Microsoft announces "HoloLens 2"-about 390,000 yen, double viewing angle

Comfortable, easier to see, easy to operate by hand.Microsoft seems to appeal to HoloLens 2 like that.

Hololens 2 costs $ 3500 (about 388,000 yen).It is a successor to Microsoft's 2015 "HoloLens".It is equipped with a technology that the company calls a computer image on the real world, called "Mixed Reality" (MR).

Microsoft is one of the pioneons in the expansion reality (AR) field.In 2015, the company announced its first headset and sold for companies for $ 5,000.Later, competing devices, such as $ 2295, Magic Leap One, have appeared on the market.

Such a price of MR headset is much more expensive than the competitive expansion reality (VR) technology provided in the market.Facebook's "Oculus Rift" is $ 349, and Sony's PlayStation VR is $ 299.

Nevertheless, Microsoft has continued to improve headsets and has been pushing in the AR field, which has become much more competitive than then.According to Microsoft, HoloLens has not yet reached a state that ordinary users can use at home.Focus on companies and the army.

Microsoft has made some attractive improvements to this device.Hololens 2 is first provided in the United States, Japan, China, Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Australia and New Zealand.It is said that reservations have started on February 24, US time, and will be shipped later this year.

"Computing is everywhere in our world," said HoloLens 2, which was held in Barcelona in Barcelona (MWC).It is incorporated by the method. ""Computing is mounted on everything from connected cars to connected refrigerators, smart surgical equipment, and even smart coffee machines" (Nadella).

He said that it has led to a method of approaching this technology, such as Microsoft."It's no longer a device first, but to think about people first, which includes all devices in people's lives" (Nadella).

"It's not just a world of imagination. The future is right in front of me."

The US CNET recently saw a part of the future of him at Redmond headquarters in Washington.We also talked to the designers of Microsoft executives and Alex Kipman, Alex Kipman, about HoloLens 2.

The following is a summary of what Microsoft announced in Barcelona in line with MWC 2019.

$ 3500.At the moment it is not yet for general users

HoloLens 2 is mainly designed for manufacturing workers, industrial designers, military workers, etc., and situations where workers have to work hard.

HoloLens 2 Aitracking (Gaze Tracking) Function

Hololens 2 has a sensor attached to the direction of the wearer's eye near the nose muscle.This technology is used to log in to the device by the user and save the personal settings when multiple users share the headset.It is equipped with a iris recognition function, and in cooperation with "Windows Hello", login to Hololens 2 is processed.

Improved hand tracking ability

"Magic Leap ONE" and various VR headsets have dedicated controllers, but Hololens 2 does not have it and is controlled by voice and "Cortana".

Double the viewing angle

The most notable improvement is probably the "view angle."It was about twice as much as the previous model.

Consider glasses

Microsoft's HoloLens 2 (such as Magic Leap One), unlike many AR headsets and smart glasses, is designed for glasses.Thanks to the new flip -up visor, it has become easier to wear, and when I tried some of the writer wearing glasses, I could use it without any problems.

New app

Microsoft has also announced a new HoloLens app.One is "Dynamics 365 GUIDES", and companies can use this to create guide -type instruction procedures in MR.

"Dynamics 365 Layout" creates a sustainable map of the current building and saves it in Microsoft.As a result, the hologram remains in the same place, for example, even if the hologram is placed on an indoor table, leaving the room and returning to the next day, or attaching another HoloLens headset.

HoloLens 2 supports new cloud apps, but does not come with cellular connection devices, so they will be connected via Wi-Fi.

Open system

According to Microsoft, anyone can create an app store for HoloLens 2.An organization like Mozilla can also allow the "Firefox" browser to support HoloLens 2.Microsoft states that developers such as Epic Games can create coding tools for HoloLens.

Microsoft plans to announce the successor model of HoloLens 2 within one or two years.

Alex Kipman, a Microsoft technical fellow, contributed to Microsoft's prototype of $ 480 million with the U.S. Army (approximately 54.5 billion yen at the time of the article was released). Stated.

This article edited an article from overseas CBS Interactive by Asahi Interactive for Japan.

Microsoft has announced the new complex reality headset "Hololens 2".

Provided: James Martin/Cnet