a ghostly NASA scientist assign tasks to the Mars Rover.

It's not like the Oculus Rift, where you're totally immersed in a virtual world practically anywhere you look. The current Hololens field of view is TINY! I wasn't even impressed at first. All that weight for this? But that's when I noticed that I wasn't just looking at some ghostly transparent representation of Mars superimposed on my vision. I was standing in a room filled with objects. Posters covering the walls. And yet somehow—without blocking my vision—the Hololens was making those objects almost totally invisible.

Wired: Project HoloLens: Our Exclusive Hands-On With Microsoft’s Holographic Goggles

Another scenario lands me on a virtual Mars-scape. Kipman developed it in close collaboration with NASA rocket scientist Jeff Norris, who spent much of the first half of 2014 flying back and forth between Seattle and his Southern California home to help develop the scenario. With a quick upward gesture, I toggle from computer screens that monitor the Curiosity rover’s progress across the planet’s surface to the virtual experience of being on the planet. The ground is a parched, dusty sandstone, and so realistic that as I take a step, my legs begin to quiver. They don’t trust what my eyes are showing them. Behind me, the rover towers seven feet tall, its metal arm reaching out from its body like a tentacle. The sun shines brightly over the rover, creating short black shadows on the ground beneath its legs.

After exploring Mars, I don’t want to remove the headset, which has provided a glimpse of a combination of computing tools that make the unimaginable feel real. NASA felt the same way. Norris will roll out Project HoloLens this summer so that agency scientists can use it to collaborate on a mission.

The Verge: Up close with the HoloLens, Microsoft's most intriguing product in years

But it was all worth it, because HoloLens is probably the most intriguing (and, in many ways, most infuriating) technology we've experienced since the Oculus Rift. And there are many parallels with VR to be had: both are immersive, but in different ways; both require you to strap a weird thing on your head; both leave you grinning like at absolute idiot at a scene only you can see. And, crucially, both need more work when it comes to thinking through exactly how to control and interact with virtual things.

But before you can apply your jaded "I've done VR before" attitude to this situation, you look down at the coffee table and there's a castle sitting right on the damn thing. It's not shimmery, but it's not quite real either. It's just sitting there, perfectly flat on the table, reacting in space to your head movements as lifelike as the actual table. There's no lag at all, it's simply magic.

And you definitely have a big stupid grin on your face even through the contraption that's strapped to it is pressing your eyeglasses into the bridge of your nose in a painful way.

Glace: you point your head at something
AirTap: you make a "Number 1" sign with your hand, then move your finger down like you're depressing a lever
Voice: you can issue commands, usually to switch what "tool" you're using
Mouse: So actually the neatest thing is that objects you use to interact with computers can be used to interact with holograms.

Business Insider: I Just Tried Microsoft's Remarkable Holographic Headset — Here's What It's Like

I just had a 40-minute in-person demonstration of HoloLens, Microsoft's new computer headset, and I'm convinced that personal computing is on the verge of a major change.

HoloLens is less jarring than Oculus, and a lot more flexible. With HoloLens, the programmer can control transparency of real-world objects. For instance, in one demo, the program superimposed the Martian landscape all around me, and I could barely see through it — except when I was looking at one particular PC monitor, which appeared front and center.

It's closest to Google Glass, but I never saw a very good immersive application in Glass -- it was always just a little tiny bit of information superimposed on the real world. Glass seemed more geared toward taking in information, like recording video. HoloLens was more interactive and two way. (Apparently Magic Leap, which in October got a $542 million investment from Google, is working on something similar, but we haven't seen it yet.)

 

[hatchx]

I really don't see virtual reality working well on the current-gen platforms.

1080p is too low for VR goggles and even at that resolution, the consoles will struggle. Getting a high enough frame rate (an absolute must for VR unless you like vomiting) for a smooth VR experience at a good resolution just doesn't seem possible with the hardware in the Xbox and PS4.

Maybe if they keep the game experiences really simple or stick to stuff like Minecraft that have rudimentary graphics.

For the most part I agree with you. I love these concept videos, but I think they will screw this up a few times before getting it right. Images will shake, certain things won't work until multiple patches come, I think it's going to be an overhyped mess.

On the other hand, I think Oculus will do well. It's more concrete, and hands-on impressions prove that there's a draw. You hold a physical controller, you are looking at a physical screen - it just makes more sense.

HoloLens seems like a great prototype, but I won't believe it until I try it or read in-depth previews.

 

[Raoh]

LMFAO, looks awesome, but I hope people aren't fooled by Microsoft's "Vision" videos thinking this stuff is around the corner.

 

[shockdude]

From the sound of it, the AR works by projecting light into your eyes, which means that an external light source could shine through the image.

If the Hololens had a little plastic accessory to block external light, it would function just like a VR headset. Add a better FOV and more sensors and we suddenly have a competent and flexible VR alternative.

 

[Sydle]

LMFAO, looks awesome, but I hope people aren't fooled by Microsoft's "Vision" videos thinking this stuff is around the corner.

Look just two posts above yours.

 

[tuxfool]

The actual applications of this are far greater than that of VR though.

VR can provide a more immersive experience for gaming and other digital media than standard screens. However this can have greater effect on how we interact with technology as a whole.

Sure. But VR is a singular experience, you put on the stupid looking headset and leave the world.

With this you're out in the world, potentially looking at yourself being an idiot in a mirror, looking at other foolish looking people with the headset, or letting other people see you. I'm not entirely certain whether this is better than glassholes...

 

[Orca]

If it can really do all of this..... I'M IN!!!

My daughter got home from school and I showed her the footage of the woman making the quadcopter and explained how it would show up for her and look real. Then I showed her this and she went bananas over the idea of her room looking like it was a Minecraft world.

 

[Americanmushroom]

People getting excited over these kind of concept videos makes me worry... you guys never learn

 

[loaf of bread]

Look just two posts above yours.

Those same people were probably saying the same things after they got to demo project natal