For many, when it comes to augmented reality (AR) most will have only experienced the technology through their phones rather than specialist hardware. Especially not Microsoft’s enterprise-focused HoloLens 2. In a public first for the device, an environmental art exhibit called Arcadia Earth will utilise HoloLens 2 to give guests the ability to interact with holograms as they walk through the show.
Image credit: Arcadia Earth
Developed in partnership with Enklu, HoloLens 2 gives life to this art exhibit, enhancing guests’ visit by making ecosystems interactive, animating animals and unlocking hidden gems along the way. Teaching visitors about the plight of the environment, they can enjoy captivating experiential art whilst learning about issues such single-use plastic waste and overfishing.
One area is dedicated to coral reefs, home to over a quarter of the oceans’ marine life. Attendees will be surrounded by fish and other aquatic life, all within easy reach. Reefs are in danger of bleaching, a process that participants can now view in holographic form. They’ll then be offered advice, such as which sunscreen is far more environmentally friendly, thus protecting the reefs. This information can then be sent to their phones at the touch of a button.
As Arcade Earth is a multisensory exhibit it is also filled with physical installations and proximity-triggered audio, all aided by a friendly orb that guides guests around.
Image credit: Arcadia Earth
One of the benefits of an exhibition like Arcadia Earth using AR is its adaptability. New experiences can be created, holograms updated as required, or new information added as discoveries are made. Thus encouraging return trips to educate guests on the natural world.
Arcadia Earth has a number of locations around the world including New York, Las Vegas and Saudi Arabia. However, the HoloLens powered experience will be based at the New York City location, rolling out later this month. General admission tickets are $39 USD peak and $33 off-peak, with the HoloLens tour price coming in at $59. Proceeds from ticket sales go towards planting mangrove trees, found to be great at absorbing carbon from the atmosphere.
Augmented reality (AR) is a technology with a dizzying range of potential applications. And as new and more powerful AR hardware enters the market (such as Apple’s mooted glasses), we’re likely to see even more uses for AR.
That’s not to say that AR, as it exists today, is any slouch, and to prove it we’re looking at eight of the best uses for augmented reality.
Virtual try-ons
The retail industry has been one of the most prominent embracers of AR technology over at least the past decade. Most of the industry’s biggest brands offer some form of the technology, which allows prospective buyers to see how a product would look on them without needing to physically try it on, usually utilising the ubiquitous phone camera to display the virtual elements in real-time.
Augmented Reality has found a natural home in the gaming industry, where it has powered some huge mobile game successes including Pokemon Go andPikmin Bloom, both from developer Niantic.
Pokemon Go in particular was a smash hit, peaking at over 250 million players per month on the back of an experience that transported the gameplay of the popular Pokemon video game series to real-world locations. That built on work the developer had done in its previous game Ingress, which allowed players to use their mobile phones to interact with virtual portals appearing in real-world locations as part of its science fiction story.
Construction
AR is a key tool in the construction industry, from the design stage right through to the actual building process. For architecture, numerous tools exist to aid in the visualisation of spaces, such as The Wild, which allows designers to view 3D models in both virtual and augmented reality.
On the building side of the equation, AR has uses ranging from training workers on safety to progress capture and tracking functionality that directly compares real-world sites with virtual models in real-time to ensure they aren’t deviating.
Image credit: VisualLive
Surgery
The high-stakes field of surgery is being revolutionised by augmented reality technology which can overlay vital information onto a surgeon’s field of view as they work. Mixed reality headsets such as the Microsoft HoloLens 2 allow surgeons to operate on patients more effectively, blending the real world with projections of computed Tomography (CT), and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans of the patients.
Holographic representations of the area being operated on can also be observed in 3D before surgery takes place to ensure a surgeon has full familiarity of the area they are working on. To find out more about the role of AR in healthcare, read our article on the subject.
Navigation
The tricky business of finding your way around busy spaces has been much improved with the help of AR, such as the Live View feature offered by Google Maps, which takes existing data from the map app and overlays it on the camera’s view of the real world with help from your phone’s GPS capabilities.
Individual locations have also explored using augmented reality to help guide visitors, such as Gatwick Airport, which installed navigational beacons that guide a passenger’s way back in 2018 – all accessed via a smartphone app.
Image credit: Google
Education
From a school setting to on-the-job training, AR can be used to help learners safely interact with materials they would otherwise not be able to gain access to, all while remaining in a familiar setting. Google debuted augmented reality search during the COVID-19 pandemic to help people learn by placing virtual objects such as spacesuits and animals into real-world locations. A host of apps exist to bring similar objects into a classroom setting, including the Merge Cube, which adds tactility to the experience.
Energy giants such as Shell, meanwhile, are using AR to educate workers in the field by bringing in experts who can see through a worker’s eyes and even draw on the screen of the augmented reality display they are using, boosting safety as they interact with potentially dangerous heavy oil and gas equipment.
Design
Designers at all levels are making use of AR to preview how a space will look before any changes are made physically, from those designing individual rooms all the way up to those planning cities. Non-professionals too can make use of augmented reality to aid in their designs. Just one example is furniture store IKEA’s IKEA Place app which allows users to place 3D models of the company’s goods into their own rooms in order to preview how they would look, automatically scaling them based on the room’s dimensions to ensure they are true to life.
IKEA Place AR app. Image credit: Ikea
Manufacturing
AR is one of the key pillars underpinning the phenomenon of Industry 4.0, alongside such technologies as machine learning and big data. Consultants PwC has estimated that industrial manufacturing and design is one of the biggest potential areas for augmented and virtual reality, with their use in the industry having the potential to deliver a $360bn GDP boost by 2030. As a result, examples of the technology in action for manufacturing are easy to come by. One example is Boeing’s use of augmented reality to give technicians real-time, hands-free, interactive 3D wiring diagrams. Lockheed Martin also utilised augmented reality in the creation of NASA’s Orion Spacecraft, overlaying information to help with mission-critical procedures such as precisely aligning fasteners.
Like Microsoft, the concept of the metaverse isn’t something new. For decades, the term has circulated amongst tech circles, industry leaders and literature buffs — namely due to popular science fiction lore taken from Neal Stephenson’s 1992 now iconic novel Snow Crash, or Ernest Cline’s much-loved bestseller Ready Player One.
With that being said, the word has become popularised by none other than Facebook tycoon Mark Zuckerberg — who has now devoted a sizeable amount of time and earnings towards repositioning his empire as a metaverse company. This includes the creation of the company’s Reality Labs Division — which has been distinguished as the social media company’s promotion, research and development division for VR and AR initiatives.
While their name isn’t yet quite as synonymous with the metaverse, Microsoft has hopped onto the train and is currently working to marry a host of existing technologies — including VR headsets, personal computers, cloud-connected servers, collaborative software and interactive avatars. In the wake of its highly successful Teams software, the tech giant has introduced its own attempt at establishing a virtual ecosystem with a compatible extension: Microsoft Mesh.
Not long ago, we covered the advantages and disadvantages brought to the table by both Apple and Meta. As part of our ongoing “vs” series, we’re now placing Meta into the ring with its other main competitor — Microsoft. We’ll also take a look at why many experts believe that Microsoft is currently at the forefront of this trail into Web3, as well as what this might spell for Meta’s future.
The world’s most valuable company
Microsoft is the true definition of a household name. Some of us (well, probably many of us) are likely old enough to remember a time when Microsoft’s technology was fresh, novel and in just about everyone’s offices or living rooms.
While many companies have changed our lives through cutting-edge technology, few have been even half as prolific as Microsoft. Having arguably been the company to most successfully popularise home computing, it’s hard to dismiss the seismic impact that Microsoft has made on how our generations have worked, gamed, created and communicated beyond the parameters of physical space.
While up against the higher-end technologies of today and with primary competitors (such as Apple) now also in the ring, Microsoft is sometimes regarded as the slightly more antiquated alternative to other giants (such as Samsung, Sony and NVIDIA). However, when it comes to both enterprise and contemporary consumers, Microsoft has arguably been the best at catering to both. Even from the earliest days, they’ve been masters at accommodating a wider and more diverse customer base (statistics show that Microsoft once held up to 95% of the world market share).
In late 2021, Microsoft passed Apple in market cap. This made it the world’s most valuable publicly-traded company, with a total of $2.49 trillion at market close.
This news was also released right before the tech giant announced its plans to make its successful Teams software metaverse-compatible, instantly positioning it as an adversary of Meta’s Horizon ecosystem. This move also followed Zuckerberg’s announcement and monumental rebranding of Facebook to Meta — with Microsoft also stepping up to the plate to reflect a broader focus on bringing collaborative software and corporate focus into the metaverse.
On Microsoft’s most recent earnings, CEO Satya Nadella has commented:
“As the digital and physical worlds come together, we’re seeing real enterprise metaverse usage. From smart factories to smart buildings to smart cities, we are helping organisations use the combination of Azure, IoT, digital twins and Mesh to help digitise people, places and things in order to visualise, simulate and analyse any business process.”
Like Facebook’s Horizon Worlds, Microsoft Meshenables face-to-face collaboration in a metaverse setting — with capabilities that will allow users to mingle within shared spaces, collaborate on team projects, send messages and hash out various types of projects (such as documents or presentations) within a collaborative space.
For those that don’t want to rev up the immersiveness, users can instead opt to join typical, Zoom-like meetings while still adopting their custom avatars. It’s the perfect middle ground.
A clash of collaborative titans
So far, both Microsoft and Meta have set out sights to become leaders in providing cutting-edge collaboration software and virtual ecosystems. Moreover, both companies have claimed that their users will be able to create customised avatars that will be able to move freely between different virtual worlds. More specifically, these can include meeting rooms, offices, factories or other “digital twin” settings that mimic the look and feel of real-world environments.
Back in 2017, Microsoft notably acquired the earlier social VR app AltspaceVR to begin distinguishing a mixed reality platform. A Microsoft spokesperson noted that AltspaceVR’s technology: “takes social networks, combines them with real-time experiences and leverages immersive presence to transcend beyond sharing posts to sharing situations.”
At the start of this year, Microsoft launched a slow and steady integration of said avatars into its existing Teams software. To communicate in teams using an avatar, users just simply need to create and select their animated version without an initial need for a VR headset. Microsoft’s built-in AI technology also has the capability to listen to a user’s voice and then animate their avatar in tandem.
By contrast, Meta has throttled into an entirely new and virtual ecosystem that encourages users to collaborate using their Meta Quest 2 headsets and that requires them to have Facebook accounts. Avatars are represented by floating, legless characters — all while the spatial audio technology provided by the Quest 2 helps give users a more immersive and life-like experience.
Overall, Microsoft Teams is backed by an already-existing base of 250 million users — that’s roughly 25 times as many users currently signed up with Meta’s communication software. When coupled with the fact that users aren’t yet required to take extra steps or purchase additional software to utilise the new technology, the more gradualist approach they are giving users is also being viewed as a better way to help them adjust to a more immersive experience.
Will we see Meta’s long-awaited headset take off?
Currently, Microsoft’s headset offering — the HoloLens — has reached a standstill in terms of any plans for a public offering. While earlier reports had suggested that plans for a HoloLens 3 would include creating a new product category for consumers, it appears that this roadmap has tapered off.
Instead, Microsoft has continued an ongoing $480 million contract with the United States Army, which has allowed them to provide soldiers with mixed reality glasses tailored for military use. These devices, referred to as Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) prototypes, have been engineered to boost soldiers’ ability to “detect, decide and engage before the enemy.” To date, 100,000 HoloLens devices have been provided to military personnel.
Despite its shortcomings, Meta has one very clear edge over Microsoft — it not only has a dedicated VR device at its helm (the best-selling Meta Quest 2), but also plans to launch its highly acclaimed successor — an enterprise-grade headset still currently code-named as Project Cambria.
Project Cambria was first revealed during the Facebook Connect 2021 keynote conference, which addressed a 2022 launch window for the device. Last month, Zuckerberg mentioned that Meta’s upcoming high-end VR headset was still set to launch in 2022. Features set to be included in Project Cambria’s design include enhanced communication capabilities, a special avatar personalisation engine and facial tracking capabilities unforeseen in previous headsets.
Despite massive decreases in market capitalisation since the start of 2022, all systems are still set to go with Project Cambria. Should their higher-end headset be successful with consumers, this could become a win for the tech giant after a long string of losses.
What Microsoft does best: understanding the masses
In all, several experts agree that Microsoft’s metaverse vision appears to be much more realistic when compared to Meta’s. As VR hardware and software haven’t yet been widely adopted by the masses, it’s probably safe to say that both VR and the majority of its new users aren’t ready to take on the metaverse quite yet. Of course, it’s hoped that one day they will be — but like with all new inventions, small and gradual steps tend to make for a greater and more effective learning experience.
Issues such as low latency, VR-induced nausea, high prices and issues concerning privacy are also amongst a long list of contentions that still keep users away from more frequent or dedicated use of XR technology. While 5G technology, motion tracking and more effective data privacy practices will help solve many of these problems, it will also likely take years for them to be perfected.
So far, Microsoft seems to have understood this much better than Meta has. Starting a meeting on a browser in Mesh might seem like a “Web2” way of going about things, but it’s also a great gateway into the metaverse and an approach that’s more likely to stick. Users can get a feel of immersive technology without initially needing to buy a costly headset or another expensive tech setup — which, for starters, makes the onboarding experience much easier than the one currently offered by Horizon Worlds.
If we circle back to the privacy issue, another glaring fact sticks out like a sore thumb: unlike Meta, Microsoft also hasn’t left behind a trail of controversies in its wake. Facebook has developed an indelible reputation for its inconsistent moderation policies, data breaches, continuous violation of user privacy and — most recently — a batch of internal documents that have revealed its greater focus on “growth over safety”.
These facts alone do a great job of leveraging Microsoft, who — on the other hand — are market leaders in data privacy and currently rank second on GlobalData’s Social Media Thematic Scorecard (where Meta currently sits in the 21st spot out of 35 companies overall). As we’ve already seen with Facebook’s declining numbers, compromised privacy doesn’t rank too highly with current users (and particularly younger generations).
In all, Microsoft is focusing more intently on which capabilities are available and which enterprise applications are truly needed by its millions of daily users. And with its current numbers taken into account, Mesh for Microsoft Teams currently has the ability to reach more than eight times the potential number of users when compared to Meta’s.
Final thoughts
As Big Tech platforms continue to develop and drive competition, one thing still remains to be seen: whether we will one day see the metaverse become one, singular concept, or whether we will better understand the space as being made up of many different metaverses. Currently, nothing about the metaverse is really standardised — hence why the biggest technology leaders are now vying to be the one to lay down the winning groundwork.
Meta is likely correct in that interoperability will be crucial for all metaverse projects to one day be successful and accessible for everyday use. No one will want to be siloed within any online space, meaning that we’ll eventually need to see an avatar on Teams be compatible with Horizon Worlds — and vice-versa.
While the idea of interoperability may suggest that a single metaverse should eventually be the end goal, this won’t necessarily be the case for quite some time. What’s more likely is that the metaverse will start as a bastion of competing platforms — of course, with each one clamouring to sit on the virtual throne. Think of the Web1 days, where instant messaging platforms were varied and fragmented. Over time, it’s likely we will see Big Tech players create agreed-upon protocols and develop greater standards, leading to something within Web3 that looks more like email protocols.
While Meta’s vision seems to be in line with the futuristic concepts found in popular science fiction literature (see people spending the majority of their time hanging out in virtual spaces), Microsoft is the tech giant that is meeting said standards and paying better attention to user demand — particularly in the areas of remote work, office collaboration and hybrid arrangements in our post-COVID climate. Just like the people that raved over Microsoft Office and early enterprise software in the pre-web days, its probably safe to assume that today’s users also want experiences that won’t just make their lives more immersive, but easier as well.
When it comes to the augmented reality (AR) market there’s currently a very definitive split between consumer and enterprise. Mostly, consumers main access to AR is through their mobile devices with an ever-growing library of games and apps available. On the enterprise side, you’ve got the likes of Microsoft HoloLens 2, providing high-end holographic interfaces designed for workplace collaboration, training and other use cases. But as Microsoft’s Alex Kipman recently confirmed, the plan is to make a consumer HoloLens.
Kipman recently spoke with Wall Street Journal’s Joanna Stern about its AR (or mixed reality (MR) if you prefer) plans and how he envisions the technology’s future. Whilst this includes shared experiences enabled by Microsoft Mesh, getting the tech into more hands (and onto faces) is an important factor and one which Microsoft is working towards by developing a consumer version of HoloLens.
“We are ‘playing’ to lead mixed reality in the world,” Kipman responded. “But you don’t get to lead a new medium of computing if you’re not going to be in consumer. So, we are absolutely working on a consumer journey for HoloLens, I’m happy to confirm that and say that it’s a very important part of our strategy.”
Just don’t expect a budget-friendly HoloLens in your local tech store anytime soon because Microsoft isn’t going to rush it. “I don’t think the technology today, goggles at $3,500, is a consumer product,” Kipman continues. “It’s an amazing product and a transformative product for the industries we’re in, but it’s not a consumer product. As soon as we can get a proper level of immersion, and immersion is key, you can’t go give some lightweight notifications in Google, put it in a device on someone’s face and assume that’s a consumer product. You need the HoloLens 2 plus, plus-level of immersion in socially acceptable glasses.”
That would mean reducing the size of HoloLens dramatically from its current form factor. Kipman estimates the HoloLens 2’s current 500g+ weight would have to come in under 90g to be a viable consumer product. Considering the amount of hardware built into the device is a sizeable task.
In the short term, that gap is going to be bridged by smart viewers. Qualcomm showcased its XR1 AR Smart Viewer Reference Design earlier in the year and devices like the Nreal Light are now coming to market. They get around some of the technological hurdles by plugging into smartphones which provide all the processing power. Qualcomm envisions this will eventually become wireless to remove the adoption friction a cable creates.
When Microsoft does make a consumer HoloLens expect Pokemon GO – or a version of it – to be on it. During Microsoft’s Ignite event, Niantic CEO and Founder John Hanke demoed a proof-of-concept providing a tantalising look at what’s to come. As further details regarding Microsoft’s consumer AR plans are revealed, VRFocus will let you know.
Today see’s the start of Microsoft Ignite, its online virtual event which has started with an XR bang. Taking to AltspaceVR’s virtual stage was Microsoft Technical Fellow Alex Kipman to announce Microsoft Mesh, its new mixed-reality (MR) platform which aims to make shared holographic experiences effortless across multiple devices.
Showcasing Mesh by hosting the keynote in the social app, Kipman welcomed various speakers including Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, director James Cameron, Niantic CEO John Hanke and Cirque du Soleil co-founder Guy Laliberté as viewers tuned in from around the world, in both VR and via other devices.
The platform is powered by Microsoft Azure, its cloud-computing service, benefiting from its enterprise-grade security and privacy features. The core focus of Microsoft Mesh is to enable multi-user XR, where companies and consumers can take a device with a Mesh-enabled application and swap ideas, learn or simply socialise. It’ll support 3D models for users to interact with, whilst a full suite of AI-powered tools will enable avatar creation. spatial rendering and more.
“This has been the dream for mixed reality, the idea from the very beginning,” said Kipman in a blog post. “You can actually 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 you’re not physically together.”
Alex Kipman and John Hanke at Microsoft Ignite
“Our part of this is the work of stitching the digital and physical worlds together, connecting the bits and atoms so these experiences can be possible using the Niantic platform,” Hanke said. “But social connections are really at the heart of everything we do, and Microsoft Mesh innovations just enrich that.”
Microsoft Mesh will work on HoloLens 2, Windows Mixed Reality, Oculus headsets, PCs, Macs and smartphones so its not restricted to one particular platform. While an official launch date has yet to be confirmed, a collaborative preview of the Microsoft Mesh app for HoloLens is available and access can be requested for a new version of Mesh enabled AltspaceVR. Eventually, Mesh will be integrated within Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Dynamics 365.
As further details are released for Microsoft Mesh, VRFocus will keep you updated.
During today’s Microsoft Ignite event, in collaboration with Niantic Labs, the companies showcased what the possible future of Pokémon GO could be. They demoed a prototype of the augmented reality (AR) videogame on HoloLens 2 for the first time.
Currently just a proof-of-concept, the demo was part of Microsoft’s Mesh announcement to build shared experiences in mixed reality (MR). In the video which firmly pointed out that what was being shown wasn’t for consumer use, Niantic CEO and Founder John Hanke strolled through a park with various Pokémon running around his feet.
Using HoloLens 2’s hand tracking he then brings up his left hand which activates a menu UI, giving three options; a Poké Ball, Fruit and Pokémon, the latter offering a list of his available creatures. Selecting Pikachu, Hanke goes onto feed the famous yellow character some fruit before continuing with the presentation which doesn’t involve a battle, unfortunately.
It’s a tantalising look at the future of arguably the most popular AR title, where players no longer have to look at their phone screen because it’ll all appear in a set of AR glasses. That’s going to be some way off as devices like HoloLens 2 aren’t for consumer use, yet the next generation of smart glasses could well achieve that.
“We’re committed to leveraging and expanding our platform to build real-world AR experiences for as many devices as possible and reaching a diverse set of players no matter their physical location,” says Hanke in a blog post. “We’ve only scratched the surface. We know the years ahead to be filled with important achievements which will serve as waypoints in AR’s journey to become a life-changing computing platform.”
AR is viewed by many companies as the future of mobile computing, offering hands-free access to a digital world that interacts with the real one, whether that’s for gaming, work or any other use case. And it’s these kinds of partnerships that help to build that groundwork. As Niantic and Microsoft continue to announce more from their collaboration, VRFocus will keep you update.
Apps like Google Earth VRor Wander have been a great way to see the world considering travel has been so restricted for most. This week Cubic VR founder Haldun Kececigil has revealed a new project coming to Oculus Quest and other devices where you can explore the world with friends, Realworld.
Currently, in early development, Realworld is being built with Oculus Quest as the primary platform and as the introductory trailer showcases, it’ll be fully hand-tracking compatible so you can navigate with a pinch of your fingers. Set out like an interactive table, you’ll be able to grab the map and zoom into wherever you’ve selected, being able to walk through cities and look up at skyscrapers or explore iconic landmarks.
But Realworld isn’t just an interactive map to wander through, you’ll have the option to invite friends and get creative. Also designed as a social experience the app will offer customizable avatars as well as voice chat. This will aid the productive side of Realworld where drawing tools will be on-hand to sketch ideas, pin notes and take pictures or import 3D models from the cloud to see them at real-world scale.
Thus designers can use Realworld as a remote presentation tool, either to those in virtual reality (VR) or livestream to a wider audience online. There are even options to create tours, animate scenes and bring up data visualisations.
Alongside Oculus Quest, Realworld is being built to support a wide array of devices from mixed reality (MR) headsets like Microsoft’s HoloLens 2 to mobile AR and PC VR headsets.
Currently in private beta, Realworld is accepting beta testers through its official website. “We are accepting new testers from diverse backgrounds. Tell us about your background and why you are interested in Realworld,” the team notes.
Realworld doesn’t have a released date just yet. When further details are made available, VRFocus will let you know.
Spatial has been developing its combined virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) collaboration platform for a while now, looking to help teams work together no matter where they are or what platform they’re on. The current coronavirus pandemic has forced this kind of technology into the forefront of peoples minds, in doing so changing Spatial’s plans in the process. Which is why today the tech startup has announced the platform is now freely accessible for a range of devices including Oculus Quest.
The Spatial app allows users to get together, discuss projects, import content such as 3D models and even share their PC screens, all from inside their device. One of Spatial’s most interesting features to make the experience more personable is the use of realistic avatars, where users upload a selfie which is then made into a 3D model.
Designed as an enterprise solution, the opening up of Spatial’s premium services to everyone free of charge means whether you’re in VR or on an iPhone you can test the service out. As for the Oculus Quest version, that was only ever available in private beta, with Spatial pushing ahead with development in the last few months to ensure a public version could be released.
“Now is a time when feeling connected is needed more than ever, and while video chat is great, it just doesn’t replace people collaborating in the same room,” said Spatial CEO Anand Agarawala in a statement. “Over the last few weeks we’ve seen a surge in interest for Spatial’s services, ranging from Fortune 1000s, to schools and hospitals, to SMBs. We really wanted to respond to the global need and make Spatial Enterprise freely available to serve as many people as possible as we all navigate new territory with home and work life.”
“By opening up our immersive collaboration platform and allowing access on the devices people already have, we hope to connect more people in a way that isn’t confined by space, location, or even a pandemic,” adds Spatial CPO Jinha Lee.
Spatial offers one of the most device-agnostic platforms for remote networking, supporting Oculus Quest, Magic Leap, Microsoft HoloLens 1 & 2, Android, iOS, Nreal, PC and via web app. Free access will only be available for the next few months to help people connect during the pandemic. Once it has subsided Spatial will return to a premium service model.
VRFocus will continue its coverage of Spatial, reporting back with the latest updates.
Holiday 2020 looks set to be a big one for gaming fans with the next generation of consoles from Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) and Microsoft scheduled to arrive. As one of the most popular game development platforms Unreal Engine is gearing up for the new hardware with its latest edition 4.25, whilst continuing to enhance its mixed reality (MR) support.
The big news is that Unreal Engine 4.25 is the first edition to initially support PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, with further optimizations coming throughout the year. With PlayStation 5 previously confirmed to support PlayStation VR this should now make it possible for VR developers using UE4 to bring their project to the upcoming console.
Epic Games notes that 4.25 next-gen features include: “platform-specific functionality, such as new audio advancements, initial support for online subsystems, and early support for TRC and XR certification requirements.”
As for MR, Unreal Engine 4.26 improves support for Microsoft HoloLens 2. There are performance improvements, support for MR capture from a third-person camera view, initial support for Azure Spatial Anchors and the ability to enable HoloLens remoting from packaged Unreal Engine applications via a command line. Magic Leap has also seen smaller improvements such as support for its latest SDK while the Leap Motion plugin was removed from the engine as it is no longer supported.
The update also sees platform SDK upgrades including:
ARCore 1.7
ARKit 3.0
Oculus 1.44
OpenXR 1.0
SteamVR 1.5.17
Magic Leap 0.23
There are plenty of other new features and improvements to interest current and budding videogame developers. Real-time ray tracing is now officially production-ready, the platform now has built-in support for LiDAR data; making it easier for users importing, visualizing, editing, and interacting with point clouds.
A brand-new media output pipeline has been added for those wishing to create high-quality movies and stills for marketing materials or cinematics. On the audio side, Unreal Audio Engine now supports sound field rendering and convolution reverb processing to make content even more immersive.
Take a look at the full set of Unreal Engine 4.25 release notes and don’t forget that the software is free to begin experimenting with if you’re interested in videogame design. For further updates on the videogame engine, keep reading VRFocus.
CES 2020 in January was a bit of a mixed bag when it came to virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) announcements. There were lots of interesting smaller updates and advancements but nothing like those from previous years – even Panasonic’s Eyeglasses weren’t that amazing. There were products which did catch VRFocus’ eye, one of them being Spatial, a mixed reality (MR) app designed for workplace collaboration.
Spatial emerged from stealth almost two years ago, with a vision to make it easier for people to work together on projects wherever they are in the world as if they were in the same office together.
This has been made possible thanks to the likes of Microsoft’s HoloLens and Magic Leap 1, allowing digitised information to be overlaid on the real world. Spatial does support VR standalone headset Oculus Quest but that wasn’t available to demo, the HoloLens 2 on the other hand, was.
The software is all about versatility and ease of use, where users can place sticky notes on walls and import 3D models for others to examine and assess. Before any of that takes place a work environment wouldn’t feel very engaging or personal if you were represented as names or amorphous blobs. Spatial has managed to create an avatar system which creates a 3D representation of any user from a normal 2D photograph.
As you can see from the imagery the process works surprising well, creating an avatar that you can genuinely connect and have a conversation with. When VRFocus spoke with Spatial’s CEO and co-founder Anand Agarawala he noted that while eye tracking was currently supported if the hardware had the feature, the avatars could also support further facial movement like lips and eyebrows when the hardware catches up.
During the demo, Agarawala dropped a model of the Mars surface into the workspace, with any of the users able to spin or resize it, all in real-time and viewable by the group, not just them. This was certainly helped by the new hand gesture features of HoloLens 2, markedly improved over the previous model, making the interactions far more fluid and natural. HoloLens 2’s wider field of view (FoV) also made for comfortable viewing, taking in more of what was going on. If the FoV was narrower then it would be difficult to imagine Spatial having the same impact, its vision constrained by the hardware.
While the Mars model was out Spatial demonstrated some of the other tools users had access to. These included putting another model (a Mars rover) onto the surface then opening a painting/drawing tool for users to visually explain ideas and processes, in this case, a possible route for the rover to take.
Because the system is designed to connect people worldwide – it supports Microsoft Meeting for example – as well as throwing in lots of 2D/3D data it was noticeable that a good WiFi connection was needed, as – no fault of Spatial – the hotel connection did introduce moments of lag which if presented in a work environment would hamper the experience.
Spatial has yet to be officially rolled out with a fully released product expected later this year. Enterprise customers interested can still access the app by contacting Spatial directly. The software provides a tantalising taste of what’s achievable in MR with current technology, with possibilities beyond merely office collaboration, stretching into education and more.
Spatial emerged from stealth almost two years ago, with a vision to make it easier for people to work together on projects wherever they are in the world as if they were in the same office together.
As you can see from the imagery the process works surprising well, creating an avatar that you can genuinely connect and have a conversation with. When 
Because the system is designed to connect people worldwide – it supports Microsoft Meeting for example – as well as throwing in lots of 2D/3D data it was noticeable that a good WiFi connection was needed, as – no fault of Spatial – the hotel connection did introduce moments of lag which if presented in a work environment would hamper the experience.