As the Microsoft Ignite event started today, the company took the time to focus on its AR / VR efforts with the announcement of the Microsoft Mesh platform. The new mixed reality software will work with the company’s hardware, such as HoloLens 2 and more, to offer collaborative virtual experiences and, eventually, “holoporation”. All of this occurs when Apple can launch its first AR headset later this year.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has repeatedly shared that he believes AR is “the next big thing”. And he thinks it will “invade our entire lives”. Apple glasses are expected to arrive in the future, but before that, it is rumored that Apple will launch its first AR headset this year or next.
And, of course, Apple will have competition in the space of Facebook, Google, Samsung, Qualcomm, Microsoft and probably others.
While it is still early days for widespread adoption of AR, Microsoft shared a vision of how it wants to deliver compelling experiences in the mixed reality space, announcing Microsoft Mesh.
In a promotional video, the company highlights the connection, communication and collaboration with a variety of use cases, from physiotherapy to business, engineering to airspace control with the slogan “The future is here. And here you can be anywhere. “
The Verge won a demo with Microsoft’s inventor of HoloLens, Alex Kipman, who also shared his excitement with Mesh:
Mesh is a collaborative platform that allows anyone to share virtual experiences on a variety of devices. “This has been the dream of mixed reality, the idea since the beginning”, explains Kipman. “You can really feel like you’re in the same place with someone sharing content, or you can teleport from different mixed reality devices and be present with people, even when they’re not physically together.”
At first, Mesh will render people with virtual avatars, but Microsoft will later launch “holoportation” on the platform, making science fiction a reality, with users appearing as digital versions of themselves.
Kipman talked about a mixed reality version of Microsoft Teams that Mesh could enable. And the company also partnered with Niantic to show what Microsoft Mesh can mean for games like Pokémon GO.
“While this demonstration is not intended for consumer use, it offers an early look at future developments in software and hardware,” said John Hanke, CEO and founder of Niantic. “We just scratched the surface. We know that the coming years will be filled with important achievements that will serve as benchmarks in the journey of the AR to become a computing platform capable of changing lives. “
Although Niantic is excited about partnering with Microsoft and its new Mesh platform at the beginning, Hanke also said that he expects “a world where there are multiple headsets on the market, there will be multiple platforms” (via CNET), suggesting that it is planning to do partnering with others like Apple and Facebook’s Oculus as AR / VR takes off.
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