Microsoft News: Hololens, Company's Augmented Reality Headset, Finally Out
Microsoft's Hololens Development Edition kits are finally out, and selected developers can finally lay their hands on the augmented reality headset that comes with a $3000 price tag. While it's true that this is not the first time for developers to experience virtual reality, Hololens is set to make a big change as it offers a fusion of the virtual and physical world.
On the part of 8ninths, a Seattle-based agency, Hololens is primarily employed in its Virtual Workstation prototype developed for financial traders event. The said workstations still use the conventional PCs but with the addition of a Surface Pro 4 for touch and a HoloLens for 3D. As the company was drawing a bead on providing the traders more than just the grid of numbers, the Hololens was a great help in the company's projection of 3D objects.
Meanwhile, NASA has announced that it is teaming up with Microsoft, specifically with its Hololens, to give the public a better understanding of the Red Planet, Mars, via its upcoming exhibition called "Destination: Mars." This exhibition will let the visitors use the Hololens augmented reality headsets as they explore the Red Planet. For the visitors to have a better understanding of the tour, a holographic tour guide named Buzz Aldrin, an astronaut, will serve as their guide as they wander on the virtual Mars.
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The said exhibition will be held at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida and is opening this summer. It will use OnSight, a mission operations tool co-developed by Microsoft and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. What OnSight will do in particular is to take the data and images captured by Curiosity rover, which has been exploring Mars since 2012. Hololens, in this case, will convert the captured images into a simulated Mars.
While there is no denying, though, that Hololens is, indeed, changing the course of virtual reality, there is no word yet from Microsoft whether it is planning to release a consumer version of the headset. With this, the general public can only wonder if the augmented reality device will become a reality on their part as well.
