Star Trek Holodeck This Isn’t
Pondering Apple’s possible mixed reality headset plans and the hurdles that remain
There’s Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, and, finally Mixed Reality, which, in a way, takes the best of AR and VR and elevates it to near Star Trek Holodeck level.
We’re not at that level, not yet. Apple’s possible plan to bring its mixed reality hardware to market is just another difficult reminder of the hurdles remaining in the quest to immerse humans in fantastic, yet still physical worlds.
According to The Information, Apple is hard at work on a mixed reality headset featuring bleeding edge image, audio, and processing technology. It appears to combine the best of Microsoft’s HoloLens, headgear that superimposes 3D imagery on the real world, with inside-out VR headgear that pulls in the outside world and then blends that live feed with AR and VR imagery.
Yet, where Microsoft’s HoloLens had a translucent visor that let you stay fully connected to the real world, Apple’s possible plan sounds more immersive. When I wore the first HoloLens in 2016, I could easily glance about to see the real room, as well as my own body. Apple’s headgear, which cuts off your view of the real world, would have to pull in that information and, perhaps, recreate it in the AR/VR space.
