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Also known as | Project Baraboo (during the development period) |
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Developer | Microsoft |
Manufacturer | Microsoft |
Product family | Windows 10 |
Type | Mixed reality augmented reality head-mounted display smartglasses |
Generation | 2 |
Release date |
(Development Edition 2) announced May 2, 2019
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Introductory price | $3,000 [1] $5,000 (Commercial Suite) [2] |
Operating system | Windows Mixed Reality |
CPU | Intel Atom x5-Z8100 (1GHz) |
Memory | |
Storage | 64 GB (flash memory) |
Display | 2.3 megapixel widescreen head-mounted display |
Sound | Spatial sound technology |
Input |
|
Controller input | Gestural commands via sensors and HPU |
Camera | 2.4 MP |
Touchpad | Side Panel |
Connectivity | |
Platform | Windows 10 |
Mass | 579 g (1.28 lb) |
Successor | HoloLens 2 |
Website | Official website |
Microsoft HoloLens is an augmented reality (AR)/mixed reality (MR) headset developed and manufactured by Microsoft. HoloLens runs the Windows Mixed Reality platform under the Windows 10 operating system. Some of the positional tracking technology used in HoloLens can trace its lineage to the Microsoft Kinect, an accessory for Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Xbox One game consoles that was introduced in 2010. [3]
The pre-production version of HoloLens, the Development Edition, shipped on March 30, 2016, and is targeted to developers in the United States and Canada for a list price of $3000 [4] [5] which allowed hobbyist, professionals, and corporations to participate in the pre-production version of HoloLens. [6] Samsung and Asus have extended an offer to Microsoft to help produce their own mixed-reality products, in collaboration with Microsoft, based around the concept and hardware on HoloLens. [7] [8] On October 12, 2016, Microsoft announced global expansion of HoloLens and publicized that HoloLens would be available for preorder in Australia, Ireland, France, Germany, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. [9] There is also a commercial suite (similar to a pro edition of Windows), with enterprise features such as BitLocker security. As of May 2017, the suite sold for US$5,000. [2] Microsoft has decided to rent the Hololens without clients making the full investment. Microsoft partners with a company called Absorbents to give the service of HoloLens rental. [10]
HoloLens 2 was announced at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, on February 24, 2019, [11] and was available on preorder at $3,500. [12] [13]
The HoloLens is a head-mounted display unit connected to an adjustable, cushioned inner headband, which can tilt HoloLens up and down, as well as forward and backward. [14] To wear the unit, the user fits the HoloLens on their head, using an adjustment wheel at the back of the headband to secure it around the crown, supporting and distributing the weight of the unit equally for comfort, [15] before tilting the visor towards the front of the eyes. [14]
The front of the unit houses many of the sensors and related hardware, including the processors, cameras and projection lenses. The visor is tinted; [15] enclosed in the visor piece is a pair of transparent combiner lenses, in which the projected images are displayed in the lower half. [16] The HoloLens must be calibrated to the interpupillary distance (IPD), or accustomed vision of the user. [17] [18]
Along the bottom edges of the side, located near the user's ears, are a pair of small, red 3D audio speakers. The speakers, competing against typical sound systems, do not obstruct external sounds, allowing the user to hear virtual sounds, along with the environment. [15] Using head-related transfer functions, the HoloLens generates binaural audio, which can simulate spatial effects; meaning the user, virtually, can perceive and locate a sound, as though it is coming from a virtual pinpoint or location. [19] [20] [note 1]
On the top edge are two pairs of buttons: display brightness buttons above the left ear, and volume buttons above the right ear. [21] Adjacent buttons are shaped differently—one concave, one convex—so that the user can distinguish them by touch. [14]
At the end of the left arm is a power button and row of five, small individual LED nodes, used to indicate system status, as well as for power management, indicating battery level and setting power/standby mode. [14] A USB 2.0 micro-B receptacle is located along the bottom edge. [15] A 3.5 mm audio jack is located along the bottom edge of the right arm. [5] [15]
The HoloLens is a first generation AR device. The displays on the HoloLens are simple waveguide displays with a fixed focus of approximately two meters. Because of the fixed focus, the displays exhibit the Vergence-Accommodation Conflict. [22]
The HoloLens features an inertial measurement unit (IMU) (which includes an accelerometer, gyroscope, and a magnetometer) [20] four "environment understanding" sensors (two on each side), an energy-efficient depth camera with a 120°×120° angle of view, [23] a 2.4-megapixel photographic video camera, a four-microphone array, and an ambient light sensor. [5] [24]
In addition to an Intel Cherry Trail SoC containing the CPU and GPU, [25] HoloLens features a custom-made Microsoft Holographic Processing Unit (HPU), [5] a coprocessor manufactured specifically for the HoloLens by Microsoft. The SoC and the HPU each have 1GB LPDDR3 and share 8MB SRAM, with the SoC also controlling 64GB eMMC and running the Windows 10 operating system. The HPU uses 28 custom DSPs from Tensilica [26] to process and integrate data from the sensors, as well as handling tasks such as spatial mapping, gesture recognition, and voice and speech recognition. [16] [20] According to Alex Kipman, the HPU processes "terabytes of information". One attendee estimated that the display field of view of the demonstration units was 30°×17.5°. [27] In an interview at the 2015 Electronic Entertainment Expo in June, Microsoft Vice-President of Next-Gen Experiences, Kudo Tsunoda, indicated that the field of view is unlikely to be significantly different on release of the current version. [28]
The HoloLens contains an internal rechargeable battery, with average life rated at 2–3 hours of active use, or 2 weeks of standby time. The HoloLens can be operated while charging. [5]
HoloLens features IEEE 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.1 Low Energy (LE) wireless connectivity. The headset uses Bluetooth LE to pair with the included Clicker, a thumb-sized finger-operating input device that can be used for interface scrolling and selecting. The Clicker features a clickable surface for selecting, and an orientation sensor which provides for scrolling functions via tilting and panning of the unit. The Clicker features an elastic finger loop for holding the device, and a USB 2.0 micro-B receptacle for charging its internal battery. [29]
The HoloLens core display has been integrated into hard hat hardware systems. [30]
Since 2016, a number of augmented-reality applications have been showcased for the HoloLens. Some of the applications that were available at launch included:
Other applications announced or showcased for HoloLens include:
The HoloLens uses voice commands, gaze, hand gestures, and a controller as the primary input methods. [69] Gaze commands, such as head-tracking, allows the user to bring application focus to whatever the user is perceiving. [70] "Elements"—or any virtual application or button—are selected using an air tap method, similar to clicking an imaginary computer mouse. The tap can be held for a drag simulation to move an element, as well as voice commands for certain commands and actions.
The HoloLens shell carries over and adapts many elements from the Windows desktop environment. A "bloom" gesture for accessing the shell (performing a similar function to pressing a Windows key on a Windows keyboard or tablet, or the Xbox button on an Xbox One Controller) is performed by opening one's hand, fingers spread with the palm facing up. [71] [72] Windows can be dragged to a particular position, as well as resized. Virtual elements such as windows or menus can be "pinned" to locations, physical structures or objects within the environment; or can be "carried", or fixed in relation to the user, following the user as they move around. [73] Title bars for application windows have a title on the left, and buttons for window management functions on the right.
In April 2016 Microsoft created the Microsoft HoloLens App for Windows 10 PCs and Windows 10 Mobile devices. The app allows developers to run apps on the HoloLens, use cell phone or computer keyboards for text input, view streamed video from the HoloLens on an external device, and remotely capture mixed reality photos and videos.
Microsoft Visual Studio is an IDE that can be used to develop applications (both 2D and 3D) for HoloLens. Applications can be tested using HoloLens emulator (included into Visual Studio 2015 IDE) or HoloLens Development Edition.
HoloLens can run almost all Universal Windows Platform apps. [74] These apps appear as 2D projections. Not all Windows 10 APIs are currently supported by HoloLens, [75] but in most cases the same app is able to run across all Windows 10 devices (including HoloLens), and the same tools that are used to develop applications for Windows PC or Windows Phone can be used to develop a HoloLens app.
3D applications, or "holographic" applications, use Windows Holographic APIs. Microsoft recommends Unity engine and Vuforia to create 3D apps for HoloLens, but it's also possible for a developer to build their own engine using DirectX and Windows APIs. [76]
In November 2018 Microsoft got a contract for the supply of 100,000 HoloLens MR glasses, worth $479 million, to the U.S. military. [77] The MR goggles are intended to provide "increased lethality, mobility, and situational awareness necessary to achieve overmatch against [...] current and future adversaries." Just before the opening of one of the largest international technology conferences—the GSMA Mobile World Congress 2019 in Barcelona—fifty Microsoft employees wrote a letter to their CEO Satya Nadella and President Brad Smith stating that they "refuse to develop technologies for warfare and oppression". They demanded that corporate management terminate the contract. [78]
Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience that combines the real world and computer-generated 3D content. The content can span multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory and olfactory. AR can be defined as a system that incorporates three basic features: a combination of real and virtual worlds, real-time interaction, and accurate 3D registration of virtual and real objects. The overlaid sensory information can be constructive, or destructive. As such, it is one of the key technologies in the reality-virtuality continuum.
Mixed reality (MR) is a term used to describe the merging of a real-world environment and a computer-generated one. Physical and virtual objects may co-exist in mixed reality environments and interact in real time.
Microsoft Software Updater is a Windows and OS X based application launched in 2006, that enables customers to update and recover their mobile device firmware of a S40 or S60 or Lumia device from any Internet enabled access point. To avoid data loss users are prompted with on-screen advice on how to safely update their device.
Microsoft engineering groups are the operating divisions of Microsoft. Starting in April 2002, Microsoft organised itself into seven groups, each an independent financial entity. In September 2005, Microsoft announced a reorganization of its then seven groups into three. In July 2013, Microsoft announced another reorganization into five engineering groups and six corporate affairs groups. A year later, in June 2015, Microsoft reformed into three engineering groups. In September 2016, a new group was created to focus on artificial intelligence and research. On March 29, 2018, a new structure merged all of these into three.
An optical head-mounted display (OHMD) is a wearable device that has the capability of reflecting projected images as well as allowing the user to see through it. In some cases, this may qualify as augmented reality (AR) technology. OHMD technology has existed since 1997 in various forms, but despite a number of attempts from industry, has yet to have had major commercial success.
Magic Leap, Inc. is an American technology company that released a head-mounted augmented reality display, called Magic Leap One, which superimposes 3D computer-generated imagery over real world objects. It is attempting to construct a light-field chip using silicon photonics.
Windows Mixed Reality (WMR) is a discontinued platform by Microsoft which provides augmented reality and virtual reality experiences with compatible head-mounted displays.
Sidekick is a project developed by NASA and Microsoft, started in December 2015 on the International Space Station, which provides virtual assistance to astronauts using Microsoft HoloLens augmented reality headsets.
AltspaceVR was a social VR platform that was founded in 2013 by Eric Romo and launched its initial product in May 2015. In 2017 it was acquired by Microsoft and became part of the Mixed Reality division within the Cloud and AI group. Some elements of the platform appear in Microsoft Mesh.
A vision processing unit (VPU) is an emerging class of microprocessor; it is a specific type of AI accelerator, designed to accelerate machine vision tasks.
OpenXR is an open-source, royalty-free standard for access to virtual reality and augmented reality platforms and devices. It is developed by a working group managed by the Khronos Group consortium. OpenXR was announced by the Khronos Group on February 27, 2017, during GDC 2017. A provisional version of the standard was released on March 18, 2019, to enable developers and implementers to provide feedback on it. On July 29, 2019, OpenXR 1.0 was released to the public by Khronos Group at SIGGRAPH 2019 and on April 15, 2024, OpenXR 1.1 was released by Khronos.
Microsoft HoloLens 2 is a mixed reality head-mounted display developed and manufactured by Microsoft. It is the successor to the original Microsoft HoloLens. The first variant of the device, The HoloLens 2 enterprise edition, debuted on February 24, 2019. This was followed by a developer edition that was announced on May 2, 2019. The HoloLens 2 was subsequently released in limited numbers on November 7, 2019.
The Azure Kinect DK is a discontinued developer kit and PC peripheral which employs the use of artificial intelligence sensors for computer vision and speech models, and is connected to the Microsoft Azure cloud. It is the successor to the Microsoft Kinect line of sensors.
Alex Kipman is a Brazilian engineer and inventor who is the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Analog AI. Previously, he was the lead developer of the Microsoft HoloLens smartglasses and helped develop the Xbox Kinect.
The Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) is an augmented reality headset being developed by Microsoft for the United States Army. It is intended to improve situational awareness by overlaying sensor imagery and other information on the soldier's field of view. Originally developed for infantry, it is also being adapted for use by mounted soldiers and aircrew.
Microsoft Holoportation is a project from Microsoft Research that demonstrates real-time holographic communications with the Microsoft Hololens. Holoportation is described as "a new type of 3D capture technology that allows high-quality 3D models of people to be reconstructed, compressed and transmitted anywhere in the world in real time. This allows users wearing virtual or augmented reality displays to see, hear and interact with remote participants in 3D, almost as if they were present in the same physical space. From an audio-visual perspective, communicating and interacting with remote users edges closer to face-to-face communication." The project was launched by Shahram Izadi and his Microsoft team in 2016. In March 2016, Alex Kipman performed a live demonstration of the technology at the TED conference as part of his talk. In 2020, Microsoft Mesh was launched which offered Holoportation capabilities to "project yourself as your most lifelike, photorealistic self in mixed reality to interact as if you are there in person"
Microsoft Mesh is a cloud-based platform for collaboration in mixed reality, offering it both as an app and as a service. Microsoft Mesh leverages Microsoft 365 to allow people in different physical locations, using different types of devices, to participate and collaborate in a shared immersive space. There are two different applications of Mesh: Immersive Spaces in Teams and custom environments that are developed with Unity and currently used with a dedicated Mesh client application.
Vergence-accommodation conflict (VAC), also known as accommodation-vergence conflict, is a visual phenomenon that occurs when the brain receives mismatching cues between vergence and accommodation of the eye. This commonly occurs in virtual reality devices, augmented reality devices, 3D movies, and other types of stereoscopic displays and autostereoscopic displays. The effect can be unpleasant and cause eye strain.
The Meta Quest Pro is a mixed reality (MR) headset developed by Reality Labs, a division of Meta Platforms.
Mixed Reality Toolkit (MRTK) is an open-source software development kit (SDK) developed by Microsoft in 2016 for the development of mixed reality (MR) and augmented reality (AR) software applications. It consists of a collection of components and features designed to enhance the mixed reality user and developer experiences. The toolkit was originally developed by Microsoft for the release of the HoloLens 1 augmented reality headset, although it supports a variety of platforms.
We will work to get devices out as quickly as possible. As soon as additional devices are available, more accepted applicants will be invited to purchase.
That means very little pressure on your nose, and even if you're wearing glasses you can generally find a workable way to keep them on underneath.
HoloLens is the first—and so far—only holographic computer out there. [...] I hope that in the not-so-distant future there will be many such devices. [...] This is running Windows 10. All of the APIs for human and environment understanding are part of Windows, and this version of Windows that we put on this device—we call it Windows Holographic.
One Microsoft employee [...] typed my IPD (interpupillary distance) into a connected PC. Microsoft says the final version will automatically measure the distnace [ sic ] between your eyes, but the prototypes don't have that feature yet.
This custom silicon efficiently processes data from the sensors, resulting in a relatively simple yet informative output that can be easily used by developers so they can focus on creating amazing experiences without having to work through complex physics calculations.
As I was stripped of all devices and gadgets before being allowed into the demo room, I had to guesstimeasure it by covering the visible screen with my hands (fingers splayed) at arm's length, ending up with 1 3/4 hands horizontally, and 1 hand vertically (in other words, a 16:9 screen aspect ratio) (see Figure 1). In non-Doc-Ok units, that comes out to about 30° by 17.5° (for comparison, the Oculus Rift DK2′s field of view is about 100° by 100°).
the hardware we have now [...] the field of view isn't exactly final, but I wouldn't say it's going to be [...] hugely, noticeably different, either.
...but the rover moves everyday, and we wanted this tool to be useful operationally, so we actually needed to, not just do this once, but we needed a way to create these scenes easily and automatically as the rover moves, and new imagery is downlinked.Abercrombie, Parker (January 23, 2016). A Cloud-based Architecture for Processing 3D Mars Terrain (PDF). SCaLE 14x — The Fourteenth Annual Southern California Linux Expo . Retrieved February 17, 2016.
It's a new application under development in my lab, and we're talking about it publicly for the first time today. It's a tool for spacecraft designers, and it borrows a lot of technology from the work that we're doing for our applications on the International Space Station.
Each lens has three layers of glass—in blue, green, and red—full of microthin corrugated grooves that diffract light. [...] A "light engine" above the lenses projects light into the glasses, where it hits the grating and then volleys between the layers of glass millions of times.