Even if virtual reality is the real hype of these days, its closely related cousin, augmented reality is the one that promises real applicability outside of the entertainment medium a lot sooner than its counterpart. The biggest name in this area of expertise has already established itself more than a year ago when it was first made public – the Microsoft HoloLens. Surely not the only one placing emphasis on developing what is soon to become a very huge part of our lives, but by far the one that has made the most progress since its announcement; at least officially.

A year ago, within the yearly Build conference that Microsoft organizes, we saw a slightly different HoloLens than the one that has been presented to us this time around. Microsoft seems to have given up on the eerie and mysterious air of things in favor of what they called the HoloGraphic Academy. Within the Academy, guests were able to view another side of the HoloLens series of capabilities; that was what they called the ability to ‘become a superhero’ when they showcased the headset’s ability to provide its user with microscopic, telescopic and X-ray vision.

The conference then moved onto the next phase of its presentation, allowing the individuals present to play around with 3D holograms created on a computer which materialized through a tap of your fingers on a surface right next to you, allowing you to move around it and gaze at its acuity from whichever angle you chose to. Visitors were also allowed to ‘program’ apps on the spot that made use of the diverse palette of abilities of the HoloLens, including the spatial sound feature that doesn’t even require headphones.

And yet, throughout the Build 2016 event, we were only able to see part of what Microsoft has in store for the future development of augmented reality headsets. The internet has been the host of some mind blowing application videos of what will most likely become a common part of our lives in less than a few years’ time. One such application is what the company calls virtual 3D teleportation, which does an amazing job at mimicking Princess Leia’s holographic message that we saw in the Star Wars series, except it works just as well with real-time applicability. While no physical teleportation is involved, given a series of prerequisites such as a 3D system of cameras (holographic pod, anyone?) we could turn remote communication into the most futuristic thing we have yet to see in the real world.

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