Remarks by Alex Kipman, Technical Fellow, Operating Systems Group on April 29, 2015.
ALEX KIPMAN: Thank you, Joe, and good morning, everyone.
Now Joe just showed you how to do incredible things with Windows from the little screen to the big screen. Now I get the pleasure to show you how to do incredible things with Windows on no screens at all with the same familiar tools and skills you already have.
It’s so real being here today, less than 100 days since we mixed holograms with our world. Less than 100 days ago we showed you how Windows Holographic amplifies what is human about each of us. Humans live in the real world and we should not be confined to the virtual or just the digital. We experience life in three dimensions. We move, we see, and we hear in three dimensions. Our dreams, fantastical or entrepreneurial, start in the real world.
Windows Holographic embraces this notion of experiencing life in three dimensions by mixing digital content right into your world, right into your life, with more reality than ever before. Now the truth of the matter is, people, not devices, are mobile. And we are ready for technology to move beyond devices, to move beyond screens and pixels, and to move beyond today’s digital borders.
Now in January we showed you glimmers of this holographic landscape, glimmers of this more natural way of interacting with digital content. We introduced Microsoft HoloLens, the world’s first and only fully untethered holographic computer. And I have to admit, we have been humbled by the outpouring of enthusiasm spanning from consumers to businesses. And the response we’ve received from developers like yourselves has been remarkable. On behalf of the entire Microsoft team, thank you. We share your enthusiasm.
And today we take the next step in unveiling the Windows Holographic platform focused on you, the dreamer, the creators, the Windows developers. So let’s get started by taking a tour of Windows Holographic. And to help us with that, please help me welcome on stage one of the creative minds behind holograms, Darren.
(Applause.)
Hi, Darren.
DARREN BENNETT: Hello, Alex.
ALEX KIPMAN: Now, before we start, let me explain the setup a little bit. Darren is wearing a HoloLens, and he sees this globe we showed you in January right in his world. Now we also have this custom camera rig over here so that you can see the holograms up on these screens as if the camera is wearing a HoloLens.
Now when we introduced Windows Holographic, the globe was just a slide. Today, Darren is experiencing it as a universal Windows app. And, guess what? It’s running on Windows 10. Welcome to Windows Holographic.
(Applause.)
This is life with holograms. And as you can see, Darren has customized his space. Instead of digging through menus, everything is right where he wants it.
DARREN BENNETT: Yes. Whether it’s Microsoft Edge, photos or video apps, these are simply universal Windows apps that were placed as holograms. So whether it’s a slate on the wall or something a little bit more dimensional, like my loyal companion Fang here. Hey, buddy. You can customize your space the way you want it.
Now I want to add something to my space. So I’m going to pull up my Holographic Start Menu. And I’m going to open up Skype. I’m the worst at keeping in touch. So I’m going to take the people that matter most to me and I’m going to pin them to this wall right here. That way every time I walk into this room I’ll see their smiling faces and be inspired to reach out them.
ALEX KIPMAN: We are all creatures of habit and we do different things in different spaces in our home. This stage, as an example, is modeled after Darren’s apartment.
DARREN BENNETT: Yes. And this is where I would hang out in my apartment, and surround myself with the applications that I want to access or just check out.
For example, I’m planning a trip to Hawaii in a couple weeks. So I placed this awesome weather app over here, so when I’m moving around I can easily glance at it, reference it, and understand what the weather is going to be like when I get there, hopefully still hot.
Then if I look up here on the wall to my left, I have a video player. I simply reach out, air tap, and I’m right in the action.
ALEX KIPMAN: Now, what if Darren had things to do around the house? He shouldn’t be confined to watching just on one wall. He should be able to take his entertainment with him anywhere and remain hands free as he does it.
DARREN BENNETT: Yes. So all I need to say is follow me. Now wherever I go in my house, my entertainment tags along. (Applause, cheers.) And when I get to where I’m going, I simply place it, and I can scale it as big as I want. (Applause, cheers.)
Now that’s not something just the video player does; every single universal Windows app has the same capabilities. For example, I placed a calendar over here, because as Alex will tell you I’m late for pretty much every meeting. So this makes a guy like me, it makes it a lot easier for me to just check in and see what I’ve got coming up next.
We’re discovering uses for holograms every day. We know with all you here at BUILD putting your minds towards it, we’re going to be discovering new uses every second. I hope you have an inspiring time at BUILD. We’ll see you out there.
ALEX KIPMAN: Thank you, Darren.
(Cheers, applause.)
As you just saw, holographic computing can seamlessly connect the digital world with real life. This mixed reality grants us permission to reinvent productivity by creating experiences not possible on any other device or any other platform.
Back in January we asked you to imagine an architect walking around their designs while clients review them remotely. Now the construction industry is a multibillion-dollar industry, yet many of their processes have remained unchanged. Over the past few months, we have had the great honor to partner with an organization that has been transforming the construction industry for over 60 years.
So let’s take a sneak peek at how holographic computing enabled by Windows 10 is fundamentally changing how they think about architecture, construction, and collaboration.
(Video segment.)
(Cheers, applause.)
Holograms are already being sculpted by some of the most creative people around. Now with this ability to design and shape holograms you have a new medium to express your creativity, to visualize your work and share ideas. Your digital creations become so much more relevant when they come to life in the real world. But, that’s just the beginning of what holograms can enable.
Windows Holographics also provides you with a unique opportunity to change how you teach and learn in more effective ways. On January 21st we asked you to imagine a surgeon learning a procedure without picking up a scalpel. Since then we have partnered with an institution accustomed to thinking beyond the possible. And to show us what they have been up to, please help me welcome on stage Professor Mark Griswold from Case Western Reserve University and our team member Michelle.
Hi, Mark.
MARK GRISWOLD: Hey, Alex.
ALEX KIPMAN: Hi, Michelle.
MARK GRISWOLD: Good morning.
ALEX KIPMAN: Now, Mark is part of a team from Case Western and the Cleveland Clinic. We invited them to use Windows Holographics to advance medical education beyond what is possible with today’s state of the art. Take it away.
MARK GRISWOLD: Thanks, Alex.
Today we use a combination of cadavers and medical illustrations to teach students anatomy. This is a curriculum that hasn’t drastically changed in over 100 years, because there simply hasn’t been another way. The mixed reality of the HoloLens has the potential to revolutionize this education by bringing 3-D content into the real world. Now one of the biggest challenges for students learning anatomy is understanding the body in three dimensions and how all the different systems fit together.
Using holograms we can easily separate and focus in on individual systems. For example, we can focus in on the femur and students can immediately see some of the types of fractures they may one day encounter in the clinic. Now I can leverage all of these new capabilities while maintaining the important connection with my students.
When we’re both wearing a HoloLens I can see what they’re looking at, what they’re interacting with, I can assess their progress, and they can communicate with me and each other naturally. For example, I can see if Michelle has a question in class, or whether Gwen has a question while learning remotely.
Now, obviously a cadaver doesn’t move. This makes it difficult to see the way a living body actually works. HoloLens doesn’t have this limitation. Systems can be animated to easily see how things function. Let’s take a look at the center of the cardiovascular system, the heart. It’s an amazing organ. In reality it’s about the size of your fist. With HoloLens we can easily scale up the heart to let students see minute details. We can even see inside the heart to see the valves in action. This is a new way of seeing things and it has the potential to help students understand the structure and physiology of the body in a way that’s just not possible today.
Now what you’ve just seen is a vision of how HoloLens could enhance one single subject. But, as an educator it’s easy for me to see that it’s not just anatomy that could benefit from this technology. This could change how everyone learns. Imagine for a moment some of the other fields that could be changed, for example, chemistry and genetics, art, engineering, and paleontology. And the best part is we get to help define that future together. I can’t wait to see what your future holographic developers are going to do with this amazing technology.
Thanks.
ALEX KIPMAN: Thank you, Mark.
Thank you, Michelle.
(Applause.)
And thank you to our friends at Case Western and the Cleveland Clinic.
From NASA JPL to Trimble, to Case Western, these are just a few of the amazing partners we are actively collaborating with to transform different industries now that holograms have become part of our everyday life. Now I feel very fortunate to be in this moment in time, all the different pieces are starting to fall into place.
As we enter this decade the amount of processing power you can get into a small form factor for a reasonable price point is just staggering. Even in the last few years as we developed HoloLens the innovation in optics, sensors and silicon has allowed us to move forward a few orders of magnitude. Now people used to say computers today can do enough, my apps run just fine, the Internet runs just fine, what are we going to do with all of this extra computing power? And the answer to that is that we are going to put a different emphasis on it. New workloads focus on solving brand-new problems. In other words, we are going to start using all of this power specifically to help us understand humans and the world around us.
So how do you do this with no wires, with no markers, no external cameras, with no phones, and no connection to a PC required? Let’s learn a little bit more about this amazing magical device that is Microsoft HoloLens.
(Video segment.)
(Applause.)
With Windows holograms our universal Windows apps and all universal Windows apps can be made to work on Windows Holographic. Everything you have seen here today is a universal Windows app. Developers, this opens up a new vein of innovation and a new vein of opportunity. With holograms you’ll have a new canvas to express your creativity. Your apps can come to life and they can be experienced naturally in the world around you. But seeing is believing. So let’s take a look at how portability of experiences, enabled by Windows 10, can change the way makers like you interact with the physical things that you build. And to show us mixing holograms with IoT, please help me welcome on stage my very good friend Miko.
MIKO: Hey, Alex.
ALEX KIPMAN: Hi, Miko.
MIKO: I’d like you to meet B15. This year millions of people will use Maker kits like this one to enter robot competitions and learn about electronics. Many of them will use Raspberry Pi 2, which now supports Windows 10 IoT core. We were inspired to see what we could do with the same hardware and HoloLens. So let me show you.
B15, wake up.
Say hello to the real B15. Because every Windows 10 device has APIs for humans and environment understanding, we were able to overlay a holographic robot on top of a physical one. And one thing we noticed while working is you need your data to be easily accessible. But adding displays to this frame increases your cost and there’s no way to see all that information at once. So let me show you how we check on our data.
B15 control panel.
This spatial UI system is a universal Windows app. I’m pulling the data from B15, making it as big as I need it to be, and placing the words relevant and my world.
ALEX KIPMAN: And I love it that Miko didn’t have to actually go back to her desk to do it. This is a great example of how Windows 10 makes your digital life more powerful by connecting it with your real life.
MIKO: That’s right. You can waste a lot of time tweaking variables on another device before you test. But, if all I need to do is something simple, like change LED color, I can use a control scheme like this. So that’s how we envision controls and displays evolving with holograms.
ALEX KIPMAN: Now, assuming industrial robots need to find paths safely through their workspaces, let’s take a look at how Miko can help B15 navigate and how holograms can help.
MIKO: So B15 sensors aren’t great at detecting obstacles, but the cool thing is they don’t have to be. My HoloLens can communicate that information.
B15, path finding mode.
ALEX KIPMAN: Now with Windows holographics we can scan an environment. We can queue up movement tasks and visualize the robot’s path.
MIKO: So all I have to do is air tap the ground, my HoloLens interprets the 3-D points and tells B15 when to turn and when to move forward.
ALEX KIPMAN: Now this is a great example of how portable our Windows experiences can be. B15 didn’t have to know its environment. The room understanding comes from Windows Holographic. But, what happens when the environment actually changes?
MIKO: That’s no problem; because I’m running HoloLens I’m always aware of B15. I can see it updated its route to go around you, and this is critical if you’re working with bigger robots, like those in automotive manufacturing. You need to always be aware of a robot’s intentions. HoloLens helps developers understand robots better at any scale or in any scenario.
ALEX KIPMAN: This is just amazing. Thank you so much, Miko.
And nice to meet you, B15.
MIKO: B15, say goodbye. (Applause.)
See you later, Alex.
ALEX KIPMAN: Later, guys.
Now at some point in time you get this feeling you could actually be creating something meaningful. But that feeling is materially different from seeing architects excited about it, from seeing doctors and professors excited about it, from seeing developers like you excited about it. People outside of Microsoft who start understanding the tools, who start understanding what they have in front of them, who start painting with these brand-new palettes and these brand-new paintbrushes, it’s humbling and it’s exciting at the same time.
It is in that spirit that we have brought hundreds of HoloLens devices just like the ones you saw on stage today all running on Windows 10, so that you here at BUILD can experience holograms for yourselves over the next few days. (Cheers, applause.)
From holographic presentations featuring Skype to one-on-one demos like the Trimble experience I showed you earlier today, and my personal favorite, our very own holographic academy, where you’ll be able to build your very first holographic experience from scratch. We have a lot to share with you this week here at BUILD.
Now registration for all of this begins after the keynote. Space is limited. So make sure you sign up for all of these activities by going to the Web, or simply by using the BUILD app. The holographic journey starts with you, the Windows developer, and it starts right here, and it starts right now.
And with that, I want to thank you, and let’s welcome Satya back on stage. Thank you.
(Applause.)
SATYA NADELLA: Thank you, Alex, that’s just magical stuff. Hopefully you get the essence of our ambition with Windows 10 when we say we want to move the users of Windows to move from needing Windows to choosing Windows to loving Windows.
At the core of our company is empowerment, empowering us all. It’s our mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more, and it starts by empowering every one of you, every developer on the planet.
Thank you so very much for being here today and for being at this conference. I thought we will end today’s morning keynote by playing the music that David composed for us this morning on Staff Pad.
Thank you and have a great rest of BUILD. Thank you very, very much.
(Applause.)
END
