Microsoft outlines three trends that will impact mixed reality in 2018

In a recent LinkedIn post, Alex Kipman, technical fellow of the Operating System Group at Microsoft, has outlined how he expects mixed reality (MR) to evolve in the year ahead.

“The future MR experiences we create must be shareable,” he said. “For me, the killer app will be social communication; experiences that tear down the walls of isolation. I believe that MR has the power to connect people in compelling and meaningful ways.”

Kipman goes on to outline three trends that he believes will impact MR in 2018:

Mixed reality and artificial intelligence

HoloLens, MR and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions allow customers to combine the physical and digital worlds independent of their physical location.

Microsoft revealed last July that the next version of HoloLens will further incorporate AI into its custom silicon in the HoloLens the Holographic Processing Unit. The computing power delivered by the cloud is one of the catalysts accelerating AI.

Augmented reality and virtual reality

Microsoft have been focused on a MR journey that utilises augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) experiences.

There will be times when someone will be wearing HoloLens and working in mixed reality. Users may decide that they want to communicate with someone else and have them teleport in. A VR headset can give someone the ability to do this.

MR allows users to collaborate and co-create in immersive ways. Users can’t always be in the same room with someone they need to work with. This technology allows users to be present and spatially understand things, even when people are not physically in the same space.

Immersive Communication

MR has the power to connect people in work and in their personal life. Communication restrictions are a challenge for many employers and employees as it can be hard for people to be in the same place at the same time.

“MR gives us the ability to transcend time and space, and in the near future you’ll be able to communicate in a manner that is more immersive than ever before,” Kipman concluded.