Windows 10 PCs coming out next year will have Windows Holographic access

Mixed reality is almost upon us. Microsoft Windows head Terry Myerson announced at Intel’s annual developers’ conference that the company is partnering with intel to allow Windows 10 PCs coming out next year to have support for mixed-reality applications. What mixed reality is, as defined by Recode: “The key term for mixed reality, or MR, is flexibility. It tries to combine the best aspects of both VR [virtual reality] and AR [augmented reality], wrapped up in a marketable term that sounds marginally less geeky than its cousins. In theory, mixed reality lets the user see the real world (like AR) while also seeing believable, virtual objects (like VR). And then it anchors those virtual objects to a point in real space, making it possible to treat them as "real," at least from the perspective of the person who can see the MR experience.”

The upcoming PCs will have the holographic shell built in—this is the same operating system running on the Microsoft HoloLens headset. PCs will work with a head-mounted display and run all Windows Holographic apps and this will be enabled by “6 degrees of freedom devices,” which are input devices to add positional tracking alongside other traditional input forms like clicking and pointing. And it’ll be widely available, too. So you don’t require a high-powered machine needed by some of today’s VR headsets. The Microsoft demo video at the conference showed Windows 10 Holographic running at 90FPS on a tiny Intel NUC desktop PC.

Source: TechCrunch + The Verge

Microsoft aims for a ‘mixed reality’ over a virtual one, opens HoloLens development to third-party partners

Microsoft claims the market for virtual reality devices is forecasted to hit 80 million devices per year by 2020. With almost every single tech company putting out some form of a VR headset or accessory, we don’t think that’s far off. But Microsoft is looking beyond the virtual world and entering what they call a “mixed reality” or the mix between the virtual and augmented reality. How Microsoft wants to do this is by opening up development of HoloLens to third-party companies via the Windows Holographic platform. They want to bring the experience not just to their HoloLens device but to whatever VR or AR or “mixed” device it can be made available. It’s not just for the headsets themselves but even the accessories, displays, or PCs needed to make mixed reality devices come to life.

Think of it a bit like Google’s own Daydream VR platform. And Microsoft aims for its partners—which include Intel, AMD, Qualcomm, HTC, Acer, ASUS, CyberPowerPC, Dell, Falcon Northwest, HP, iBuyPower, Lenovo, and MSI—to “push the limits and create opportunity across the ecosystem.” Of course, this means the platform works with Windows. And don’t be surprised if the consumer version of HoloLens comes from a third-party company. Check out the video above to see how Microsoft thinks this technology can be used in the future.

Source: Microsoft

Microsoft now accepting pre-orders for HoloLens Development Edition

If you’re a developer who applied for the Microsoft HoloLens Development Edition, you’re in for treat. The company has started to send out pre-order notifications to select developers from Canada and the U.S. with their devices expected to ship on March 30^th. And once these units ship, developers will gain access to holographic experiences of certain apps, which can be downloaded through the Windows Store including HoloStudio, Skype, RoboRaid, Fragments, Young Conker, HoloTour, and Actiongram.

Microsoft HoloLens takes augmented reality to space

Astronauts are known to be surrounded by some of the best and most advanced innovations the tech world has to offer. It’s a geek’s paradise. Proving it’s also the best place to try out new tech, astronaut Scott Kelly tweets a photo of him donning a pair of Microsoft HoloLens on the International Space Station (ISS). It isn't surprising that the HoloLens shows up aboard the ISS as NASA tested the device last year with its Weightless Wonder C9 jet for an experiment called Project Sidekick. The project used HoloLens to help astronauts communicate with ground operators and get more use out of existing devices on the ISS. Now, it isn’t known how Kelly is using the HoloLens up there but it could help with things like complex repairs being done in orbit.

Source: Mashable