The Microsoft HoloLens headset could be used for a variety of applications, and that might even include a new way to interact with the printed page. The company was awarded a patent today that describes a method to show "holographic visual aids" on a head-mounted display when a person is reading a book.
The patent, which was first filed in 2012, lists Alex Kipman, one of the main leaders of the Microsoft HoloLens team, as one of its inventors. Here's its summary:
"A system for generating and displaying holographic visual aids associated with a story to an end user of a head-mounted display device while the end user is reading the story or perceiving the story being read aloud is described. The story may be embodied within a reading object (e.g., a book) in which words of the story may be displayed to the end user. The holographic visual aids may include a predefined character animation that is synchronized to a portion of the story corresponding with the character being animated. A reading pace of a portion of the story may be used to control the playback speed of the predefined character animation in real-time such that the character is perceived to be lip-syncing the story being read aloud. In some cases, an existing book without predetermined AR tags may be augmented with holographic visual aids."
So far, Microsoft has emphasized how HoloLens could be used to make more immersive games, along with applications such as building 3D models and communicating with others. This patent may show that the company has even more ideas for how to use HoloLens.
Reader comments
Microsoft Hololens might be used to make paper books more interactive
Uh, showing pictures isn't interactive, being able to control and alter those images is interactive.
Ah, I can see it now. The iconic "mother sitting in rocking chair", reading Goodnight Moon to the baby she is holding, both wearing Hololens headsets. They WILL have these in baby sizes, right? #FutureShock :P
Imagine reading a horror book and you see blood splattering on the pages and around you while hearing voices and sounds based on the page you are reading! Ooh! I'm excited! Where can I patent that? :P
Everything I read about Hololens reminds me of the Battlestar Galactica prequel ... Caprica.
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That would be absolutely amazing.
I'm more excited about augmented reality (HoloLens, Google Glass, etc) than virtual reality (Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, etc) . The idea of overlapping computer generated stuff with the actual real world in real time is fascinating.
Me too.
AR just feels a bit more "real" and life-like. VR's just a limited world (for me).
Comics won't be comics anymore.
As amazing as this is truth is nobody knows what application this has.... Not even its creators. Hope it is not a failure.
Its gonna be like futurama lol
This kind of thing is where HoloLens has the most potential to succeed, simply because it is something 3rd party vendors can monetise.
I'm pretty sure that law enforcement want their riot gear equipped with this technology.
Amazing stuff.
Show data on the person they are taking to? Name, occupation, any prior's, links to known criminal elements, etc...
Sorcery!
50 shades of green $$$
I hope MS is working on the field of view in Hololense
If they get kids to love this, and work environments to take advantage of it, then this is going to take off so easy! And the great thing is they are suitably placed for both :)
I love #Hololens and it is like newspaper on harry potter Movie!
MSFT now has patent for TV. No wonder Apple scrapped TV plans.
Doesn't MS still own some stock in Apple? Also I still believe they have a very long agreement to never really sure each other either.
I think it was in 80's or early 90's that MS bailed out Apple as it was major customer. Convertible bond or something, no ownership anymore. But they still have long term patent deal I suppose. And Nandela is doing his best to be the next Apple CEO..
Edit: http://www.engadget.com/2014/05/20/what-ever-became-of-microsofts-150-mi...
1997. And apparently it was antitrust smokescreen or not.
Dont read too much into it... Big tech companies file many thousands of patents a year. That being said I'd be surprised if MS WASN'T thinking of a huge range of applications for hololense... They seem to be throwing a lot of support behind it
Sold.
Visual Aids.. English can be so wrong at times :)
Hololens needs to be alot smaller for someone to sit through an animated reading.
I mean, with all the hands on time you've had with this thing, you should know right?
If they can fix the field of view issues than I will pre-order as soon as one is available.
and what are those issues? you haven't even used it. so you don't even know how it works and how it looks.... and it's not an issue, it's Microsoft trying to find a balance between good and where most people won't get sick. I mean I am sure you haven't even experienced the field of view so why are you talking about it? again, you don't know the final product and you don't really know the field of view apart from what you have read on internet and internet can say alot of things that don't apply to you, because one thing works different from one person to the other.
Your right in that I have not used it, but it wasn't just Paul Thurrott who was saying this. Many people who used the first prototype compared with the second made mentioned a significant smaller field of view. If you actually read my post, you would have realized that I said "PREORDERED", which means I would pony up money before its official release. If field of view complaints are still prevalent, it doesn't mean I wouldn't buy it, it just means I would have to try it out myself and see.
People won't get sick because this is AR not VR. The original hololens demo in January didn't have a field of view issue, but the demo included strapping a computer on your back. The last demo had a nice self contained headset, but it has field of view issues. It might be a processing power issue or it might be something else. There is still plenty of time for microsoft to fix this and I'm sure it got plenty of feedback from the people doing the demo.
I tried it, believe me you don't want the version I tried. There is no worry of motion sickness, you can see the world around you. If Microsoft would just acknowledge the FOV issue we could stop guessing.
WOW!! I had forgotton about this kind of capability of Hololens. Would love to learn my engineering subjects with interactive learning. Even if this cost around 1000$, schools and Universities can opt for this kind of teachability. I have already started imagining stuff for my field of study. Oh boy, this would be useful so much.
Kipman is the next big superstar at Microsoft it seems.
Play YuGiOh or Pokemon card games with the hololens for real battle action and effects! :D
I would definitely buy those games if they can make them.
The main thing hololens got attention is bcoz of Minecraft. And I'm glad the way Microsoft is and will be using them.
Oh please someone reboot Myst on HoloLens...
That would be awesome!
I have a strong feeling the average Joe isn't going to have the money to have one of these. In my opinion its going to be more work based. So around 1500$ to 5000$ and that's being generous.
I honestly believe it's going to cost like $1500.
its gonna cost 700.
Anyone played the game "Remember Me"? Like how the Sensen overlays info on top of the real world. I've always dreamed about something like this.
I've played that, it really would be awesome to have a similar experience with the hololens!
Yeah! I thought of that from very first video of it! It will be amazing :D
The live showing is so awesome.
Pop up books will have more animation? Yess
All the possibilities that HoloLens presents... Kinda Exciting, if you ask me.
#HarryPotter
First thing I thought of was Harry Potter as well..!
Exactly same thoughts, playing videos in physical news paper
This one reminds me of an ad where a video is playing in newspaper. Was that a Google ad?
Imagine a paper magazine with videos, thesaurus, translation, 3D models, ads, music, ticket booking, movie previews, food recipes, etc running live as you flip pages.
Google? Please, lets give credit where credit is due. The Microsoft Productivity Future Vision video clearly shows a newspaper that comes to life with live video as well as many other applications for HoloLens. See what's possible by watching the video in the above link.
Two words: Diamond Age.
Dude, "huge failure"? "Zero Usability"? Seriously?..... I think HoloLens has an entire world of possibilities for Entertainment and for Business and other stuff.....