TOBY SHAPSHAK: Microsoft’s HoloLens revolutionises virtual reality headsets
Microsoft’s HoloLens is a powerful computer on your head that shows what the eye can’t see
Last week I walked on Mars. Well, I walked on a visually realistic version of Mars, using fancy new technology called HoloLens, Microsoft’s big play into what it’s calling mixed reality. This emerging technology is considered more than just augmented reality (AR), which overlays images or diagrams over our current view of the world, but is not quite as immersive as virtual reality (VR). The HoloLens display I saw at Microsoft’s headquarters in Seattle was a demonstration of what might be considered a tourism video for Mars, narrated by a life-sized figure of Buzz Aldrin, the second person to walk on the moon after Neil Armstrong. The various Mars Rovers have recorded amazing footage, and the Destination Mars exhibit uses this to show what it’s like on the red planet. Look down and see the red earth, including cracks in the surface that scientists say were probably formed by water evaporating. Look into the distance and see the mountains and hills, or watch the Curiosity rover drill ...
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