Microsoft has unveiled its newest technology, the HoloLens, at the Build 2015 conference. Using a holographic headset, this technology will bring Windows 10 off your computer screen and into your world.
What is Microsoft HoloLens?
The HoloLens is a headset with a computer built in. You can see through the headset’s lens into the real world, but in addition to seeing reality, you will also see 3D objects generated by the Hololens. These objects, with which you can interact, can range from a computer screen to a dog sitting on the carpet. This is known as ‘augmented reality’, a combination of reality and virtual reality.
Augmented reality dates back to 1901, when it was first imagined in a novel by L Frank Baum, author of The Wizard of Oz. Since then, augmented reality has weaved its way into science fiction, Hollywood and, slowly, the real world.
How does it work?
Inside the headset are small projectors that shine light into your eyes. These lights make the 3D objects visible. The headset also has technology that allows it to scan the world around you, to make sure that the virtual objects aren’t moving through solid objects, and that the objects move and rotate as the person wearing the headset moves and rotates. Not making much sense? Watch the video below to see the HoloLens in action; it’ll clear up things and blow you away.
The applications for this technology are amazing. So, if you’d like to see more of the HoloLens in action, check out Microsoft’s videos on medicine and education, architecture and construction, and pretty much anything else that comes to mind.
What areas of life are you excited to see revolutionised with Microsoft Hololens?
