Microsoft’s New Idea: A Hologram Headset to Rewrite Reality
Microsoft today showed off an augmented reality headset slated for release later this year. The compact, visor-style device, called Hololens, generates holograms that make 3-D objects appear to the wearer to be overlaid on the real world.
Depth sensors in the device mean that virtual objects can be interactive and integrate smoothly into the real world. For example, a virtual game character could appear to be sitting on your coffee table, and respond to a prodding finger. Headphones built into the device can also give the impression that virtual objects are producing sound, even if they are behind you.
“We’re not talking about putting you into virtual worlds,” said Alex Kipman, a technical fellow at Microsoft who worked on Hololens, and previously led development of the Kinect depth-sensing game controller. “Holograms behave just like real-world objects.”
Nothing was said about how Microsoft had made the technology so compact, or how long its battery life might last on a charge. The device’s sensors and complex functions could use a lot of power. Kipman said that the device has general purpose and graphics processor chips, as well as a new “holographic processing” chip developed to handle calculations involved in displaying holograms.