Microsoft’s HoloLens Augmented Reality Headset Creator: “We're Like Cave People In Computer Terms”
Creators and propagators of forthcoming "futuristic" technologies almost always exaggerate the reach and capabilities of their inventions - it's an important and probably necessary tactic that helps them create hype or get noticed.
Having said that, if Microsoft's HoloLens augmented reality headset is half as awesome as the demonstrations so far make it look like, it's definitely going to be a big technological leap.
The Redmond, Washington-based tech heavyweight is reportedly doing everything within its reach to ensure that the highly anticipated Microsoft Hololens augmented reality headset does not repeat the same developmental mistakes that rendered Kinect, Xbox's motion sensor device, an embarrassment for the company.
That essentially means that fans who have been eagerly waiting for this next-generation design might have to wait significantly longer than they initially anticipated.
Apparently, the company wants to ensure that the device will be as useful as realistically possible right from the day-1 of its availability.
With that into consideration, the AR headset's creator Alex Kipman is now saying that he won't reveal a possible HoloLens release date until he is convinced that the device has what it takes to make a great impression on users, as reported by
"When I feel the world is ready, then we will allow normal people to buy it. It could be as soon as we say 'yes,' and it could be as long as a 'very long time.'
"If a consumer bought it today, they would have 12 things to do with it. And they would say 'Cool, I bought a $3,000 product that I can do 12 things with and now it is collecting dust," as reported by the FirstPost.
Kipman revealed this while speaking at the TED conference 2016 earlier last week where he allowed the attendees a sneak-peek of the futuristic headset.
He walked on stage wearing the AR headset as a camera displayed the virtual changes to the audience in real time. Kipman made it rain (virtually) in addition to creating a garden environment around him. Later, he even had a NASA scientist "teleported in" for a brief conversation using the HoloLens Augmented Reality headset he was wearing.
A large part of the point he was trying to convey during his speech at the event was about how we are still at a pretty early stage of our technological evolution.
"We're like cave people in computer terms. We've barely discovered charcoal and started drawing stick figures in our caves," he said.
Microsoft, ever since the start of the project Hololens augmented reality headset, has maintained that it basically wants to pave the way for a practical and affordable future technology that amongst many other benefits, also helps to the good old' computer screens to go relic.
As of now, the Hololens AR sits over the eyes and wraps squarely around the head. However, Microsoft predicts that with time, the device will be getting only slimmer until it becomes no bigger than a pair of glasses.
