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You'll Soon Be Able To 'Holoport' Anywhere In the World With Microsoft VR Tech (thenextweb.com)

Posted by msmash on from the fascinating-world-of-ar dept.

An anonymous reader cites an article on The Next Web: Microsoft research manager Shahram Izadi is showing off the company's latest innovation using HoloLens: 'holoportation,' enabling him to appear as if he's there in real-time, anywhere in the world. His image is captured in 3D by cameras placed around the room. This is then stitched together, compressed and transmitted so someone else can see, hear and interact with him as though he's right there with them. You can even playback previous interactions, as though "walking into a living memory," and miniaturize the content to make it easier to consume. "Imagine being able to virtually teleport from one place to another," he says. Well, if you're the owner of a HoloLens, you soon could do. Microsoft's HoloLens is arguably the front-runner in the nascent, but fast-evolving, augmented reality space. The company's technology has previously been seen used by astronauts and scientists to "walk on the Mars surface" without stepping out of their office on Earth. It's fascinating to see how Microsoft continues to further innovate in this field.

27 of 54 comments (clear)

  1. With 45 degrees of FOV by bongey · · Score: 1

    The hololens will fail, the FOV is too narrow to be useful. The meta 2 is already better.

    1. Re:With 45 degrees of FOV by bongey · · Score: 1

      Well you can actually see what the meta 2 looks like here from a iphone video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
      The hololens videos are all cgi edited videos, not actual videos.

    2. Re:With 45 degrees of FOV by stephanruby · · Score: 1

      The hololens will fail, the FOV is too narrow to be useful. The meta 2 is already better.

      Yes, Hololens will fail, but not because of the Meta 2. The Meta 2 gets its processing power from a tethered top of the line desktop computer. Hololens on the other hand is untethered. It has all the processing power it needs inside its helmet. The two devices are not comparable at all.

      That being said, I agree with you. What Microsoft originally bought from ODG for $120 million was a license to their AR technology, it was never meant to double as an immersive VR gaming platform. If Microsoft couldn't acquire the right technology from the get go for the strategy it had in mind, it should just have started from scratch like MagicLeap did.

    3. Re:With 45 degrees of FOV by arglebargle_xiv · · Score: 1

      As long as the tech allows you to holoport into Tera Patrick's pants or Sunny Leone's bed, which, lets face it, is what 99.9% of VR gear will be used for, who cares?

    4. Re:With 45 degrees of FOV by bongey · · Score: 1

      MS fanboi explodes.

    5. Re:With 45 degrees of FOV by bongey · · Score: 1

      Hololens sacrifices everything to be untethered , and gains nothing.
      So you can use word and excel while riding your bicycle
      Hololens =Small Screen+ Windows Phone+ Intel Mobile CPU/GPU +Small Battery= 3 hours= Winning?
      Meta 2+ Macbook Air + backpack = 12 hours = coding env from heaven

  2. My company's VR tech actually teleports you by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I'll take 500 million of investment money now, thanks. No I don't have to prove anything, saying it does is good enough in today's tech world.

  3. Because ... by Kohath · · Score: 1

    it's useful to do that?

    1. Re:Because ... by Kohath · · Score: 1

      Except everyone who wants to see the hologram has to wear a hololens headset.

      All the benefits of a conference call, but much less convenient and much more expensive.

    2. Re:Because ... by dlingman · · Score: 2

      Vader certainly didn't have a problem with that when talking to the emperor...

  4. Front runner? no. by JustNiz · · Score: 2, Insightful

    >> Microsoft's HoloLens is arguably the front-runner in the nascent, but fast-evolving, augmented reality space.

    No it isn't. It isn't anything other than made-up marketing hype until you can actually buy them.

  5. Gah! Skype/Hangouts video is already a menace! by DamonHD · · Score: 1

    Especially if you are at home and haven't gotten dressed and the call starts in video/holo mode without being asked!

    Rgds

    Damon

    --
    http://m.earth.org.uk/
  6. Well, if you're the owner of a HoloLens... by Tx · · Score: 3, Interesting

    "Well, if you're the owner of a HoloLens, you soon could do."

    You mean if you're the owner of a HoloLens ... and a bunch of 3D cameras (looked like about eight in the video) ... with hololens tracking systems attached ... and whatever rig is required to do the processing on the outputs from those cameras ...

    So no, if you're the owner of just a HoloLens (even if you could actually buy one yet), you will not be doing this any time soon, not for any definition of "soon" that I recognise.

    --
    Oh no... it's the future.
    1. Re:Well, if you're the owner of a HoloLens... by peragrin · · Score: 1

      If you have bandwidth you can off load the processing to axure of Amazon.

      Though holoconferencing sounds better. Personally I can't wait until we get star wars style holoconferencing though.

      --
      i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
    2. Re:Well, if you're the owner of a HoloLens... by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      Personally I can't wait until we get star wars style holoconferencing though.

      The killer feature will be remotely choking people: "You have failed me for the last time, Admiral."

    3. Re: Well, if you're the owner of a HoloLens... by tigersha · · Score: 1

      'Killer' feature indeed

      --
      The dangers of excessive individualism are nothing compared to the oppressiveness of excessive collectivism
  7. So... by tnk1 · · Score: 2

    Am I the only one who thinks that holograms as communication would be really cool, but haven't quite figured out how talking to the image of someone else is somehow better than just talking to them on the phone. Even with video cameras I can sort of point it at my head so I can be videoconferencing in gym shorts and no one will care. What does someone get out of me standing there?

    1. Re:So... by ColdWetDog · · Score: 2, Insightful

      What does someone get out of me standing there?

      Body language, emotive expressions, a feel for your interest in conversation. That's why Skype is such a hit. Now, the big question is whether a grainy whole body image of you is better than a moderately high rez image of your face.

      For Carrie Fisher perhaps. For the rest of us, not so much.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    2. Re:So... by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 2

      Body language, emotive expressions, a feel for your interest in conversation.

      Also boobs.

      --
      systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
  8. Holobaloney by orledrat · · Score: 1

    If you squint hard enough, you can already spot him lurking outside your Windows at night:

    HoloHans(®)

    You see, Microsoft's engineers have finally managed to implement a VR Hans Gruber, and make no mistake, he's there to snatch all of your codes. "I'm going to count to three point eleven, there will not be a four. Give me the code."

  9. Holobaloney aside.. by orledrat · · Score: 1

    PS.. I tend to take Hololens videos with a bit of salt (since the attempts at covering up the limited FOV in the first footage) but this looks pretty damn neat for a camera rig that's not too complex, their algorithms seem to handle occlusion and such near-seamlessly.

  10. Obligatory by TuringTest · · Score: 1

    This freely available visual novel is a must-read, now that corporation-driven virtual reality is becoming real (pun not intended).

    --
    Singularity: a belief in the "God" idea with the "demiurge" relation inverted.
    1. Re: Obligatory by TuringTest · · Score: 1

      s/virtual reality/augmented reality.

      --
      Singularity: a belief in the "God" idea with the "demiurge" relation inverted.
  11. If you thought conference calls were bad... by SonicSpike · · Score: 1

    you're gonna hate this!

    --
    Libertas in infinitum
    1. Re:If you thought conference calls were bad... by delt0r · · Score: 1

      I know right. How can i take a conference call in the toilet now?

      --
      If information wants to be free, why does my internet connection cost so much?
  12. How long until it becomes racist? by vilanye · · Score: 1

    It will only allow you to view white supremacist meetings.

    Seriously though, where is the need for something like this? Unless you can smack the hologram and the person on the other end can feel it. That might be worth something.

    This doesn't solve any problems at all. Much like everything MS has done since Windows 8. Points for consistency.

  13. Virtual Hitler? by Grishnakh · · Score: 1

    Since Microsoft has publicly announced they're a big fan of him, will Microsoft use this to show us a virtual Hitler?