Items tagged with mixed reality
When consumer virtual reality made a resurgence with the launch of the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, many people dismissed it as a short-lived gimmick, with widespread comparisons to the brief hype period surrounding 3D TVs. Those people have not been paying attention to the last two decades' determined efforts to use dystopian cyberpunk fiction as a guideline, rather than a tale of caution. It's impossible to argue against the idea that virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), known collectively as "mixed reality," are the future of interactive content—if not almost-all content, eventually. Everyone who's anyone is doing something with virtual reality. Google, Microsoft, Samsung, Sony;...
Read more...
While virtual and augmented reality are cool technologies, they have not quite taken off as expected for several reasons. One of the biggest factors would be the cost of buying and using VR and AR, but what if that added cost came with stellar specs and a big brand name to back it up? Enter Apple: manufacturer of phones, laptops, tablets, and now perhaps mixed-reality headsets. Rumors have circulated that Apple will enter the market for years, but now more information has come out suggesting as much and more. Late in January, Bloomberg reported that Apple “is building a high-end, niche product that will prepare outside developers and consumers for its eventual, more mainstream AR glasses.”...
Read more...
Microsoft has been somewhat aggressive in pushing mixed reality experiences in Windows 10, and it's initiative is the reason why there is a spattering of relatively affordable headsets to choose from (Acer, Dell, Lenovo, and others have jumped on board). In its latest push, Microsoft is bringing the recently ratified OpenXR standard to its Windows Mixed Reality platform. Developed by Khronos Group, OpenXR is an open source, royalty-free standard that offers developers native access to a wide range of mixed reality devices from various vendors. That includes Microsoft's own HoloLens headsets. "With OpenXR, you can build applications that target both holographic devices (like HoloLens 2) that place...
Read more...
The 2019 Mobile World Congress kicks off tomorrow in Barcelona, Spain but several companies have already introduced a wide variety of products. Many consumers are eagerly awaiting the announcement of mobile devices like foldable or 5G smartphones. However, after several months of heavy-handed hints, we have finally seen what Microsoft plans to do with their offering in mixed reality technology. The Redmond company just unveiled their HoloLens 2 at its press event today. The HoloLens 2 builds upon the original HoloLens, a mixed reality headset that was released by Microsoft in 2016. According to Julia White, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Azure, the HoloLens assisted...
Read more...
The latest test build of the next major upgrade to Windows 10 includes a very interesting feature—Windows Insiders who download and install preview build 18329 (19H1, or Redstone 6) can extend their mixed reality experience beyond Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps and run traditional desktop (Win32) apps in mixed reality. "In this update, we added the ability to launch Desktop (Win32) applications (such as Spotify, Paint.NET, and Visual Studio Code) in Windows Mixed Reality, just like how you launch Store apps. Please keep in mind this is feature is still in development and we are actively working on addressing bugs. You may find ways to 'break' the feature, and when you do, please...
Read more...
The expectation when purchasing a pricey augmented reality headset (or any augmented, virtual, or mixed realty headset, really) is that you'll never need to take it apart to troubleshoot a faulty component. Nevertheless, it is nice to know you can, should the need or desire to arise for any reason. And that is the case with the Magic Leap One, as a new teardown analysis reveals. Magic Leap's AR goggles recently launched to developers with a $2,295 starting price. That's obviously way above what consumers expect to pay for an AR headset, but considering it's a developer release (more specifically, the Creator Edition), it's not out of line with the competition—the developer version of Microsoft's...
Read more...
We might be seeing a Magic Leap One launch before the day is over, or if not, perhaps by the end of the week. Magic Leap founder Rony Abovitz has taken to Twitter with a series of tweets suggesting a launch is imminent, including more than one reference to a rocket ship. He also recent said that "Day 1" is coming soon. "I want to thank the whole Magic Leap for the endless hours everyone is putting in in [sic] this last phase before we ship," Abovitz stated a couple of weeks ago. He followed that up by saying, "And for everyone following us, we know we have to earn our place in this world. Our Day 1 is coming soon, and we are going to share with you what we have built, we will listen, we will...
Read more...
If you were one of the Intel fans looking forward to the Project Alloy VR headset that was to be an open reference design from Intel, the project has been officially cancelled. The reason cited by Intel for not pursuing the project any further was lack of partner interest. If you missed the hubbub about Project Alloy, it was first announced back in August of 2016. Project Alloy was to be an untethered, merged reality headset with its own compute power, graphics, and RealSense modules integrated. The entire headset would have been self-contained needing no smartphone or computer to operate. Think of it as an Intel-flavored Oculus Rift or HTC Vive and you get the general idea. One big plus for...
Read more...
If you are chomping at the bit to get your hands and eyes on one of the new Windows Mixed Reality headsets for your PC, the time for pre-ordering is here. Dell has announced that its mixed reality headset, called the Dell Visor, is now available for pre-order. Dell says that the headset has a superior ergonomic design, comfort-first features, and a white color scheme that sets it apart from the competition. Microsoft announced before that Dell was a partner for the mixed reality headsets along with several other major PC manufacturers including Lenovo, Acer, and HP. Dell says that the Visor will ship on October 17 and will sell for $349.99 for the headset and $99.99 for the controllers. A bundle...
Read more...
Android is easily the largest mobile platform in the world far surpassing Windows Mobile with its scant 0.1% market share globally. Android also easily dominates iOS, which holds 14.7% market share according to research firm IDC. There are over two billion active Android devices and Google has announced that its ARCore SDK is now ready for the limelight and will bring augmented reality to the masses using existing and future Android smartphones. The SDK is available for devs to start experimenting with right now. David Burke, VP, Andorid Engineering, wrote, "We've been developing the fundamental technologies that power mobile AR over the last three years with Tango, and ARCore is built on that...
Read more...
While VR is the big thing for gaming, there is another similar tech that PC makers and software giant Microsoft really want to take off in a big way and that is mixed reality. VR and mixed reality are similar in that both have virtual constructs in them, but in VR everything that the user of the tech sees is virtual whereas mixed reality overlays virtual objects with your real world environment. Mixed reality has big potential to revolutionize industry with the ability to help train new workers and to bring gaming into your home in a new way. Microsoft writes, "A little over ten months ago our mixed reality journey took a leap forward when we announced that the world’s largest PC makers were...
Read more...
We are on the precipice of some exciting things thanks to the introduction of virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality into the mainstream. Much of the attention early on has been focused on gaming, with the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive stealing the limelight, along with breakout hits such as Pokemon Go. But gaming is not the only segment that stands to benefit. There is a big opportunity in education, one that Microsoft hopes to pioneer. To that end, Microsoft announced a new strategic partnership with Pearson, one of the biggest education companies in the world that also happens to be working to integrate 3D and mixed reality into high school and college curriculum. Pearson is making...
Read more...
When Microsoft released its latest build (15048) of Windows 10 to its Insiders, its main reason for existence seemed to revolve around bug fixes and overall polish. However, this unsuspecting build actually includes a cool treat: a portal for mixed-reality content. Interestingly, this new feature follows news of Microsoft reportedly skipping HoloLens V2 to create the third iteration instead, and murmurs that Xbox One and Scorpio will be getting mixed-reality headset support in 2018. In order to access the feature, you need to of course be running the 15048 build. You then need to open up the Update & Security section of Windows' Settings screen, and click on "For Developers" on the left side....
Read more...
Microsoft has been promising to bring mixed reality experiences to Windows 10 with the Creators Update scheduled for this Spring, along with a spattering of lower-cost headsets starting at $299 from the likes of Asus, Acer, Dell, HP, and Lenovo. But what about its Xbox One game system? Microsoft confirmed this week that mixed reality experiences will also find their way to the Xbox One and, later, Project Scorpio. Details are light in this regard, so we'll have to wait to find out more details. In the meantime, Microsoft announced a developer edition mixed reality headset created in partnership with Acer. Microsoft made the announcement at this year's Game Developers Conference. Every game developer...
Read more...
Magic Leap’s mythical mixed reality hardware was just recently spotted in a leaked photo. The photo comes just a week before an important board meeting that could make or break the mysterious company’s future. First off, who is Magic Leap? The Florida-based company is purportedly developing head-mounted augmented reality (AR) retinal displays. It is unclear exactly how Magic Leap plans to make its mark in an ever-growing VR and AR market, but one researcher who studied the company’s patent suggested that Magic Leap is utilizing stacked silicon waveguides. The company unfortunately released several video clips that proved to be fake and offered little insight into its technology. Image, credit:...
Read more...
Right around nine months ago, augmented reality (AR) company Magic Leap released a one and a half minute video clip titled, "Just Another Day in the Office at Magic Leap." The company wanted to showcase what was possible with a mixed reality headset it's been working on, and admittedly the video was a pretty awesome demonstration except for one little thing—it was fake. We had our doubts it was real, noting at the time that "the demo looks a little too good be the real deal," and we were right, unfortunately. This is one of those cases where we would have been delighted to be wrong. The video, in case you missed it the first time around, features a player who has his work environment transformed...
Read more...
