HoloLens IRL: What It's Like to Use the Microsoft HoloLens Development Edition | Hacker News Reader

HoloLens IRL: What It's Like to Use the Microsoft HoloLens Development Edition

mashable.com

38 pointsot15 comments

I've always thought AR like the HoloLens sounded much better than the VR headsets. Definitely more practical. I love his description of moving the TV and setting up Twitter and the NCAA site.

I can see how VR would be better for gaming once they get it wirefree. For the average guy, AR could replace TVs and their computer.

Someday soon maybe, most people might just have HoloLens. And I'd still have my iPhone becuase I'm not going to wear HoloLens everywhere all the time. Tough to imagine people needing much else though.

I think VR will thrive most with smartphones. Really puts them to good use and companies get to continue the upgrade cycle with GearVR type technology for a long time.

I'm in a process of renovating a house. I can easily imagine using HoloLens to help with making decisions on interior decorations, furniture placement, bath elements, it could just that great when you're starting with an empty space and need to put things in it. The only drawback with a HoloLens system is that when you own one, you probably don't need many real things, some virtual ones can act as placeholders.

Is that a drawback? Perhaps to consumerism and the global economy, but you're going to be able to save a lot of money on "stuff."

> The only drawback with a HoloLens system is that when you own one, you probably don't need many real things, some virtual ones can act as placeholders.

I was watching the video in the article, I had the thought that this could lead to people building special VR/AR rooms, which are painted all-white and maybe have somewhere to sit but otherwise are just empty rooms, waiting to be filled with virtual objects and screens.

Absolutely, it would be a great ROM for gaming as well

Ugh. Prerequisites exclude EU developers.

- You are a developer in the United States or Canada where the Development Edition will first be available.

The $3,000 price tag also excludes anyone who doesn't have considerable disposable income.

They should have learned a lesson from Google Glass's spectacular failure (a big part of which could be attributed to its alienating price)...

In contrast to Vive, Gear & Oculus - I'm wondering if this might be an opportunity for business VR application developers? Depending on the capabilities of the device, there might be opportunities to develop operational, health & safety and operational training solutions.

Is anyone out there experimenting with HoloLens development?

I think it'd be great for geographically distributed teams as well. Having a surrogate or "virtual avatar" with accurate facial capture for meetings is definitely a use case for business VR developers.

Not Hololens, but DQRI has a "hardhat" with similar features that has already been deployed in industrial environments to do exactly as you describe. Companies that are using it for training have found a huge decrease in error rates while actually getting employees up to speed faster.

Thanks for the heads up - I'll check it out!

I think this is one area where there can be much promise. Being able to overlay timely and relevant information over the environment, in a way that doesn't require high degrees of pro-active intervention by the user, could help reduce errors and efficiency drains due to context switching in a number of environments. I'm thinking warehouse operations where doing robot stuff like Amazon is too far beyond economic reach, yet you still have to interact with data for directions and work tasking. There are other areas where things like this are intriguing. So long as the device can be made to be otherwise unobtrusive enough, have sufficient power for running full shifts, and are rugged enough, I think there is good potential.

Something I'm taking a look at now.

Looks like my computer monitor is about 0.8 or 0.9 radians in horizontal viewing angle (23 inches away, 21 inches wide), with 1920 pixels. 2300 pixels per radian. Similar values vertically.

I wonder how 2300 pixels per radian compares to a "“holographic density" of "2,500 light points per radian".

Wow, this sounds pretty amazing. Can't wait for the consumer edition.

I was watching one of the videos online where the guy is playing some game with a virtual character that runs around in his room and thought, you won't need pets anymore.

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