Microsoft HoloLens is one of the major products that Microsoft is working on currently.
It is a pair of mixed reality head-mounted smartglasses developed and manufactured by Microsoft itself. HoloLens runs on Windows Holographic platform under the Windows 10 operating system.
HoloLens incorporates virtual elements (referred to as “holograms” by Microsoft) with physical real-world elements, such that they are perceived to exist together in a shared environment.
HoloLens provides great visuals; however, without some kind feedback to the user, it gives a feeling of being a ghost in a world the user can’t truly interact with.
This patent from Microsoft discloses a method for providing real-time feedback to a user interacting with virtual objects. The real-time feedback may be a visual feedback, an audio feedback, and even haptic feedback.
For example, a user may be playing with a virtual metal ball. As the user virtually grabs and rotates the virtual metal ball, the HoloLens causes the end user to experience haptic feedback (e.g., a vibration of an electronic wristband or mobile phone at a particular frequency and magnitude), audio feedback (e.g., a low-volume metallic clicking sound), and visual feedback (e.g., if the end user has grabbed the virtual metal ball with their palm facing away from the HMD, then portions of the virtual metal ball that would be occluded by the end user’s hand may not be displayed to the end user).
This technology will bring augmented reality more closer to physical reality!
Publication number: US 9367136
Patent Title: Holographic object feedback
Publication date: Jun 14, 2016
Filing date: Apr 12, 2014
Inventors: Stephen G. Latta; Adam G. Poulos; Cameron G. Brown; Daniel J. McCulloch; Matthew Kaplan;
Original Assignee: MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING, LLC