14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft's putting a lot of effort into HoloLens, the company's super advanced virtual reality glasses that can bring holograms into our lives, so it's no surprise that it's always looking for partners that could help expand its coverage into new businesses.
This time, the Redmond-based software giant joined forces with Swedish car manufacturer Volvo to create a virtual car showroom that allows the visitors not only to see and explore a car at full scale but also configure it easily with air gestures.
Microsoft claims that such a technology can bring holograms into the physical world and completely overhaul the traditional business model by creating new spaces to interact with the cars that customers are looking to buy.
“HoloLens offers the freedom to create a bespoke experience which customers can steer themselves. Imagine using mixed reality to choose the type of car you want - to explore the colours, rims, or get a better understanding of the features, services and options available,” says Björn Annwall, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Sales and Service at Volvo Cars.
Public HoloLens experience in 2016
A demo that was made at Microsoft's headquarters in Redmond had nothing than an empty room and a podium, which was being used to showcase the car once HoloLens created a hologram for it.
Volvo used the unreleased S90 premium sedan, which will be presented in January at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, to let participants see how HoloLens makes it possible to configure a car, while also providing them with a closer look at what's under the hood, all with the help of holograms.
Microsoft says that it worked with Volvo for about six months just to make this demo possible, so it's pretty clear that, although HoloLens is a fascinating device, certain challenges still need to be addressed.
Volvo and Microsoft claim that HoloLens experiences will be available to the public sometime in 2016, but details on what exactly the company wants to showcase with holograms are not yet available.
In the meantime, you can watch the video below to see the power of HoloLens when combined with Volvo's car know-how, and you can also read the full press release in the box after the jump.
