Microsoft said that the integration between its mixed-reality headset, HoloLens 2, and its video conferencing service, Teams, is made better by enabling users to do more than just communicate.
It is noteworthy that the American tech giant has long supported direct video calls using Teams on HoloLens 2, and now users can freely contact people, browse and add Teams contacts to calls, even view the calendar, and join meetings.
Microsoft also allowed HoloLens 2 users to see what users shared in meetings as well. A new live video will appear on shared screens as a 3D image that can be moved and resized.
Teams is largely used in HoloLens 2 for remote assistance scenarios where an engineer or assistant joins a meeting or call, with the goal of guiding them to solve a problem.
Teams users on desktop or mobile will see what the HoloLens 2 is showing from the wearer’s point of view, similar to the way GoPro helmet cameras record the outside world.
Microsoft will also provide Dynamics 365 Guides for on-the-job training with HoloLens 2, which combines Dynamics 365 Remote Assist and Guides features to make the glasses more adaptable to mixed work scenarios.
HoloLens 2 users can now use text chat during Teams calls, and access photos or PDFs shared in calls as 3D images. The glasses’ integration with storage service OneDrive supports a file-sharing and viewing experience, so all files are synced and available across multiple devices.
The announced software improvements are the first since HoloLens co-development partner Alex Kipman left Microsoft earlier this year. Since then, reports have indicated that Microsoft has canceled plans to release HoloLens 3, and HoloLens 2 will be the final release. But now Microsoft’s new head of mixed reality is hinting that the company is working on a new version of it.
Microsoft says it plans to improve HoloLens display, tracking, sensors, and battery life in any major update to the glasses.
It is also indicated that Microsoft tested a special version of HoloLens with the US Army, but things did not go well, as soldiers complained of headaches, nausea, and eye strain.
Microsoft won a series of contracts potentially worth tens of billions of dollars to supply the US Army with augmented reality glasses, and the army received 5,000 glasses last September.
