Microsoft merges virtual, augmented realities

A bold plan to merge VR and AR will help Microsoft catch new trends even before key products come to market.

The worlds of virtual reality and augmented reality will merge under a bold plan unveiled by Microsoft.

The Seattle company today revealed that it will make it possible for users of virtual reality headsets such as HTC Corporation’s Vive to see and manipulate the same holograms that wearers of its upcoming HoloLens viewer will see.

In other words, users of many brands of virtual reality (VR) headsets will have access to the full augmented reality (AR) experience the company is offering. Microsoft calls it “mixed reality”.

HTC Corporation based here in Taiwan is one company whose headsets will offer the AR experience and there are others. At this stage the Oculus Rift will not use Microsoft’s offering nor will Sony’s upcoming VR headset which doesn’t use Microsoft Windows.

The key to making this possible is a decision by Microsoft to make its HoloLens Holographic operating system available as part of regular Microsoft Windows and its ecosystem.

That means the hologram operating system known as Windows Holographic will be part of the same Windows systems that other company’s VR headsets connect to on PCs.

Apart from promoting a merging of the VR and AR ecosystems, it is a shrewd move by Microsoft. It’s seeking to make itself a key part of the popular VR/AR trend even before its own HoloLens AR headset comes to market.

Developers can make a variety of headsets and hand held VR devices usable across the VR system generally and in AR.

The announcement of the upcoming availability of the Holographic operating system as part of Windows was one of several initiatives by the Seattle company at the Computex technology fair in Taipei.

It foreshadowed a major update of Microsoft Windows 10 in the Australian winter.

Microsoft said that in opening up Windows Holographic to partners, it shared its vision for mixed reality — a world where devices interact with each other to change the way people work, communicate, learn and play.

“With Windows 10, we’ve been on an incredible journey with our partners, and today we usher in the next frontier of computing — mixed reality,” said Terry Myerson, executive vice president, Windows and Devices.

Microsoft said more than 80 million virtual reality devices were expected in the market, per year, by 2020, and therefore the business opportunity for virtual reality was vast.

“Yet, today’s devices are built with related but differing technologies — ranging from virtual to augmented reality. These devices and experiences do not work together today, because of different user interfaces, interaction models, input methods, peripherals and applications.

“Most virtual reality experiences can’t mix real people, objects and environments into the virtual world, making creation and collaboration difficult.

“Windows Holographic unites these worlds and enables innovation across a range of devices. Windows Holographic offers a holographic shell and user interface, perception APIs, and Xbox Live services, enabling a familiar experience across apps and content.”

It said that all universal Windows apps could run on the Windows Holographic platform. There was nearly a thousand of them.

Microsoft said it was working with Intel, AMD, Qualcomm, HTC, Acer, ASUS, Dell, Falcon Northwest, HP, Lenovo, MSI and others to build a hardware ecosystem supporting virtual reality experiences on Windows 10.

It was only a matter of time before one of the global computer companies offered a ubiquitous VR/AR development environment.

Students at the University of Newcastle north of Sydney had already developed software making it possible for hand controllers used for one VR headset to work with another.

Chris Griffith travelled to Computex in Taipei courtesy of Dell Australia