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Hands-On with Microsoft's New Holographic Goggles

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Re: Hands-On with Microsoft's New Holographic Goggles

#301

Post by 8note »

semi-extrinsic wrote: post #194
nsxwolf wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could the sensors be indeed flooding the device with terabytes of data, but the device can only sample that data at a more reasonable rate?

Well, from that perspective, an analog temperature sensor is flooding your ADC with infinite GB/s. For further comparison: the fastest CPUs you can get nowadays have an aggregated memory bandwidth of ~ 90 GB/s using four lanes.

if you have enough pins, a custom asic can do just about whatever you want. the data flowing into the HPU is likely huge, but it is processed down into something the CPU can deal with.

Re: Hands-On with Microsoft's New Holographic Goggles

#302

Post by jballanc »

imron wrote: post #293
shanselman wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I totally agree. AR made and makes ZERO sense to my non-technical spouse and family. Holographic makes total sense. It's a clever rebranding and it will help sell ALL AR platforms, IMHO.

There are various times in history when vacuum cleaners, cell phones and browsing the web would have made ZERO sense to your non-technical family. People will learn new words that define new things and then suddenly it will seem the most natural thing in the world to call it by that name.

Sometimes people learn new words, other times keeping old words (usually modified) works better. To take your example, in Turkish the word for vacuum cleaner literally translates as "electric broom", and cell phones are commonly called "cep" which actually translates as "pocket". Or consider the British who still use electric torches (that's a flashlight for all you non-Brits).

Re: Hands-On with Microsoft's New Holographic Goggles

#303

Post by JungleGymSam »

mentos wrote: post #62

What is the killer app that will get people to go out and buy these? I don't think Holo Studio is it. Where is your imagination racing to?

Where I work we sell shipping containers filled with products of various kinds. It would be incredible to fit a customer with these and walk them around the containers, open the doors, and interact with what's inside.

Normally you'd need a large open space (and a forklift) to demonstrate the product but with this? You could do it in a large room.

I think this is actually the killer app for anyone too.

Imagine shopping at Amazon and being able to manipulate a product in your hands before you buy? Want to buy studio monitors for the PC but don't know where to place them? Whip out your HoloLens and put them wherever you want!

How would that piece of art look on your wall? What about the other wall over there?

IKEA? Hmm... which couch looks best in my living room?

Imagine seeing a marker shooting into the sky, like an old movie premier spotlight, that marked the locations of your friends and family? Or just anything.

At an amusement park and don't know where the nearest bathroom is? Follow the blue arrows on the ground and you'll find it.

The possibilities are endless.

Re: Hands-On with Microsoft's New Holographic Goggles

#304

Post by calgoo »

I just finished reading Vernor Vinge's Rainbows End [1], and then this comes out!! I want it now!!! This is so the way to go. If you are a SciFi fan, you have probably heard of Vernor's books, if not, I really recommend them. They have actually given me a brighter outlook on the future of humanity :) Apart from Rainbows End, check out Zones of Thought[2] if you want a outlook at what space travel could become in the future.

Back to the AR subject, I much prefer AR over true matrix style VR. Let us stay in the real world, move about the real world, extend it with the virtual.

[1] http://www.amazon.com/Rainbows-End-Vernor-Vinge/dp/081253636... [2] http://www.amazon.com/A-Deepness-Sky-Zones-Thought/dp/081253...

[Edit: Grammar]

Re: Hands-On with Microsoft's New Holographic Goggles

#305

Post by tonylemesmer »

jballanc wrote: post #302
imron wrote: post #293

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are various times in history when vacuum cleaners, cell phones and browsing the web would have made ZERO sense to your non-technical family. People will learn new words that define new things and then suddenly it will seem the most natural thing in the world to call it by that name.

Sometimes people learn new words, other times keeping old words (usually modified) works better. To take your example, in Turkish the word for vacuum cleaner literally translates as "electric broom", and cell phones are commonly called "cep" which actually translates as "pocket". Or consider the British who still use electric torches (that's a flashlight for all you non-Brits).

we just say "torch"

Re: Hands-On with Microsoft's New Holographic Goggles

#306

Post by mattlutze »

imron wrote: post #293
shanselman wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I totally agree. AR made and makes ZERO sense to my non-technical spouse and family. Holographic makes total sense. It's a clever rebranding and it will help sell ALL AR platforms, IMHO.

There are various times in history when vacuum cleaners, cell phones and browsing the web would have made ZERO sense to your non-technical family. People will learn new words that define new things and then suddenly it will seem the most natural thing in the world to call it by that name.

Portable tape players were cool. Then suddenly Sony made one, and we now all (those of us old enough) remember fondly our first or favorite walkman, whether it was and actual Walkman or not.

Smart Phones were hot tech, but our non-technical families didn't really get the point until suddenly those "smart phones" were "iPhones".

Web searches were a mystical dark art, with all your Alta Vista voodoo, until there was a single box with an algorithm that did a pretty good job finding what you meant... and then many competitors later, someone called one of those boxes "Google" and now that's the verb we use.

Marketing, sales, adoption drive the names things come to be known by. Sure, in reality it's Augmented Reality, but if in 5 years everyone's talking about their sweet new Holographic ski goggles, it's still AR in the mainstream.

A rose by any other name

Re: Hands-On with Microsoft's New Holographic Goggles

#307

Post by aragot »

walod wrote: post #241
dedward wrote: post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No need to fake it... if you can get the retinal projection accurate enough, with fast enough eye tracking, the depth is as real as anything else you'll see in real life...the goal would be to have it feel completely natural.

I really hope they get the accurate tracking and depth and getting objects to "stick" where they belong in 3d space correctly, without moving out of place or floating in a wrong way, with quick head movement. If they can do that, most of the battle is won and it will be amazing. Edit: although, of course they'll need some intelligence on the surroundings to identify surfaces and stuff. But imagine like re-decorating…

> intelligence on the surroundings

In case any reader here weren't aware how Kinect works, it sends to the developer a 2D image of the depth. Of course as walod says, there's work to do to identify surfaces (as you can see on the image below, background elements are excluded).

http://www.gadgetguy.com.au/hands-on-with-the-xbox-one/micro...

Re: Hands-On with Microsoft's New Holographic Goggles

#308

Post by guardian5x »

dewiz wrote: post #29
brosky117 wrote: post #23

What are your thoughts about this? I'll tell you mine. I just watched Google slowly, painfully, realize that Google Glass isn't commercially viable (in it's current form and to the general public). I can't help but feel that this is a larger, albeit more immersive, version of Google Glass. I only make this point in regards to any plans for a sci-fi, everyday wearable HUD. There is obviously a great demand for this ki…

What I find interesting is Microsoft launching this technology just after Google dropped it. I think the focus on business is the right way to go in this case, not everything can start from the consumer, e.g. look at how PC started from a geeky thing for scientists and is now in our pockets and wrists.

I didn't know Google Glass combined a 3D Camera with full augmented reality vision.

Re: Hands-On with Microsoft's New Holographic Goggles

#309

Post by aragot »

hunterloftis wrote: post #291
wbillingsley wrote: post #249

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The main application that sells it is likely to be less specialised than the cool demos, which are always a bit niche (modelling industrial design for motorbikes etc). I wonder if its "killer app" might just be that now a virtually big screen takes up little physical space/weight. Clear the big monitor off your desk, now your 11" laptop (or smaller) can effectively have a 40" screen, etc. Unlike Oculus, you can still…

This is the clear winner for me. A portable, wireless keyboard + hololens = the biggest virtual desktop in the world that also doesn't shut you out from reality / coworkers / your desk / etc. Whether or not the more ambitious use-cases ever materialize, I'd be happy to trade in my macbook for this.

The focal point is a problem. It is advised to keep your screen at >65cm so your eye doesn't have to accomodate (coincidentally, the length of your arms). A big problem of Google Glass is the focal point is a few cm away and it is known to give headaches. The smaller the screen is, the more myopic you become.

It is absolutely possible to use a lens system to move the focal point to the distance, but hasn't been done yet, probably because you can't do it on 120x120 degrees.

I wouldn't work on a virtual screen for long hours until there's an answer to that. But once it is solved, I can see how we'll all become Holographic addicts ;)

Re: Hands-On with Microsoft's New Holographic Goggles

#310

Post by beobab »

pyrocat wrote: post #175
mkolodny wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this type of AR / holographic technology has many, many more potential real-world applications than VR. With VR, you're shutting yourself off from the outside world. Here, you're enhancing the outside world with technology. You still get to interact with others. Using HoloLens doesn't stop you from doing almost anything. What I'm curious to find out is whether HoloLens will run into the same core problem as G…

I noticed that the promo videos all show you doing things indoors, in more or less private settings. Your living room, your kitchen, your workspace. Contrasted to initial Google Glass video (skydiving, jogging, meeting for lunch .etc) I think it's safe to say Microsoft has learned from Google's mistakes.

I noticed this too. It avoids a whole class of problems interacting with other people, and seems like a good idea marketing-wise.

I was also thinking about battery life. If it's not designed for outside, then presumably you'll be near a charger, so you're less likely to run out of charge when you need it.

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