Volvo, Microsoft HoloLens Partner to Improve Driving Tech

Volvo Cars and Microsoft HoloLens have announced a joint venture to develop next-generation automotive technologies, including autonomous driving and revamping the customer purchasing experience with augmented reality. “Imagine enhancing your car buying experience at the dealership by viewing the complete inside of the vehicle you are interested in,” writes Scott Erickson, senior director of Microsoft HoloLens. “With the power of holograms, we have the ability to open the car up completely, take a closer look at the engine, inspect the chassis or watch the drivetrain and transmission in action.
” The HoloLens is a fully holographic computer powered by Windows 10, with applications spanning the fields of education, design, health care and entertainment. “HoloLens offers the freedom to create a bespoke experience which customers can steer themselves,” said Björn Annwall, SVP of Sales, Marketing and Customer Service at Volvo. According to Annwall, the HoloLens may revolutionize car sales by freeing salespeople from the showroom environment, and further allowing for pop-up stores. “You can have access to the full array of options, features and possibilities associated with every car make and model,” writes Erickson. “Imagine then seeing the car you’ve configured, at full scale, as a high-definition hologram projected into your garage, long before the care has even been manufactured.” A video from Microsoft HoloLens shows users donning the HoloLens headset and controlling projected holograms with hand motions. The new tool is also being used by Microsoft collaborators, such as NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Cleveland Clinic and the Case Western Reserve Univ., among others. Media criticism While the video looks impressive, Microsoft has come under criticism for misrepresentation. On Thursday, the two companies invited journalists to partake in a demonstration of the system. The New York Times reports “HoloLens has a narrow field of view: the portion of one’s vision on which it can project digital images. Imagine a small rectangle suspended several feet in front of your eyes, a shape that travels wherever you turn your head. That is the HoloLens’ canvas. HoloLens doesn’t project anything into a subject’s peripheral vision or above or below that rectangle.” Other focus areas Another area of focus, according to Volvo, is autonomous driving. Starting in 2017, the company will begin a program called “Drive-Me,” which will give 100 self-driving cars to real customers in the Swedish city Gothenburg. The company said it’s the world’s largest autonomous driving experiment. Further, the two companies plan on using information gathered by cars and drivers to improve the driving experience, and predictive analysis to improve safety.