While we’ve likely become accustomed to at least the concepts of augmented and virtual realities, if not the actual devices, the newer idea of mixed reality is not yet one that most consumers know. This is for good reason: to date, most mixed reality has been developed for research and manufacturing, not home use. Even the Magic Leap headset, intended for average consumers, isn’t going to spread like wildfire with a price tag upwards of $2,000 USD.
The current main player in the mixed reality field is Microsoft’s Hololens. It’s found a strong foothold in a variety of industries and manufacturing. This week, Microsoft teased the Hololens 2, which has brought a variety of improvements and related news to the fore…and some of it is controversial.
- Microsft’s Hololens 2: A $3,500 Mixed Reality Headset for the Factory, not the Living Room [The Verge] “However, Microsoft has decided that it is only going to sell to enterprise customers who want to deploy the headset to their workers. As of right now, Microsoft isn’t even announcing a developer kit version of the HoloLens 2. “
- Group of employees calls for end to Microsoft’s $480M HoloLens military contract [TechCrunch] “More than 100 Microsoft employees have signed a letter sent to CEO Satya Nadella and President Brad Smith criticizing the company’s plans to build HoloLens AR tech for the military, the organizing group said Friday. “
- Microsoft’s Sending a Confusing Message with it’s Hololens 2 [Gizmodo] “However, the HoloLens 2’s biggest hurdle is making it economically attractive to potential clients. Currently, Microsoft says businesses require between three to six months just to develop the software needed to make its headset worth using.”
- Mozilla is bringing Firefox to Microsoft’s HoloLens 2 [The Verge] “Mozilla is working with Microsoft to bring its immersive Firefox Reality browser to the HoloLens 2. It’s the same browser that Mozilla has developed for virtual and augmented reality headsets, and it’s currently available for HTC’s Vive headsets, the Oculus Go, and Google’s Daydream headsets. “
From the Ohio Web Library:
- Microsoft Teases a Possible HoloLens 2 Announcement at Mobile World Congress ( Newcomb, A. (2019). Microsoft Teases a Possible HoloLens 2 Announcement at Mobile World Congress. Fortune.Com, N.PAG. )
- HOLOLENS AND VIVE PRO: VIRTUAL REALITY HEADSETS ( Hololens and Vive Pro: Virtual Reality Headsets. (2019). Journal of the Medical Library Association, 107(1), 118–121. )
- Keeping It Real ( OOR, A. K. (2018). Keeping It Real. Mechanical Engineering, 140(11), 40. )
