New details have emerged in regards to the Microsoft HoloLens experience, including a new way for users to control the augmented reality headset.
The HoloLens Bluetooth Clicker, a miniature device that attaches to a user's fingers via an elastic strap, looks to be aiming for simplicity - it appears to have only one button. The controller comes to us courtesy of a leaked quick-start guide posted by Twitter user WalkingCat.
Compared to other wearable headsets, such as the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR, the Bluetooth Clicker isn't just the simplest, but by far the smallest of the controller peripherals we've seen.
The tiny design may mean the Clicker is intended primarily for navigation versus precise applications, like gaming, or that HoloLens users may rely on already-existing controller inputs, as seen with the Minecraft demo that captured our attention at last year's E3.
Control options
For now, this is the sole controller we've seen for the HoloLens, but we have a feeling a more complex controller is in the works if Microsoft wants the headset to be taken seriously in the gaming market.
That said, HoloLens features several built-in controls, utilizing a combination of headtracking, vocal commands, and "air-tapping" to control virtual objects in the user's environment.
In fact, a video showcasing these controls also leaked today, demonstrating a program called Actiongram. The footage was again uncovered by WalkingCat.
Actiongram is a HoloLens app that superimposes cartoons, text and holographic figures onto the environment, like an AR version of Snapchat's special lenses or those arcade photo booths that let you put stickers and other nonsense on your pictures.
In this video, we also finally see the debut of HoloLens' Start menu, dubbed the "HoloShell." Terms such as "bloom" and "tile" replace more common parlance like "open" and "icon," but navigating the system otherwise appears the same as with a normal toolbar.
Since the information regarding the Clicker and the Start menu didn't come from the lips of Microsoft, we're sure more concrete details are still due regarding HoloLens.
Via The Verge
