The United States military forces have been a driving factor in developing and applying new VR technologies. The military is responsible for the most dramatic evolutionary leaps in the VR field. Virtual reality (VR) is a computer technology that uses Virtual reality headsets, sometimes in combination with physical spaces or multi-projected environments, to generate realistic images, sounds and other sensations that simulate a user’s physical presence in a virtual or imaginary environment. A person using virtual reality equipment is able to “look around” the artificial world, and with high quality VR move about in it and interact with virtual features or items. VR headsets are head-mounted goggles with a screen in front of the eyes. Programs may include audio and sounds through speakers or headphones.
One of the earliest uses of simulators in a military environment was the flight trainers built by the Link Company in the late 1920’s and 1930’s. These trainers looked like sawed-off coffins mounted on a pedestal, and were used to teach instrument flying. The darkness inside the trainer cockpit, the realistic readings on the instrument panel, and the motion of the trainer on the pedestal combined to produce a sensation similar to actually flying on instruments at night. The Link trainers were very effective tools for their intended purpose, teaching thousands of pilots the night flying skills they needed before and during World War II.-Jim Baumann
The US Army demonstrates their proprietary Dismounted Soldier Training System (DSTS).
Source: Roadtovr.com.
“There’s a lot of focus right now on the future of virtual reality headsets, the cost of entry, and just how good our VR experiences could get. But Microsoft is following a different path, and instead is focusing on mixed reality and holographic headsets. That’s how we got HoloLens, and why Microsoft is now starting to talk about HoloLens 2.
Microsoft Research is hard at work developing HoloLens 2, which will continue to be the “world’s first–and still only–fully self-contained holographic computer.” The self-contained nature of HoloLens means it needs to run on the battery Microsoft incorporates into the headset, so efficiency is key.
To improve HoloLens 2’s capabilities while retaining that efficiency, Microsoft decided it needed to design its own artificial intelligence chip. This AI coprocessor will form part of the next custom multiprocessor that powers HoloLens called the Holographic Processing Unit (HPU).
In order for HoloLens to work, it needs to quickly and accurately recognize objects in the world around it. That requires Deep Neural Networks, which right now work best in the cloud running on custom processor/memory architectures. Microsoft’s desire to keep HoloLens self-contained means relying on the cloud isn’t acceptable, so they are replacing that need with a dedicated AI chip in HPU 2.0.
Moving AI to run locally not only increases efficiency, it also allows for higher performance as there’s no need to pull data from the Internet. HoloLens 2 will be able to implement its own DNNs, and developers will have full access to program the AI chip.
For end users, it should mean an obvious improvement in the computer vision capabilities on offer by HoloLens 2, which translates to better experiences.
We have no idea when HoloLens 2 will launch or how much it will cost. The first version only went out to developer in March last year with a consumer version expected at some point this year after preorders opened last October. For now, HoloLens looks like very promising future tech, with the emphasis there definitely on “future.” ”
This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.