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Re:Apple is betting on augmented reality by Animats on Monday March 20, 2017 @01:31PM (#13916018)
The Microsoft Hololens integration and packaging is quite impressive. It's a full, self-contained AR system in reasonably lightweight self-contained headgear. The HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift are big, clunky devices with cables.

If the Hololens could be brought down to a price point where the Pokemon Go crowd could use it, it would be a success for that alone.

How good does AR need to be to do HyperReality?[1] Not much better than the HoloLens. More field of view would be needed. The ability to draw dark would be nice, but isn't essential for that, because it's explicitly a bright overlay on the world.

[1] https://vimeo.com/166807261

Re:Apple is betting on augmented reality by AndrewKemendo on Monday March 20, 2017 @02:59PM (#13916722)
First of all I think the hololens is an amazing piece of tech and is the best device out there. That said, I disagree about the price point being the only thing. It needs to be in a really tight form factor and needs a lot of work on FOV and usability.

How good does AR need to be to do HyperReality?[1] Not much better than the HoloLens

You're underestimating the problem significantly. Read the link I posted previously because I lay it out there in detail. (I don't get paid or referrals or anything if you read it, it's just that I already wrote it all out there and don't want to do it again). FOV and draw dark are far from trivial issues, not to even mention content and geolocalization/georectification.

Re:Apple is betting on augmented reality by Animats on Monday March 20, 2017 @03:08PM (#13916788)
I've tried the HoloLens, and it's not bad for what it does. The narrow field of view is the main limitation. Putting in a greyscale filter to dim the real world makes the inability to write dark tolerable. It's amazing how much hardware they crammed into a lightweight, wireless headset.

The VR headsets, on the other hand, are still about as clunky as they were in the 1990s. The head tracking is much better, and the resolution is a little better. They're still too heavy, too bulky, badly balanced, and need cables.