Windows Holographic debuts alongside standalone Microsoft HoloLens headset

[kanniappan]

The last thing  Microsoft had to present to the world today has to do with augmented  reality. Following a growing trend in the tech world, the company has  announced its own entry into the VR headset space, which is called  HoloLens. And it comes with some additional features compared to its  competitors.
 
 

 The  HoloLens, which you can see above, has see-through holographic lenses  that superimpose “holograms” onto the world that’s actually around you,  combining the physical with the digital.
 
It also touts spatial sound, so you can hear when holograms are behind  you. It’s actually its own computer, not needing to be tethered to a  secondary device, be that a phone or a PC. It has a high-end CPU and  GPU, and even something Microsoft dubs an HPU, which stands for  “holographic processing unit”.
 
 

 It’s  powered by the new Windows Holographic, and developers are said to  already be working on apps for this platform. Holographic apps are  Windows 10 universal apps, so it should be rather easy for developers to  create them.
 
 
 Microsoft  showcased the power of Windows Holographic paired with the HoloLens on  stage today, where someone used the HoloStudio app to build a virtual 3D  quadrocopter, which employed some finger pointing, and the use of voice  commands. Afterwards the finished project could be 3D printed if you  happen to have a 3D printer around – Microsoft did, and so we saw the  real world version of the digital 3D creation too. Apparently you can  use HoloStudio as a sort of ‘print preview’ for 3D printing.
 
 
 Clearly  though, more apps should make the platform even more interesting in the  future. Unfortunately an exact release date for Windows Holographic and  the HoloLens hasn’t been given, with Microsoft execs simply saying the  headset should be on sale “in the Windows 10 timeframe”, whatever that  may mean.