Microsoft’s “holoportation”: Future is right here

Skeptics are saying we may have reached the ‘tipping point’ in the smartphone business. How much more can they toss with a 4-inch or a 6-inch smartphone? ‘Better’ versions these days mean adding an oblique curve or as Apple just did, from six-inch back to four-inch screen size. What next- with no more meaningful improvements anymore, demand levels off and sales plummet? Not really. Microsoft’s “holo portation” technology could well be our new means of communication if it delivers on its ‘augmented’ promises.

The system "allows high-quality 3D models of people to be reconstructed, compressed, and transmitted anywhere in the world in real-time."So if you're having a conference, for example, remote executives can appear in the same room together, or if you're having a video call with a friend, she can stand right in front of you rather than appearing on a flat laptop screen. Doesn’t that feel like technology straight from the future!

The system has a bowl of some more offerings: audio can be included together with the 3D video; sessions can be recorded and played back at a later date; and the holoported feed can be shrunk down to a smaller size, so you could watch a rerun of the kids' playtime on the top of your coffee table, for example.

"Imagine using this type of capture technology to connect with family members who are thousands of miles away," says Microsoft's Research's Shahram Izadi, adding that it could "fundamentally change the way that people will communicate in the future".

Holoportation is just one of many potential uses for the HoloLens and other AR headsets like it. Microsoft has previously shown off how the device can bring interactive games into your living room and project a large flat screen of any size onto the wall for you to enjoy movies on.

While Microsoft is obviously billing holo portation around its HoloLens platform, there’s little reason to believe it couldn’t be adapted for virtual reality headsets of the Oculus Rift variety. This would make the concept of holoportation even more intriguing, allowing users to project their holograms into entirely different worlds. Want to meet your fiance on the top of the Eiffel tower for high tea? Just strap on the virtual reality headset.