by Microsoft is working with Volkswagen bring augmented reality to cars through a new “Moving Platform” feature for Hololens 2.
No company mentions the exact details of how this will work, but there are some clues as to what to expect. Microsoft, for example, said the “Moving Platform” could be used to educate drivers on how to handle adverse road conditions.
This is not a daily driver training. Instead, the focus, as with anything else on the HoloLens 2 orbit, is business and enterprise, which means that this platform could be used to train, for example, fleet drivers.
Improved with 3D models
Looking at the original images, the function works by placing 3D models inside and outside a car. You can only see them by wearing the HoloLens 2 augmented reality headgear. For navigation, you will have a route map virtually located at the top of the dashboard with an arrow indicating where you need to go.
HoloLens 2 will also display a holographic pedestrian warning on pedestrian crossings to tell you to watch out for people. It will even tell you the temperature inside the car.
Microsoft tested the Moving Platform prototype by putting Volkswagen researchers to link one of its vehicles to the HoloLens. The Volkswagen team then partnered with Microsoft to provide feedback on how to improve the HoloLens Moving Platform.
This update is based on Microsoft’s current version of the Moving Platform, which is intended for use on ocean-going vessels. Ocean waves can disturb HoloLen 2, so the function stabilizes the view of the device.
Microsoft does not stop with cars and boats. There are plans to bring its Mobile Platform to ‘… elevator, trains, [and] other moving environments. “
HoloLens rescue
This new partnership with Volkswagen could be a way to breathe new life into the HoloLens project. He went through a turbulent period recently.
In early February 2022, HoloLens 3 was canceled. The problem was that no one knew what the purpose of the headset was, so some members of the HoloLens 3 team may have jumped off the ship to work for Meta in her metaverse project.
However, with this partnership with the Volkswagen Moving Platform, Microsoft is enhancing the purpose of the HoleLens 2 as an augmented reality tool for training and virtual information in an ever-increasing range of workplace scenarios. One can only hope that the HoloLens and Moving Platform headphones will one day end up in high school driving lessons.
