NEW YORK: Virtual reality has been in the headlines recently, with both Samsung and LG bringing headsets to Australia. They’re similar to the Oculus Rift headsets except that, instead of featuring built-in screens, they’re designed to hold a smartphone in front of users’ eyes and create a 3D effect.
At first glance these new virtual reality headsets might seem similar to Google Glass and the recently announced Microsoft HoloLens, but Google and Microsoft’s headsets offer a very different experience enhancing the world around users rather than replacing it.
Virtual reality headsets like Oculus Rift block out the real world around users and replace it with a pretend world, whether it’s a 360 degree movie or a completely computer generated environment.
Meanwhile, augmented reality lets users see the real world but it lays extra information over the top. Virtual reality might seem more exciting, but in the long run augmented reality could have more practical day-to-day uses for businesses.
Google Glass and Microsoft HoloLens are two very different implementations of augmented reality. The Google Glass frames feature a tiny screen which users can see out of the corner of their eye, a bit like the rear vision mirror on their car. The tiny screen displays useful information like walking directions, eliminating the need to reach for the phone in their pocket.
Rather than sleek glasses, Microsoft HoloLens is a wraparound visor which covers users face. Users look through the visor at the world around their, while it superimposes information over the top. The result is more like a fighter pilot’s heads-up display, superimposing tactical information on users view out the window, rather than a separate screen in the corner.
HoloLens goes further than just adding a technical readout to users’ view of the world; it can actually create the illusion of 3D objects floating before them in real space. In some ways this offers the best of both worlds, letting users interact with a virtual world and the physical world at the same time.
The headset is not actually projecting holographs in front of users for everyone to see. In the business world, the potential for on the job training alone is enormous. It could also revolutionise engineering, repair work and any other task which requires users to refer to manuals or other documentation.
HoloLens is designed to work with Windows 10, but there’s no solid release date. Even at this early stage the key difference with Google Glass is clear; Microsoft isn’t pitching HoloLens as something users wear all day. Rather than a full-time “wearable”, HoloLens is simply a tool.
