Just recently, Microsoft shared some information regarding the Holographic Processing Unit (HPU) found in the HoloLens. This is the section of the device that serves as the brain that allows it to do all the cool holographic tricks.
The HPU is quite powerful for a tiny chip, and surprisingly, it's a custom design from Microsoft. The company usually doesn't design its own chips, so this could be a sign of things to come in the future.
Outside of the information provided for the HPU, Microsoft decided to also talk about the optics, according to Tom's Hardware. The HoloLens optics is what users will view holograms from and is one of the main aspects of the device.
It's based on military-grade waveguide technology, and is designed to beam images to the eyes of users. Whether or not this is dangerous is still left to be seen.
Beaming images to the eyes of users is made possible by a special coating on the glass, and not necessarily the glass itself. This coating is known as diffractive grating, and the HoloLens uses three layers of it to get the job done.
The HoloLens is also capable of eye tracking to allow users to select items by just looking at them. The technology used here is an infrared light and sensor, so nothing out of the ordinary. It would seem the HoloLens is more impressive on the software front rather than the hardware.
The company noted that everything needed to work just right or else the holograms would "swim" and be unstable, something that could cause users to be nauseous. We've seen this happen with VR headsets, especially the PlayStation VR. We're sure Microsoft doesn't want to fall in the same boat.
Interestingly enough, Microsoft stated that the HoloLens could adjust its interpupillary distance vertically and horizontally. This should give it the biggest eyebox in the holographic industry.
The HoloLens is being sold to developers and enthusiasts for the cool price of $3,000. With all the hardware and software technology inside the device, one can see why it is so expensive. It will take time for Microsoft to bring the price down to a point where consumers can pick it up without hurting their pockets.
It's the perfect consumer and enterprise tool. Microsoft cannot allow for it to fail because it could also be the future of computing, and Windows needs to be a part of that one way or the other.
Overall, we expect it to be less expensive than virtual reality headsets.
Photo: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra | Flickr
