Science

Windows 10 Will Have Holographic Mixed Reality by 2017

A woman trying Microsoft's HoloLens in a shop
Microsoft / YouTube

Intel and Microsoft are collaborating to bring a holographic lifestyle to the masses as early as next year.

Everyone with a PC, virtual reality headset, and Windows 10 will have easy access to virtual and mixed reality by 2017, Microsoft’s vice president of windows and devices group Terry Myerson announced today.

The announcement comes just two months after Microsoft said it was going to focus on “breaking down the barriers between virtual and physical reality.”

The Windows Holographic shell will allow people to use both two- and three-dimensional applications in a virtual reality world. Microsoft released a video demonstration of what that holographic shell will look like on YouTube today to show what Windows users have to look forward to — and to prove mixed reality will be for more than just playing Dungeons and Dragons and watching fake fireworks.

If the finished project is anything like the video, all a user will have to do is strap into the headset and push a couple of buttons on the virtual reality screens before the system transports them to Italy and gives them six degrees of freedom to explore the virtual world. Best of all, users can escape the virtual barking dog in the virtual home office with ease.