Opinions about Microsoft Hololens

[sanshinron]

As we all know Microsoft just presented quite a revolutionary piece of hardware, Hololens. It's supposed to be released in July 2015. The onstage presentation was pretty awesome, "holo" object were super steady and blended really well with their surroundings. It also seemed to work very fast.
I am curious what you guys think about Microsoft Hololens? Is the world ready for fully augmented reality?

 

[e.mote]

HoloLens looks interesting, but I'm used to product launch hype, and excited I ain't.

This isn't revolutionary, but evolutionary. The AR (not holographic) function is a step beyond the VR scheme of the competition, but this is mere leapfrogging over present Oculus & co, and we've yet to see what the competition will bring, specifically Magic Leap, et al. Likewise, we can be sure that the rest of the field, including Goog Glass, will be upping their game.

The headset device shown at presentation is likely a mock-up, as the actual prototype demo'ed is still tethered to a box. This means that MS still has a long way to go before being able to bring it to market, let alone being able to sell it at "affordable" prices. The claim that HoloLens will see light of day "within Win10 time frame" is taken by some to mean "by Win10 launch," ie this year. But it can also mean "within Win10 lifetime" which is any number of years. I consider this latter more likely, as HoloLens is much more unfinished than Google Glass when it launched. Glass today is still stuck in the expensive-toy category.

Lens has a more difficult road than Glass in that its job requires real-time 3D mapping of environment, which likely entails more processing power. Note that heat-dissipation was discussed, which means this thing will be more powerful than a phone/tablet. The downside is battery life. Since Lens looks to be geared toward indoor use, I wouldn't be surprised if it comes with a cord.

My takeaway is that this is another step toward headset computing. MS' *announcement* had leapfrogged the competition for the time being, but time-to-market looks to still be long, and anything can happen before then (as had happened to Google Glass).

 

[rgxHost]

Greetings everyone!

Well i think holograms; voice control; robot companions/artificial intelligence is everyone's childhood dream. Since we (humans) tend to develop stuff to the highest bidder (if not developing stuff for war purposes) i must say that we are way behind where we are suposed to be. Therefore i dont see exactly the evolution. Ofcourse this ghread is not meant to talk about thechnology evolution.. But yes Holo lens is innovative.

About its probable issues:

Main problem so far seems to be: Battery Duration.
So why not implement some science in there?
(This should be implemented in almost everything. Like future cars for example)

- Overheating:
Heat can generate power. So lets give good use to that heat.

- Solar Panels / Photo Voltaic Panels:
Even if they where small they could enhance the device capacity to operate.

- Battery:
Something must hold the generated Power.

- Water (Cold/Hot Technique)
Assuming the processor(s) will always generate heat.. Redirect that heat to one owater container. The generated power can easily help enhance way further battery life.

There are more ways to generate power. i just dont think they wouldnt fit at hololens.

Quick Joke: Can you imagine using potatoes to enhance even more the battery dutarion?

Furthewards i agree with what has been said before.
...Including:
Hololens must somehow be released to an affordable price. To increase selling; and development everywhere. (Here i go into evolution again) That will lead to faster "technologic evolution" whithout the expensive cost of programmers / development. People will do it for fun; for themselves; to help in several things or sectors; etc.

Stepping way further and resuming the best i can:
This Hololens is an important step for everyone...
Who wouldnt love to live in a fantastic technological era; Where what you think start to be done almost instantly? Not having to type a key; waiting for my os to start; to go sit at the chair; waiting to open a program; to move my mouse to make a draw which is on my mind; etc...
We are "fairly" close to achieve this.
I belive Hololens will contribute significantly to cybenetics and neurology by expanding any creative mind around the world.
Yet a huge ammount of programming and innovative development will be required.

Im not 100% excited about it (as i fi d it a little bit limitex) but i would love to have one.
And who knows i can help develop it a little too?

Finally someone has the power to bring it to make it available.
Besides the current features, hololens can be way more than that.
Ofcoufse implementing everything i have in mind would make it severely expensive for some time... But would be an amazing and helpcul tool for everyone.

Sent from my E310 using XDA Free mobile app

 

[JeffKang2]

we've yet to see what the competition will bring, specifically Magic Leap, et al.

If you are interested in a prediction from a patent reader:
Some information from the Oculus Rift subreddit from /u/FredzL:

> *Disclaimer* : pure speculation based on published patents and reviews.
>
> I think Magic Leap is :
>
> * 40°x40° FOV
> * 8 Mpx/4K (scanning fiber display with piezoelectric actuator)
> * 60 Hz
> * blocking light from the physical world (occlusion mask with LCD(s))
> * nearly correct accommodative depth cues (zone plate diffraction patterning device => 12 levels of depth from 0.5 m to 3 m)
> * low-persistence (720 Hz high-frequency binary display => 1.38 ms illumination per depth layer)
> * glasses form-factor (waveguide with embedded diffraction grating => end goal, not done yet)
> * release in 2016-2017
>
> I think Microsoft HoloLens is :
>
> * ~40°x22° FOV at most (from the reports : tiny FOV, rectangular)
> * 4 Mpx/2.5K (OLED) or 8 Mpx/4K (LCoS) but color sequential
> * 60 Hz
> * not blocking light from the physical world (additive blending)
> * no accommodative depth cues
> * full persistence
> * large and heavy glasses form-factor
> * release in 2015

reddit/com/r/oculus/comments/2t74sf/microsoft_announces_windows_holographic_ar/cnwsyny

A later update:

>Release dates were just shots in the dark based on the state of what has been shown (nothing for Magic Leap, what looks like a consumer design for Microsoft).
>The others are based on the patents I've read at that time and some known limits (no 4K OLED microdisplays).
>I since discovered other Microsoft patents about masking pixels and variable focus (not really accommodative depth cues but can limit the vergence-accommodation conflict).
>From the reviews it's not clear if that's already been implemented and if not, there is no way to known if it will in the future.

reddit/com/r/oculus/comments/2tiyos/fov_for_the_synthetic_bits_is_not_as_important_in/cnzxw3e
vrwiki.wikispaces/com/Magic+Leap
vrwiki.wikispaces/com/Microsoft+HoloLens


TV physicist Brian Cox and the visual effects team behind the film Gravity are supposedly making a show that debuts Magic Leap at the Manchester International Festival in July.

I’m curious as to how close they are to their patent pictures and wild promises.
Graeme Devine said that it was massive like the head mounted device from the Brainstorm movie, and I don’t think that the first look was too long ago.

If Microsoft gets slightly edged out on hardware, they’ll have to push good software.

E.g.

HoloLens Gaze detection:
>Gaze detection in a see-through, near-eye, mixed reality display

Bloomberg LP (makes financial software) built a virtual prototype of their data terminal for the Oculus Rift that has 20 virtual screens
Looking at a floating button, and pressing a HoloLens eye-tracking “select-what-am-looking-at” button would probably be better than trying to move a mouse-controlled cursor across multiple virtual screens.

>Microsoft patents eye-tracking keyboard software
>The idea’s just like swipe-based keyboard software, but instead of tracking the motion of your fingertip, the system tracks eye movement.
pocketnow/com/2014/12/24/eye-tracking-keyboard

>Microsoft Brings World’s Fastest Texting to Windows Phone 8.1
>“Our whole approach,” Paek says, “is all about promoting muscle memory and making shape writing robust to mistakes.”
research.microsoft/com/en-us/news/features/wordflow-040414/aspx

> Fully Articulated Hand Tracking
research.microsoft/com/en-us/projects/handpose/
3divi has a "turn a surface into touch surface" prototype Youtube video (youtube/com/watch?v=upGTLrSUa5c ) that uses Kinect, and a Pico projector.
Maybe you can replace the Pico projector with a AR generated image.

I would love to see Microsoft excel in Hololens productivity apps, such as something that would extend Visual Studio.

Since Lens looks to be geared toward indoor use, I wouldn't be surprised if it comes with a cord.

Patent pictures of Magic Leap depict mobile experiences, such as being at a grocery store, or mowing the lawn, but I personally prefer a solidly tracked indoor experience, and don't mind being tethered.
(I’d be more than happy to fuse multiple Kinects)

But regardless, I’ll probably be getting both of them.

 

[phongpan355]

I don't really care much about it. Be careful if you want to use it in the public places. Really disturbing others with holograms.
But if the hologram is going to appear in the real world, unlike Google Glass, I'll buy it. But I need to know where to get it, or where to buy. If I can get by airmail, Thailand Post is really good for breaking stuffs. (My home country is Thailand)

 

[drummerjames]

The holo lens seems so cool, and looks like it can have various implementations with the whole world. The only tweek i would make is to make it less bulky. although to be fair, it still is in development

 

[nateliv]

Using Microsoft HoloLens was surely an experience of a lifetime, the one that you can’t easily forget. This wonderful device is filled with a number of pros, however we did come across a few cons as well, all of which are enlisted below for your quick reference.

Pros
Hands free hologram experience
Using HoloLens is no rocket science, Microsoft has taken a number of steps to make this device extremely user friendly. There are no wires and remote control that works over this device, all you get is a head gear that has a few inbuilt buttons on the outer rin

Impressive resolution
Microsoft’s promise to give its users an ultimate holographic experience with HoloLens doesn’t seem illogical. The resolution of this device is so impressive that it literally transforms you to another world of digital excellence.

Spatial sound like never before
Apart from the high quality holographic resolution, HoloLens even boasts upon excellent spatial sound system that works wonders in giving its users a worthy AR experience.

Excellent build quality
Microsoft’s HoloLens comes with a headgear that might appear like few of its contemporaries, however the build quality that it comes with makes it all the more likeable and better device. HoloLens comes with a comfortable weight and sits right on the head giving its user a viewing experience like never before.

 

[MartinJ2]

I would also like to try them, but everywhere only Oculus is promoted, which I hate.