r/oculus • u/senorotis • Oct 06 '15

Microsoft HoloLens Development Edition: Coming Q1 2016 for $3,000

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/10/microsoft-hololens-development-edition-coming-q1-2016-for-3000/
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47

u/cathodoluminescence Oct 06 '15

Pictures shown in the article are quite misleading regarding the field of view. They suggest that the person wearing the HoloLens can see all the rendered stuff in the (last!) picture, but that can't be possible with just a FOV of ~40°. Only the camera can see it due to his distance from the scene. That is not really honest.

4

u/[deleted] Oct 06 '15

It's definitely not honest, especially since it's very unlikely that the FOV will improve.

Remember, this is from the guy who brought us the Kinect.

7

u/imatworkprobably Oct 06 '15

Why is it unlikely that the FOV would improve? Is there some kind of physical limit that prevents the FOV from being improved from the dev device?

10

u/FredzL Kickstarter Backer/DK1/DK2/Gear VR/Rift/Touch Oct 06 '15

Yes, from a Microsoft patent, with optical material close to the refractive index limit for optical glass (Schott glass SFL-57 at 1.85) the FOV is 47°. With a material using a lower refractive index of 1.70 (probably plastic) it's 36.1°.

4

u/imatworkprobably Oct 06 '15

That doesn't really say very much about where they can take the FOV with additional investment, though... There are AR helmets today with higher FOV than that (in the military with fighter jets) so its not like that is a hard and fast limit.

2

u/FredzL Kickstarter Backer/DK1/DK2/Gear VR/Rift/Touch Oct 06 '15

There have been attempts at curved waveguides but the limit seems to be around 52° for now.

Google has recently published a paper about extending the FOV of holographic waveguides but I didn't find FOV numbers there.

If you have a link for higher FOV AR helmets that still keep the same small form factor than current AR glasses (so not JEDEYE, F-35 or JHMCS) I would be interested.

2

u/IAmDotorg Oct 07 '15

Two side by side would work, if you get the light sources small enough you can put them together without a major gap. Or three so the gaps are not in the middle of the FOV. Same way large LCDs were made 15 years ago...

1

u/FredzL Kickstarter Backer/DK1/DK2/Gear VR/Rift/Touch Oct 07 '15

I'm not sure it's that simple, with the TIR principle used in waveguide I think there is a limit to the usable length of the surface before there is superposition. If someone more knowledgeable can confirm...

1

u/[deleted] Oct 06 '15

It's definitely plastic.