Meta 2: A HoloLens Killer?

Image credit: Metavision

Currently, there are two competing computing paradigms that aim to change the way that we use computers, consume media, play games, and satisfy our erotic desires with bonerific virtual reality porn. These two paradigms are virtual reality and augmented reality. The Oculus Rift, the HTC Vive, and the Gear VR are the current cream of the virtual reality headset crop, whereas the HoloLens stands pretty much alone as the leader of the smaller field of augmented reality headsets.

Microsoft’s HoloLens now has a powerful and aggressive competitor called the Meta 2 which offers some huge advantages (a super-wide and immersive field of view) that make it a much better media consumption device.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ez0xwRgtA3w

Augmented Reality Headsets

Before I get into detailing the Meta 2, I will provide some background on augmented reality headsets while focusing on the Microsoft HoloLens. This will show how augmented reality is different from virtual reality while also drawing a contrast between the technologies that drive the HoloLens and the Meta 2 (which are very different).

Still in beta or the development stages, the HoloLens is not available for sale to the general consumer market. This is because full-on augmented reality headsets are roughly two years behind the development of virtual reality headsets.

Image credit: Microsoft

This means if you have a friend with a HoloLens, they are probably a developer that is producing software for this Microsoft all-in-one headset. This brings me to my next point. The HoloLens is a full-on PC crammed into a headset. All of the processing is done onboard.

With the full power of a portable PC inside the headset, the HoloLens scans 3d space and processes the environmental geometry to project holographic visuals. These visuals end up on a transparent display. They are oriented to the spatial features of a given place that a user is within. All of this is done with the fancy Holographic GPU/CPU chips that Microsoft has produced for this headset.

Image credit: Microsoft

Most people that have tried out the HoloLens say it is an amazing technological breakthrough. When using the headset, holographic imagery appears to look like solid objects interacting with an environment 3d features. Microsoft has created a whole augmented reality OS that produces holographic windows that can be arranged in relation to objects in the world (see image above).

All of this sounds great, but Microsoft’s HoloLens has one big problem. Currently, the holograms can only be seen within a small window directly in the center of the user’s view. When looking at large 3d holograms, objects can appear cut off because of this limitation.

Image credit: The Verge

Meta 2

The Meta 2 is designed quite differently from the HoloLens. Instead of building a whole PC into the headset, the Meta 2 is much more similar to the headset-only approach of the Oculus or the HTC Vive. This means that the Meta 2 will only work if it is plugged into your PC. Overall, this will make the unit much less mobile but this also has driven the cost down. At 950 dollars, the Meta 2 is far cheaper than the 3000-dollar HoloLens.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yv9pPU1dxPA

The optics in the Meta 2 are also different from Microsoft’s AR champ. The Meta 2 uses a dual large sensor approach with off-axis optical images that reflect off the visors. It can provide a much more immersive 90-degree field of view. The screens project at 2560×1440 resolution which should make text readable and graphics sharp.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cmPFsBOquk

The Meta 2 also uses a highly software driven sensor array system for tracking user movement, spatial tracking, and, most importantly, hand tracking. The Meta 2 takes advantage of the SLAM system to track users hands so that Holographic interfaces can be manipulated in a precise manner with gesture controls.

You can order a dev kit version of the Meta 2 now if you are so inclined. For more info, check out: https://buy.metavision.com