This presentation includes an intro to HoloLens' technical specifications, to its gesture control, the camera specs, how to program on HoloLens with Unity and directX and gives an overview of 2D and 3D apps. It was presented at the Vienna Computer Vision Meetup in August 2016.

1. HoloLens
Introduction & Live-Demo
Peter Sperl
August 2016

2. Agenda
 Overview
 Hardware Specifications
 Holographic Environment
 Input & Interaction
 Software & Development
 Live Demo & Try it out!

3. Overview

4. Microsoft HoloLens is a holographic computer built into
a headset that lets you see, hear and interact with
holograms.
It merges augmented objects into the space of the real
world, creating a mixed reality for the user.
Overview

5. Overview
 Developer Edition
 Released in the US on March 30th 2016
 Price: $3000
 No official release date yet
 Runs on Windows 10 (32-bit)
 Controlled by gestures & audio input
 Completely untethered (no wires required, not even for
development)

6. Hardware Specifications
(Not officially announced by Microsoft)

7. The Headset (1)
 18 Sensors, including:
 1 IMU
 Inertial Measurement Unit
 Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Magnetometer
 Ambient Light Detector
 4-Microphone Array
 Cameras:
 1 Depth Camera (+ IR Emitter)
 1 RGB Camera
 4 “Environment-understanding” Cameras

8. The Headset (2)
 Connectivity
 Bluetooth
 Micro USB (2.0)
 Wi-Fi
 Built-in speakers
 Capable of simulating spatial sound
 Weight: 579g
 Battery: 16.5mWh (about 2 hours of active usage)
 Passively cooled (no fans)

9. Processors & Memory
 CPU: Intel Atom x5-Z8100 1.04 GHz (64-bit capable)
 GPU/HPU:
 (Holographic Processing Unit): “HoloLens Graphics”
 Intel based
 2 GB RAM
 64 GB Storage
 Camera:
 2.4 MP Photo (2048 x 1152)
 1.1 MP Video (1408 x 792) @ 30 FPS

10. Lenses (1)
 2x 3-layered “Coherent Light Interference” transparent Displays
 One layer each for Red, Green, Blue
 A “Light Engine” projects light into the glasses
 Tricks the eyes to perceive virtual objects at virtual distances

11. Lenses (2)
 Field of view:
 30°×17.5° degrees (16:9)
 Relatively small
 2.3M light points with a density of 2.5k radiants

12. The Holographic Environment

13. The Holographic Environment
HoloLens processes “Terabytes of information” in real time to:
 map your surroundings (spatial mapping)
 Know your position and gaze
 Stabilize holograms
Locations are recognized as “Spaces”
 (Wi-Fi must be turned on to save/load spaces, even though it
doesn’t have to be connected to a network)
Controlled / navigated through the Windows Holographic Shell to
start apps etc.

14. Windows Holographic Shell

15. Input & Interaction
Interactions:
 Gaze
 Tap (Press / Release)
 Bloom
Gestures:
 Hold
 Manipulation
 Navigation
Voice Input
 “See it, say it”

16. Software & Development
Requirements for Developers:
 Windows 10 64-Bit + Hyper-V support
 DirectX 11.0 or later
 64-bit CPU
 At least 4 Cores in total
 Visual Studio 2015 Update 3
 Incl. Tools (1.4) and Windows 10 SDK (10.0.10586)
 HoloLens Emulator
 (optional, for Unity) Unity HoloLens Technical Preview (HTP)

17. Apps
2D UWP (XAML) vs. 3D Holographic App

18. 2d Apps

19. 2d Apps
2D UWP Apps can be run in HoloLens within a hologram of a 2D
Window
Gaze input is translated into Pointer Events
Placement of the Window launches the App
Limitations:
 App will have fixed resolution of 853x480 effective pixels
 Some Windows 10 Concepts / APIs are not available, e.g.:
 Notifications, Toasts
 Contacts
 Calendar
 File Explorer

20. Holographic Apps

21. Holographic Apps
Can be created either via Unity or Visual Studio
 Visual Studio provides a Template that combines basic DirectX
routines and the Holographic APIs to render Holograms
 Unity is the faster & easier way to go
 Default & maximum rendering resolution is 720p (1268x720)

22. Mixing XAML and 3D
 Apps can mix 2D Views and holographic views
 To switch between XAML and holographic views, call
ApplicationViewSwitcher.SwitchAsync

23. Thank You! :)
Up Next: Live Demo & Try-out