In a keynote presentation at Computex in Taipei and a couple blog posts today, Microsoft doubled down on the mixed reality efforts spearheaded by Hololens – Windows 10, the company aims to show, is place to be when it comes to mixed reality.
Some clarification may be not unwelcome here — just what is “mixed reality,” exactly? If you think about entirely computer-generated 3D environments in VR as one extreme, and plain vanilla reality on the other, mixed reality is… well, anywhere in the middle, really. Microsoft’s point is that Windows Holographic will support the whole continuum, from light reality enhancements to total immersion – and, crucially, facilitate natural interactions between them.
Providing devices with the ability to perceive the world, breaking down the barriers between virtual and physical reality is what we call mixed reality,” wrote Terry Myerson, Microsoft’s EVP of Windows and Devices, in a blog post. “Imagine wearing a VR device and seeing your physical hands as you manipulate an object, working on the scanned 3D image of a real object, or bringing in a holographic representation of another person into your virtual world so you can collaborate….”
