Microsoft has announced a new partnership between its HoloLens team and Swedish automotive giant Volvo, to "reimagine" the car-buying experience with holographic technology.
The two companies are working together to explore how HoloLens can augment, and perhaps eventually replace, the "traditional" process of customizing and buying a new car, with what Volvo calls "a bespoke experience which customers can steer themselves."
Imagine enhancing your car buying experience at the dealership by viewing the complete inside of the vehicle you are interested in. 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. Imagine viewing and customizing the car of your personal choosing, and viewing it at scale. You could have access to the full array of options, features and possibilities associated with every car make and model. Imagine then seeing the car you’ve configured, at full scale, as a high-definition hologram projected into your garage, long before the car has even been manufactured.
While a great deal of the buzz and excitement among consumers surrounding HoloLens has focused on its potential gaming applications, the company is also working with other partners to explore usage scenarios in a wide range of settings - from engineering and development, to education, healthcare, training and retail experiences.
Microsoft says that collaborations like its latest partnership with Volvo are only the beginning for HoloLens, offering a glimpse of "the ways in which our world will be transformed in the not too distant future" by technologies such as this.
Developers interested in the untethered holographic headset, which is powered by Windows 10, can apply now to purchase the HoloLens Development Edition unit, which will begin shipping early next year, priced at $3,000 USD.