HoloLens 2, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Remote Assist and a custom app help Hokkaido Electric Power Company staff inspect critical equipment at a thermal power plant. (Image courtesy of Microsoft)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u2018Everyone has a voice now\u2019<\/h2>\n
As early customer pilots with HoloLens 2 have led to larger deployments, Microsoft has invested heavily in making the cloud-connected technology easier to manage at scale. That means IT departments can manage a HoloLens 2 headset just like any other laptop, phone or tablet, Evans said.<\/p>\n
Those improvements helped Toyota move HoloLens 2 from the lab to the enterprise seamlessly, Kleiner said. \u201cUsually when we leave the lab, there\u2019s a huge learning curve: how do we maintain and operate these at the enterprise level?\u201d Kleiner said. \u201cAll that was avoided because when we took the device to the IT department they said \u2018Oh, this is just another Windows machine. We know how to handle it.’\u201d<\/p>\n
Microsoft will continue to work with customers to solve unique and tough challenges, Evans noted.<\/p>\n
Customers like the U.S. Army are helping improve both software and hardware, while others are helping drive industry-specific improvements that may eventually have broader application, Evans said. It\u2019s akin to how technologies like ceramic brakes and variable valve timing first appeared in Formula 1 but ultimately went from the racetrack to everyday streets.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe military program has its own set of requirements that are tuned to the needs of the soldier. So, it\u2019s helping push the whole platform forward. It\u2019s great to have early adopters that are driving requirements because you end up with this trickle-down effect,\u201d Evans said.<\/p>\n
One thing Evans has said Microsoft hears from customers is that, unlike consumers who expect a constant crop of new gadgets, businesses don\u2019t want to have to replace their devices every two years. That causes too much churn. \u201cNo one wants to be obsoleted for 10% better capabilities. They don\u2019t need a successor yet, but they want to know it will be there at the right time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Evans said Microsoft is pushing forward on all core hardware technologies: display, tracking, sensors, battery life. \u201cWe\u2019re just looking for the right design point to make it a meaningful update. They want a successor device that\u2019s going to enable an even higher return on investment,\u201d Evans said.<\/p>\n
As the HoloLens hardware and software continue to evolve, Toyota\u2019s Kleiner expects Guides to remain \u201cthe killer mixed reality app\u201d for frontline workers. One day, it could be like Word, available on any device. But for now, Toyota will keep rolling out HoloLens 2 headsets across the company, giving frontline workers the tools to work and collaborate in new ways.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe now have a device we can deploy to every person,\u201d Kleiner said. \u201cIt\u2019s easy to maintain, and it allows our workers to participate in the larger conversation, regardless of rank or team structure. Everyone has a voice now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Related Links:<\/h3>\n
Top image: Desktop collaborators can annotate in 3D space and augment what a frontline worker wearing a HoloLens 2 is seeing with the latest update to Dynamics 365 Guides. (Image courtesy of Microsoft)\u202f <\/em><\/p>\nJake Siegel writes about Microsoft research and innovation<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cSomeone can grab a HoloLens, start a Guides session, and literally have a trainer in their head,\u201d he said. \u201cIf they do need help, they can call an expert right from the app.\u201d Toyota feedback also helped improve other aspects of the Guides experience. For example, technicians used to put a QR code on the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":130559,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[1102,1176],"class_list":["post-130558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-microsoft-news","tag-innovation-stories","tag-microsoft-hololens"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130558","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=130558"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130558\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/130559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=130558"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=130558"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=130558"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}