Augmented Reality News News

News: When the Web Exists in 3D Space, What Happens to the Browser?

Augmented and mixed reality experiences attempt to break us out of windowed computing experiences and allow us to place software anywhere in the room. But that software doesn't have to take a rectangular form—theoretically, the web doesn't have to restrict itself to a page in a browser any longer. Does this mark the end of the web browser entirely? Probably not. A lot of information works well on the page, and the Microsoft HoloLens still uses a pretty standard version of their own Edge brows...

News: Check Out These Awesome Mixed-Reality Movies Made with the HoloLens

Mixed reality filmmaking isn't a new concept. Disney managed to make it work in 1988 with Who Framed Roger Rabbit, but not without an enormous amount of work. We haven't seen many mixed reality films of that scope since, and perhaps that's because it's still hard to accomplish. Filmmakers don't look through a viewfinder or monitor and see the fully rendered result on screen—but that can change with mixed reality headsets like the HoloLens.

News: Will the HoloLens Forget About Gaming?

Microsoft's HoloLens has many applications in the business world, both large and small, but what about gaming? Initial demos gave the impression that we could expect amazing first person shooters, platformers, and even Minecraft. Yet, as Newsweek noticed, the HoloLens was nowhere to be found at E3 this year.

News: Stimulant's HoloLens App Helps Navigate Inside Buildings

We've got Google Maps to help us out when we need to navigate outdoors, but Google can only map out so many indoor locations without getting creepy. And that's where Stimulant comes in. This "innovation studio" built a HoloLens app that lets you map out an area, define locations, and use the headset to get instant directions to any defined location.

News: This App Shows How HoloLens Can Make Healthcare Safer

If you've been to the doctor enough, you know that the medical staff can make a variety of mistakes from time to time. They're human and that's normal, but errors in the medical field can often have significant negative impacts. At Boston's 2016 HoloHacks event, a team of developers created HoloHealth to mitigate human error in common healthcare tasks.

News: Concept App HoloTwin Uses Holograms to Control Real World Objects

Spending time in a holographic environment brings the virtual world to life, but it doesn't actually create much interaction with your physical environment. So Daenet created a concept app called HoloTwin to demonstrate how holograms and real-world devices can interact with one another. While very simple, HoloTwin uses a holographic light bulb as a virtual switch for an actual, physical LED light. While you wouldn't want to strap on the HoloLens every time you wanted to adjust the lighting in...

News: Princess Leia Makes an Appearance on the HoloLens

While Magic Leap and ILMxLABs blew the internet's collective mind with a mixed reality Star Wars game demo last week, it'll likely be awhile before we see either the game or the hardware that'll run it. In the meantime, you can get one of the most famous Star Wars holographic messages on the HoloLens: Princess Leia's message to Obi-Wan Kenobi.

News: HoloTube Brings YouTube to the HoloLens, but It Needs to Be Way Better

HoloTube, a new unofficial YouTube app for the Microsoft HoloLens, brings a whole bunch of new content to the mixed reality headset. While it's nice to have, the experience feels focused on quantity, not quality. HoloTube has a simple interface most people will recognize. You get a page of video categories, and as you drill down through each option you're presented with videos to watch. You can view regular, flat videos on the wall (or wherever you like)—which has its merits.