Microsoft
has showcased how people can experience mixed reality at its recent Ignite
digital conference, paving the way for the media and entertainment industry to
offer similar events to viewers.
Powered
by the Azure cloud computing platform, Microsoft Mesh allows people in
different physical locations to interact with each other within a shared
holographic experience.
Participants will initially be able to express themselves as graphic
representations called avatars in shared virtual experiences, and over time
project themselves as more photo-realistically, the company said.
“The holographic content is in the cloud, and I just need the special
lenses that allow me to see it,” Microsoft Technical Fellow Alex Kipman said.
Mixed reality in entertainment
At
Ignite, OceanX
— a nonprofit that supports ocean education and awareness — announced a collaboration with Microsoft to create a
Mesh-enabled “holographic laboratory” on the ship that scientists could visit,
either in person or virtually.
People could enjoy entertainment in venues
similar to the OceanX laboratory in time to come. Its Lune Rouge, which
develops immersive entertainment experiences, is beginning to explore how
Microsoft Mesh might enable virtual attendance at concerts, theatrical
performances, and DJ events. And its Hanai World project aims to create digital
representations of entertainment venues around the world and capture live
performances with enough 3D fidelity such that people could experience the same
event in the flesh, or in mixed reality.
The platform is expected to curate a mix of Lune
Rouge and user-generated content across a wide variety of media and genres.
“It would be a nice complement to live entertainment,”
said Alexandre Miasnikof, Executive Director for production at Lune Rouge.
“It brings in another layer of human connection,
and it brings entertainment to people who wouldn’t normally be able to come to
an event, whether because of geography or access.”
“What we have today is the promise, and how soon
we can realise that promise, we don’t know,” Miasnikof added. “But we think we
have a good foundation with Microsoft Mesh and we’ll build from there.”
Watch
Kipman unveil Microsoft Mesh at https://youtu.be/IkpsJoobZmE.