In Microsoft want togo systematically with theHololensto try to avoid what happened with Kinect, but have taken an important step.Developers who showed their interest in taking the device to start working with it can today confirm your bet reserving these augmented reality glasses andpaying the $3000it costs each unit.
Units willbegin shipping to buyers on 30 March, but Microsoft want to make clear that this is only a preliminary step, and that this technology still has much work ahead.There are no clear implementation scenarios and sufficient tools to take advantage of these glasses, and the final version could still take a while to appear.
Slowly and with good lyrics
In Microsoftthey have not given specific dates, but in aninterview for Re / Code Alex Kipman, the engineer who created Kinect, Redmond said that in “no hurry” to offer the commercial version.The idea, ofcourse, is that the ecosystem of applications and games that can take advantage of the HoloLenscan be sufficiently nourishedso that there is real interest in the device.
To try to offer-interesting features to developers in Microsoft itself includingsix augmented reality applicationsthat try to highlight the “unique” capabilities of Hololens and could serve as inspiration for those developers.These include a specific version of Skype or HoloStudio, which lets youcreate 3D holo-objects easily.
In Microsoft, they are clear that theywant totry application ecosystem that is as powerfuland large aspossible before releasing these glasses commercially for the situation that has ended upproducing with Kinect does not occur.It remains to be seen if developers really rely on a product that has very serious competitors in the virtual reality glasses that willbegin to take off this year.
The hardware specifications revealed
As part of that announcement, Microsoft has unveiled the hardware specifications of these virtual reality glasses that are themselves a minicomputer:no need to connect to a powerful PCor a smartphone last generation to enjoy them, and are completely autonomous and independent.
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The HoloLens have inside with a small computer controlled by Windows 10 that makes use of the so -calledHolographic Processing Unit(HPU) and an Intel 32 -bit processor.In the glasses havevarious sensorssuch as ambient light and others to measure the inertia or are responsible for studying the environment in which we move to offer an accurate representation of augmented reality objects on real objects.
These are based on acamera with depth sensorto allow, “Mapping” the spaces in which weuse the glasses, but also have an HD camera of 2-Mpixels to capture videos and photos that are combined with four microphones for recognition of voice.
This computer integrates2GB of RAM, 64GB of flash storage, and WiFi 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.1 LE connectivity.The glasses weigh 579 grams and battery -not specify the capacity- allows theuse ofglasses between 2 and 3 hours, but we can also use them while loaded via USB connector MicroUSB -no-C, something curious but that could change in final- design.The Bluetooth control can be exploited thanks to theso -calledClicker, a small accessory that can help in certain scenarios and included with glasses.
