Thread by @kentbye

1/ #MSBuild is starting now.
This thread will be tracking the latest @HoloLens news, & how AR is being used in enterprises.
Mixed Reality Dev days starts on Thursday in @AltspaceVR
Breakout, chat, & Q&A is here: mybuild.microsoft.com
Livestream is here:

2/ The #MSBuild keynote is starting now in what looks like a pre-recorded video.
The schedule for the day is below.

For AR enthusiasts, HoloLens 2 released a major software update for HoloLens 2, Windows Holographic, version 2004 on May 12th
docs.microsoft.com/en-us/hololens…

3/ @satyanadella CEO talking about Azure cloud, which is also a big part of Microsoft's AR strategy. Here's a couple of examples of Azure features for @HoloLens:

Azure Spatial Anchors
azure.microsoft.com/en-au/services…

Azure Remote rendering
azure.microsoft.com/en-au/services…

4/ Three news items about @Hololens:
* Expanding from 10 to 25 markets
* HoloLens 2 & mixed reality have been empowering firstline workers with the global pandemic
* Azure Spatial Anchors is now generally available
azure.microsoft.com/en-au/services…

More details:
windowscentral.com/microsoft-holo…

5/ Microsoft didn't announce their @Hololens news during the #MSBuild keynote, but rather made a spokesperson available ahead of time.
CNET's @jetscott has the most comprehensive overview of the news of 5G, market expansion, & no consumer availability yet.
cnet.com/news/microsoft…

6/ The only #MSBuild session I see for HoloLens is a digital breakout session "Using Azure Spatial Anchors for Mobile Mixed Reality"
Tue 10:45p PDT
Wed 2:00p
Thur 4:45a
mybuild.microsoft.com/sessions/47acf…

Most of the AR sessions will be during Mixed Reality Devs in @AltspaceVR on Thur/Fri

7/ Let me know if you have questions you'd like me to ask about @hololens during #MSBuild.
Send them in before 2:30p PDT.

I've heard from a lot of developers that it's been really difficult to actually get ahold of a @hololens.

https://twitter.com/heynewt22/status/1262789531234971648

8/ There are two other #MSBuild Mixed Reality sessions that I missed (h/t @TommyLee)

Building Mixed Reality Applications with Azure
Tue 10p PDT
Wed 1:15p
Thur 4a
mybuild.microsoft.com/sessions/10d6e…

Mixed Reality in Power Apps
Wed 2:30p
mybuild.microsoft.com/sessions/7f0f8…

https://twitter.com/TommyLee/status/1262790185135173633

9/ There's a lot of powerful Cognitive Services that I've only seen in a handful of XR apps.
Worth checking out some of these new APIs via #MSBuild

Now generally available Cognitive Services
azure.microsoft.com/en-us/updates/…

New Cognitive Services open to Preview
azure.microsoft.com/en-us/updates/…

10/ This link shares all of the major announcements from #MSBuild.
Mixed Reality news is in sections
1.4 of @HoloLens 2 shipping to 15 new locations fall 2020 + general availability of Azure Spatial Anchors
1.5 Azure IoT expansion of Azure Digital Twins
news.microsoft.com/build-2020-boo…

11/ Azure Digital Twins will launch new capabilities summer 2020, including "OPEN Modeling Language, live execution environment, easy integration with Azure IoT Hub & other Azure services, and rich query APIs."
azure.microsoft.com/en-us/updates/…

IoT product page:
azure.microsoft.com/en-us/services…

12/ One thing missing from virtual #MSBuild is the expo floor with different vendors.

Here's @Vuforia Expert Capture service:
ptc.com/en/products/au…

National Health Service consortium used it to train thousands of frontline workers to make ventilators:
news.microsoft.com/en-gb/2020/03/…

13/ All 185 1st-year medical students at Case Western Reserve University (@cwru) are using the @hololens for using their HoloAnatomy mixed-reality software.

Since COVID-19, they've been able to pivot to remote learning with AR.
thedaily.case.edu/universitys-ho…

14/ No announcement of consumer availability for @hololens 2 yet.
Microsoft's Greg Sullivan told @jetscott they may consider licensing out the IP for third parties to build cheaper AR devices.
This had really mixed results for the Windows MR (VR) HMDs
cnet.com/news/microsoft…

15/ The latest software release for @HoloLens 2 adds 5G/LTE support via a USB dongle, more voice commands, hand tracking improvements, & support for Autopilot self-deployment process to set up new devices.
Full details at:
docs.microsoft.com/en-us/hololens…

16/ Microsoft's Mixed Reality Dev Days is happening on Thur & Fri during #MSBuild.
It's in @AltspaceVR, but the schedule looks like a series of one-to-many talks with little time for breaks & no scheduled socializing.
Free to register & schedule is below:
docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/…

17/ Impressive @hololens 2 stats in new ad:
30% assembly time improvement
50% store footprint reduction
80% design validation time reduction
85% training time reduction
90% greater accuracy on service repairs
97% reduction in time to information
#MSBuild

18/ Microsoft's Greg Sullivan told me this afternoon Microsoft @hololens will be made available this summer to general availability for anyone to buy online or in Microsoft stores, & the Building Mixed Reality Applications with Azure session said that it'll be in July.
#MSBuild

19/ Attended the Building Mixed Reality & Hololens Applications with Azure digital breakout session at #MSBuild.

They walked through Mixed Reality Toolkit (MRTK) integrations in @unity3d & @UnrealEngine
github.com/Microsoft/Mixe…

Mixed Reality Documentation
docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/…

20/ Attended Azure Spatial Anchors for Mobile Mixed Reality session at #MSBuild.

Minecraft Earth deployed them as a world-scale MR experience.

"An anchor is a precise point of interest in 3D space that can be shared across users, devices, & time"

Docs:
azure.microsoft.com/en-us/services…

21/ Users need to scan a space in order to set Azure spatial anchors & so there are ways to gamify the user locomoting through a space by sparking curiosity or encouraging exploration.

Multiple comments that the docs haven't been refreshed in over a year.
docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/sp…

22/ Re: Pricing: "Azure Spatial Anchors is entering General Availability for Free. Pricing will be applied beginning 8/1/2020"

Digital breakout sessions at #MSBuild are live at 3 different time zones & had some some good Q&A interactions.

More info: azure.microsoft.com/en-ca/services…

23/ Microsoft Director Greg Sullivan covers ALL of the #AR, #VR, & #HoloLens announcements at #MSBuild in this 45-min Voices of VR interview.

He told me @HoloLens is going to be generally available this summer.

More info in the full Twitter thread above

voicesofvr.com/913-all-of-mic…