Microsoft HoloLens

Microsoft Corporation
Type	Head-mounted display
Manufacturer	Microsoft Corporation
publication	January 2015
platform	Windows 10
Website	microsoft.com/de-de/hololens

Microsoft HoloLens are mixed reality glasses that allow the user to display interactive 3D projections in the immediate vicinity with the support of a natural user interface . HoloLens also works without a smartphone or an additional computer .

It has been available in the United States since March 30, 2016, and in Germany since October 12, 2016. At the moment (April 2018) it can be ordered as a “Development Edition” for € 3,299 and as a “Commercial Suite” for € 5,489. The latter, specially designed for use in companies, contains additional functions and may not be resold by resellers . There is no version that is explicitly aimed at private end customers without programming ambitions.

design

The HoloLens is a head-worn display unit that is connected to an adjustable, padded inner headband that allows the HoloLens to be tilted up and down, and back and forth. To wear the device, the user places the HoloLens on his head and adjusts it around the head on the back of the headband. Then the visor is folded in front of the eyes.

The front of the unit houses many of the sensors and associated hardware, including the processors, cameras, and projection lenses. The visor is tinted; in the visor there is a pair of transparent combiner lenses in which the projected images are displayed in the lower half. The HoloLens must be calibrated to the eye relief or the usual view of the user.

On the bottom edges of the page, near the user's ears, are two small, red, 3D audio speakers. The speakers compete with the background noise. They do not interfere with external sounds, so users can hear virtual sounds in addition to the surroundings. With head-related transfer functions, the HoloLens generates binaural sound that can simulate spatial effects, i.e. H. the user can virtually perceive and localize a sound as if it came from a virtual point or place.

At the top there are two pairs of buttons: display brightness buttons above the left ear and volume buttons above the right ear. The adjacent buttons are shaped differently - one concave, one convex - so that the user can distinguish them by touch.

At the end of the left temple there is a power button and a row of five small individual LED lights that are used to display the system status and for power management, to display the battery status and to set the power / standby mode. There is a USB 2.0 Micro-B socket on the lower edge. A 3.5 mm audio socket is located on the lower edge of the right temple.

technology

The Microsoft HoloLens is a high-resolution stereoscopic 3D head-mounted display with integrated sensors, loudspeakers and its own computer unit. In contrast to classic VR glasses such as the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive , the HoloLens can therefore run on its own and does not require an additional PC. The glasses do not put a real display in front of the user, they can see through and perceive objects in their environment.

Microsoft's own Windows 10, on which the Windows Mixed Reality platform runs, serves as the operating system .

Alex Kipman explained at the presentation of the HoloLens that Microsoft has developed a new type of HPU (Holo Processing Unit) in addition to the CPU and GPU . This HPU will only be responsible for calculating the projections.

business

The Microsoft HoloLens will be operated using gestures, speech, head movements and small buttons. Cameras will make it possible to perceive the surroundings, movements and gestures. In the event that the hand can no longer be recognized behind the displayed projection, a cursor icon is displayed at that point.

Left hand index finger gesture.
Bloom Gesture
Index finger gesture right hand.
View at an angle from above
front view
User field of view for the room scan
User field of view with object projection in space

Before you can use HoloLens, certain settings have to be made. The housing consists of two rings, an inner and an outer. As with a baseball cap, the case is adjusted to sit comfortably on your head. Then you have to adjust the field of view in order to achieve an optimal representation of the projections. This can take a little time, but according to Microsoft it is one of the most important settings.

history

On January 21, 2015, Microsoft showed the HoloLens during the presentation of Windows 10, in which it was used for the Minecraft game and Windows 10 functions.

At the Mobile World Congress 2019, Microsoft presented the further developed HoloLens 2. This will be offered in the USA, Japan, China, Germany, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, France, Australia and New Zealand for around 3500 US dollars in the course of 2019. Here, the field of vision is doubled. The resolution of 47 pixels per degree was retained. The wearing comfort is also improved.

criticism

Immediately before the opening of one of the largest international technology conferences - the Mobile World Congress 2019 in Barcelona - Microsoft employees wrote in a letter to CEO Satya Nadella and Microsoft President Brad Smith that they "refuse to develop technologies for warfare and suppression. " They demanded that corporate management terminate the November 2018 contract for the supply of 100,000 HoloLens VR glasses for $ 479 million for the US military. The MR glasses are said to offer soldiers "increased ability to kill, agility and greater situational awareness".