Where would one use a HoloLens, in real life?
This post is originally a question I replied to on Quora:
In a few years’ time, I think the question will be: where won’t you use it?
Before too long, the price of such a device for Augmented Reality (AR) will be comparable to a high-end smartphone nowadays. The other technical issues about field of view, physical size, collapsibility, battery life, resolution, latency, wireless, etc., will generally be resolved.
Most people, in the context of a modern, connected life, freak when they lose/forget their smartphone. Think about it, for a lot of people, their lives, their very identity, is tied to their smartphone. Their work, personal, entertainment, contacts, connectivity, banking, social, sexual, food, diaries, to-do lists, photos, videos and associated memories, etc. — it’s all in their phone.
When design paradigms shift from a 2D web into a 3D one, and it will, you’ll need such a device to navigate it. Why most web developers are not up to par in adopting A-Frame, or other such technologies right now, is beyond me. 3D web developers are soon going to be in extremely high demand. Without such an AR/VR device, it will be clunky to attempt to manipulate the metaverse with a smaller device not physically designed, nor technologically capable, of interfacing with those new design shifts.
Consequently, you won’t go anywhere without said device, the same way digital natives go out of their way to be physically accessible to their smartphone at all times. This fusion of humanity and machine is more than just “augmented reality,” it is the very definition of “augmented humans.” These devices will be connected to your office, your home, your family and friends, wearables and/or implants, etc. You will be connected 24/7/365, even when you sleep.
While they may look clunky now, these devices will undergo a logarithmic curve of advanced development. The smart-glasses pictured below, from Osterhout Design Group (O.D.G.), are already available for purchase, and give any currently tethered AR device a run for its money at ~$1,800 per pair (after a $10M R&D cycle, though they are flush with investment capital at this time). It won’t be long before these smart-glasses evolve to newer specs, as mentioned prior.
ODG also declined to be bought out by Microsoft, for HoloLens development, though they did an equity sale for $150M USD in cash. It’s fair to say they’re leading the pack right now for market dominance. One next step might be to license the technologies to fashion designers, or hire some for in-house development/consulting, and we’ll see some pretty amazing eyewear that doesn’t make one look like a glass****.
