How Microsoft is solving the problems of Spatial Computing ?

prabhhav sharma
Nov 3 · 3 min read

Microsoft recently released its new research where it is solving problem of VR like motion sickness and gazing. It is also bringing VR in real world outside the comfort of your room. But wearing a VR HMD in real world create more questions about one safety. Where facebook has removed the need of hand controllers in its new oculus quest. Microsoft is working on its new haptic contollers for disabled people.

Mise-Unseen uses eye-tracking to identify where users are focusing their attention and then employs a perception model to recommend where changes to the environment can be made without users noticing those changes. What got my attention to it that motion sickness can be reduced during teleportation by blending images outside the fovea and we can verify user understanding during story progression. Now anybody can be a director and control viewpoint and camera focal length in VR. DreamWalker tracks the user’s 3D environment and continuously updates a map of walkable areas that is registered with real-world coordinates and landmarks, such as buildings and walkable paths

VR in real world. Yellow arrow indicated navigation.

What intrigued me that how microsoft research team is using real-time tracking and positioning system that accurately maintains the user’s real-world location while walking in previously unseen and unscanned physical environments. Well DreamWalker monitors users’ environments using a variety of sensing technology — inside-out tracking via a Windows Mixed Reality-provided relative position trace, a dual band GPS sensor, and two RGB depth cameras — to detect obstacles discovered along the way. DreamWalker enables the user to reach their real-world destination through visual (re)direction at normal walking speeds, detecting obstacles along the way and presenting corresponding VR objects to prevent collisions. . Study reveals that walking inside the real world gave users a high level of sensory gratification in the game

CapstanCrunch is a haptic controller that renders touch and grasp haptic sensations in virtual reality

CapstanCrunch renders human-scale forces without the use of large, high force, electrically power consumptive and expensive actuators. Instead, CapstanCrunch integrates a friction based capstan-plus-cord variable-resistance brake mechanism that is dynamically controlled by a small internal motor. The capstan mechanism magnifies the motor’s force by a factor of around 40 as an output resistive force. Compared to active force control devices, it is low cost, low electrical power, robust, safe, fast and quiet, while providing high force control to user interaction

Canetroller, a haptic cane controller that simulates white cane interactions, enabling people with visual impairments to navigate a virtual environment by transferring their cane skills into the virtual world. It is based on spatial 3D auditory feedback. It helped visually impaired participants to navigate different in virtual spaces which is really cool and helpful for patients suffering from visual impairments so that they can also enjoy VR.

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