Microsoft Black Technology: Holographic image head wear equipment "wired" exclusive exploration

Beijing Time January 23 News, Microsoft in the press conference yesterday launched the annual blockbuster products-holographic imaging head wear equipment. It is said that Microsoft secretly developed this product for five years, and before the release of "Wired" magazine reporter Jessi Hempel experience the product.

The following is a synopsis of the article:

Late autumn, the weather gradually cooler, Washington Redmond (Microsoft Headquarters) day gradually shortened, gray sky also floated drizzle. In the next few months, Microsoft will unveil the most important research in recent years-the head-wearing holographic projector, a project known as "holographic projection" that has been in secret, even among Microsoft insiders. And I was fortunate enough to find out. I saw the head of the project, Alex Kipman (Alex Kipman), through Microsoft's magnificent C-zone lobby.

Alex Kipman (Alex Kipman)

At that time it was still in the prototype stage, "Baraboo" is the product of the internal code, sometimes directly referred to as "B Kipman" plan. The first time I saw Alex, he left a deep impression on me, the long hair on the shoulder, the messy bangs, the constant change of the shoes show that he is under great pressure, because the project has been in secret for five years. No, if it had been seven years since the initial thought, the original idea had been the Kinect. The XBox2012 year of the Kinect is the best-selling game machine ever sold. From there, Alex was convinced that the Baraboo project would be a success because, compared to it, Kinect was a pediatrician.

Alex took me to a simple meeting room with curtains and luxurious sofas. In the corner of the room, there is also a simple bar, with wine and soda. He sat next to me, stood up, moved two paces, and sat down again. Then he gave a brief introduction to Baraboo and talked to me about the progress of the project. At the same time, his expressive eyebrows and eyes beat as the tone changed. In his view, the future of the computer is no longer the original digital world, but the completely brand-new virtual reality world.

(Virtual reality World: We are now using the computer: The face of a monitor, through the keyboard input code, the computer to respond to the corresponding code, however, in the near future, we will operate the computer in the real world, through voice and posture, we can immersive way to complete all the operation of the computer. Computer programs will become more intelligent, and they can control more complex scenarios. ）

First Impressions

When I first met Baraboo, Alex played a piece of concept for me. In the film, a young woman wearing a holographic projection device in various scenes, from working with colleagues in the meeting, to whistling over the Golden Gate Bridge, is very powerful, these scenes I have only seen in science fiction films. I couldn't wait to uncover the truth, Alex handed me a box and took the product out of the box. "This is the first toy you see today, it's a real industrial design," he said. "he said.

Ah, this is baraboo, it is bigger than Google glasses, more weight. But compared to Oculus Rift (a head-and-wear monitor designed for video games), the shape is more structured. It looks like a magic leap product, but Magic Leap has no intention of releasing its own products, and Microsoft is ahead of them. In fact, Microsoft intends to send Baraboo to developers this spring.

Alex's prototype is stunning, which not only enhances the functionality of the Kinnect, but also consumes less power. The camera has a 120-degree capture angle, much wider than the Kinect, which means it can detect any movement on your body. Sensors are receiving data at all times, and then handing the data to the core Cpu,gpu and HPU. Moreover, he points out, the user's head does not feel the heat of the machine, the hot air will only be emitted from all directions. On the right side of the device, you can adjust the volume and the focus of the holographic projection through several buttons.

Tease the Brain

Baraboo's success lies in virtual reality technology, allowing the brain to mistake light for real. "In the end, light changes make up your world," he said. If I turn on the debugger, I can see that the quantum of light jumps in front of you, crosses your eyes, makes you wonder about the world you live in, and hallucinations the world because your brain deceives you, and our Baraboo deceive the brain. "said Alex.

In order to create the picture produced by the holographic projection, the Quantum of light collides millions of times in the so-called light quantum pool, then produces the red, green and blue tri-color through the biased positive of the glasses, and then displays the screen before the wearer's eyes. Then we looked at another prototype and a couple of concept videos, and Alex has been stressing the importance of developers to them (developers are always the most important before releasing a new product). 30 minutes later, he took me from the side door to Microsoft's Secret lab, where there were several rooms that were independent of each other to test the product.

Roaming Mars

The first test was a very shabby scene, a living room with wires through walls and no switches, Alex handed me a prototype and turned on the switch. The moment I put on the machine, an electrician suddenly appeared on the screen, hovering in front of my eyes, and by simply a few gestures, I could easily adjust the direction of the screen. Any scene I see, this electrician can also see. He drew a circle on the voltage meter and told me how to detect the power of the wire, and then he taught me how to install the switch, and so on.

The next scene is landing on Mars. This is what Alex worked closely with NASA to work out. When I had finished the gesture, I felt as if I was on the surface of Mars, like curiosity, and the Martian surface was glowing, covered with sand and looked so lifelike. I tried to take a step and immediately felt my legs shaking. Behind me is curiosity, the tentacles of metal arms stretching out from the body, the sun shining on curiosity, leaving a long shadow on the Martian surface.

After experiencing this scene, I am reluctant to take off, it gives me the feeling is so real, so wonderful. That's what NASA needs.

A long way to go

Alex's voice brought me into reality. When I took off the equipment, he told me that the project was still in its infancy and needed to be perfected. It's not a product developed for sales, it's about the future of the computer, a new interactive interface controlled by voice and gesture. The machine itself has many flaws before it is fully commercialized. I like the sense of voice control, so I often do a series of things through Siri, but most of the time, she gives me the answer is not what I want, I have to open the keyboard, hands-on. "Head-wearing holographic projection" without a keyboard, in the event of voice and gesture control a little problem, users will soon give up this interaction. That's the risk that Alex's team has to take.

However, in the next three scenarios I experienced, no problems occurred. Play the game of collecting gold coins, design the toys in virtual reality and print them out through the 3D printer; Design the physical model together with the Spanish locomotive designers. I've been in Alex for three hours, and he doesn't look as nervous as he was before, but he doesn't lose focus. He looked carefully at my first use of the "hooded hologram" device, whether all the programs were perfect, every voice command I had, every gesture I made, and whether the machine reacted correctly. For seven years, he treated the product with a new perspective, like his first lover.

(Responsible editor: Mengyishan)