Oggi riportiamo una notizia che non mancherà di fare la felicità di tutti gli amanti del genere cinematografico fantascientfico: proprio in questi ultimi giorni, infatti, due realtà di primo piano nei rispettivi campi, Lucasfilm – famosa casa produttrice cinematografica – e Magic Leap, hanno annunciato una promettente partnership per dare vita ad un’esperienza utente di realtà aumentata che permette di immergersi nell’universo di Star Wars.
Attraverso un video esplicativo del potenziale di quanto le due aziende stanno realizzando insieme, reso pubblico a margine del Wired’s Business Conference, è infatti possibile prendere nota di quanto, almeno finora, hanno ottenuto Magic Leap e Lucasfilm: il filmato mette ben in evidenza come, attraverso C3-PO e R2-D2, ci si possa muovere all’interno di un normale ambiente di lavoro in prima persona.
Anche se il risultato di questa partnership è momentaneamente visibile in quel breve filmato, ci si rende conto di quanto l’approccio alla realtà aumentata offerto da Magic Leap sia davvero sbalorditivo, se messo in rapporto a quanto si è visto con i prodotti dei concorrenti di questa startup capace di attirare l’attenzione di Big G e di Alibaba, che hanno investito quasi un miliardo e mezzo di dollari nella stessa.
A rendere ancor più impressionante il risultato visibile a video, è la conferma offerta da John Gaeta dello studio ILMxLAB, il quale sottolinea che non siano state apportate modifiche in fase di post produzione di questo video: i movimenti dei due droidi di Star Wars sono fluidi, e addirittura, attraverso R2-D2 è possibile eseguire un’esplorazione in prima persona di una mappa tridimensionale.
Ecco quindi il video in cui potete ammirare il potenziale del lavoro svolto da Magic Leap con Lucasfilm per vivere Star Wars nella realtà aumentata:
Microsoft HoloLens è un visore con display trasparente che ci permette di sovrapporre degli oggetti virtuali su quelli reali presentato lo scorso anno.
Da alcuni mesi questo interessante dispositivo è in vendita nella versione per gli sviluppatori “Development Edition” ad un prezzo di 3.000$ negli Stati Uniti e Canada.
Microsoft nella giornata di oggi comunica di aver rilasciato il primo importante aggiornamento dedicato a HoloLens che include diverse nuove funzioni come il supporto al multi-tasking per le app, Groove music in background, supporto a mouse Bluetooth, nuovi comandi vocali, nuove funzioni per il browser Edge come il supporto a più schede e diverse migliorie minori.
Microsoft, durante il Computex 2016 di Taiwan, ha annunciato la disponibilità della propria piattaforma per la realtà aumentata “Windows Holographic” ai produttori di terze parti. Tra le aziende partner troviamo diversi nomi illustri come: HTC, Intel, AMD, Asus, Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Falcon e MSI.
Opening Windows Holographic to Partners for a New Era of Mixed Reality Today at Computex, I joined Nick Parker and Alex Kipman on stage to celebrate incredible devices from across the Windows ecosystem – from PCs to gaming to IoT and beyond – and to share how the upcoming Windows 10 Anniversary Update will bring all new innovation, creating opportunities for modern computing devices.
The big news in our presentation today was a look forward to the future of computing, where the physical and virtual worlds intersect in all new ways, and create further scale for the Windows platform. We’ve been on an incredible journey with Windows 10 to deliver more personal computing, where you interact with your devices as naturally as you interact with the world around you, your experiences travel with you, and designed from the ground up with security in mind. With over 300 million active devices already running Windows 10, we’re off to a great start. Today we focused on the next frontier – mixed reality.
Providing devices with the ability to perceive the world, breaking down the barriers between virtual and physical reality is what we call mixed reality. Imagine wearing a VR device and seeing your physical hands as you manipulate an object, working on the scanned 3D image of a real object, or bringing in a holographic representation of another person into your virtual world so you can collaborate. In this world, devices can spatially map your environment wherever you are; manipulating digital content is as easy and natural as picking up a box or sitting at a table; and you can easily teleport into your next meeting or travel together as a team. The market for virtual reality devices is expected to be 80 million devices per year by 2020.
However, many of today’s devices and experiences do not work with each other, provide different user interfaces, interaction models, input methods, peripherals, and content. And most virtual reality experiences can’t mix real people, objects, and environments into the virtual world, making creation and collaboration difficult. This is because they lack the human, environmental and object understanding that is already built into Windows 10.
Today, we announced that Windows Holographic is coming to devices of all shapes and sizes from fully immersive virtual reality to fully untethered holographic computing. Today we invited our OEM, ODM, and hardware partners to build PCs, displays, accessories and mixed reality devices with the Windows Holographic platform. For our partners, this creates new business opportunities, unlocking mixed reality experiences across devices.
For developers, Windows Holographic apps can be written today with confidence that they will run on the broadest set of devices. We are excited to be working with Intel, AMD, Qualcomm, HTC, Acer, ASUS, CyberPowerPC, Dell, Falcon Northwest, HP, iBuyPower, Lenovo, MSI and many others supporting great virtual reality experiences on Windows 10, and we are looking forward to opening up Windows Holographic to the partner ecosystem for the future. Windows: The Only Mixed Reality Platform Windows 10 includes Windows Holographic, the platform that powers the amazing mixed reality experiences available on Microsoft HoloLens today. It offers a holographic shell and interaction model, perception APIs, and Xbox Live services.
Consistent with our approach to Surface, our development efforts on HoloLens are designed to push the limits and create opportunity across the ecosystem. We began shipping Microsoft HoloLens in March and customers across industries are embracing the potential of mixed reality already, including NASA, Volvo, Lowe’s and more. The development opportunity is significant – as all holographic apps are Universal Windows apps, and all Universal Windows apps can be made to run on the Windows Holographic platform. In fact, there are already hundreds of Universal Windows Apps in the Windows Store today that run on Windows Holographic.
London artist Keiichi Matsuda has a jarringly dystopian view of the future. In his concept film “Hyper-Reality,” he shows what it could one day be like to do mundane tasks using an augmented-reality interface that looks like a cross between Google Glass and Marvel’s fictional J.A.R.V.I.S.
In the film, the protagonist rides a bus and gets groceries in Medellín, Colombia, but it’s much more complicated than that. Viewers watch from her perspective as she’s bombarded by gamified activities, deal notifications, branded pop-up windows, customer service messages, and of course, advertisements. If you’ve ever found yourself annoyed by a commercial aspect of the internet, “Hyper-Reality” is sure to make you feel anxious.
Microsoft HoloLens glasses may be a pipe dream to all but the earliest adopters with a hefty price tag of $3,000, but that’s not the case for astronauts aboard the International Space Station. As part of Microsoft’s Sidekick partnership with NASA, two pairs of HoloLens have been shipped to the ISS.
HoloLens allows for augmented reality, meaning that what you see in your field of vision is visually edited with extra information. For astronauts, this could mean less training time for certain operations or easier access to help in crisis situations. “HoloLens and other virtual and mixed reality devices are cutting edge technologies that could help drive future exploration and provide new capabilities to the men and women conducting critical science on the International Space Station,” says Sam Scimemi, director for International Space Station at NASA headquarters, in a NASA news release. Looking ahead, this technology could be critical to manned missions to Mars.
Project Sidekick has two modes: Remote Expert Mode and Procedure Mode. Remote Expert Mode uses Skype to let ground crew see what the astronauts see. Then they can instantly annotate the visual that the astronaut is seeing with notes, instructions and illustrations. Procedure Mode allows astronauts to learn about certain devices. It uses holographic images to offer information about whichever device the astronaut is looking at. For longer missions when communications become delayed, having real-time access to information could be vital.
Prior to going into space, Project Sidekick was also tested underwater by astronauts at the 62-foot-deep Aquarius underwater research station off the coast of Florida during a NEEMO (NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations) mission.
After testing Project Sidekick on the ISS, Scott Kelly and Tim Peake had a little fun with it, playing a game of “Space Invaders.” NASA edited the video below for effect.
Project Sidekick is not Microsoft’s only virtual reality partnership with NASA. Project OnSight is another initiative, one that will allow scientists to study Mars as though they are on the planet. The OnSight software will work with JPL’s rovers. It will interpret data gathered by the rovers and create a 3-D map, allowing researchers to explore the red planet from the comfort of their terrestrial offices. JPL’s OnSight project manager Jeff Norris says, “Previously, our Mars explorers have been stuck on one side of a computer screen. This tool gives them the ability to explore the rover’s surroundings much as an Earth geologist would do field work here on our planet.”
Scientists who have tested OnSight are impressed with the functionality. “It’s like teleportation,” says Fred Kalif, a geologist at JPL. “When you use it long enough, it’s like you’re not in the room anymore. You are on Mars.”
OnSight also increases the connection between scientists and the robots they’ve sent ahead to explore Mars. Norris, who works on both Project Sidekick and Project OnSight explains, “By building tools that make us feel more connected to those robots and the environments that they’re exploring, we can change our experience of exploration in a very fundamental and exciting way.”
These holographic computing tools will make space travel safer for astronauts and will also make data accessible for explorers stuck on Earth.
You don’t have to be a scientist to appreciate Project OnSight. Destination: Mars is Microsoft’s “mixed reality tour,” and it allows ordinary people to experience Mars with HoloLens. The virtual tour even includes an appearance by a holographic Buzz Aldrin.
This summer, a permanent Destination: Mars exhibition will open at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. So, if you’re not chosen for a mission to Mars, investigating the red planet in virtual reality might be the next best thing.
