They say Microsoft isn’t cool anymore. Well, a project called RoomAlive, from Microsoft research may turn that around for the company. Microsoft’s goal with the project is to bring holographic video calls to the mainstream. Yes, Star Wars is exactly what came to our minds as well. The RoomAlive Project creates an augmented reality zone using Kinect depth cameras and digital projectors. If you’re thinking the project will revolve around Microsoft’s Hololens headset, then think again. RoomAlive will reportedly be free of headsets, having the capability to turn your living room into a AR Zone.
Imagine a video call on Skype, but except being on a screen, you will actually be able to see a hologram of the person you’re talking to. It currently works with real time streaming, but Microsoft is still working on the image depth and resolution. You also need a multi-camera setup along with a projector, but the Redmond, California based technology giant will hopefully reduce the amount of equipment required to use such a technology. After all, all they had on Star Wars, were desks or small handheld projectors, right?
It’ll take some time of course, years most likely, but it’s definitely amongst the coolest new technologies that we’ve heard of. Microsoft has, in a way, been spearheading augmented reality’s entry into the mainstream. The company recently introduced its Hololens headset and has showcased impressive demos of games, calls and other activities that can be performed with it. In fact, Microsoft has even announced a price for its futuristic AR headset.
Hololens was introduced alongside Windows 10, with Microsoft announcing its own computing platform, called Windows Holographic, for developers to build apps for the Hololens. We have seen demos of games like Minecraft in Microsoft’s various events recently.
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