Microsoft HoloLens Release Date & Specs; Why Developers Are Excited About Its Features

People are getting more excited about the Microsoft HoloLens. Although the actual product for regular users is still far from being released, Microsoft has shown significant improvements in the past few months.

Michael Hoffman, part of the team that created the Microsoft HoloLens, recently sat down with Venture Beat to share more details about the developer kit, which costs $3,000. He believes that the device will change the world in various areas in the future.

Hoffman said that he believes that Microsoft has a great plan and will revolutionize augmented reality (AR). He compared AR with virtual reality (VR), where users cannot do everything without being concerned about failing or encountering an issue. VR also poses the problem of not providing users with a very intuitive sense of space. In AR, they can overlay in the real world and also have a conversation with another person. Plans can be done simultaneously among users, which is not possible in VR. Hoffman explained that VR is a subset of AR so an AR headset can do everything that a VR device can.

Hoffman also provided a number of applicable scenarios that can take advantage of the Microsoft HoloLens. The first example involves construction engineers who continue to draw and adjust their construction sites while the work is ongoing. AR provides a more accurate roadmap from the sketches to the actual work being done. The second example involves doctors who wish to view all data on patients without having to keep checking on monitors and charts. The Microsoft HoloLens will provide accurate and fast data while professionals are working. Microsoft HoloLens intends to cover several areas outside of gaming.

He continued how the HoloLens can also be used in retail space planning and manufacturing. Business owners can save a lot of money by allowing them to experience the process and layout through the device first before actually investing in physical products.

Microsoft gave CNet a chance to use the device for 90 minutes, although it was described as far from ready. The current developer kit is not intended for release to regular users. The product is worn around on the head, with the front sticking to the user’s forehead and the back positioned at the back of the skull.

At present, the holograms are only at center view. HoloLens, although far from being ready and released, is expected to be better than the previously released virtual reality products. The technology for the Microsoft HoloLen is not yet available at the moment, but it has huge potential.