Microsoft reveals secret HoloLens processor specs

#Microsoft has finally revealed exactly what's inside its #HoloLens headset. While The Verge got exclusive access to a deconstructed HoloLens developer edition back in April, Microsoft has been keeping the details of its special Holographic Processing Unit ( #HPU ) very secret. Microsoft revealed most of the HoloLens specifications earlier this year, and the special HPU is designed to do most of the processing so the CPU and GPU are able to just launch apps and display the holograms. Microsoft custom designed the HPU and it takes all of the data from the cameras and sensors and processes it in real-time so you can use gestures accurately. At the Hot Chips conference in California this week, Microsoft devices engineer Nick Baker provided a presentation on exactly what's inside the HPU and how powerful it is. The Register reports that Microsoft's special custom-designed HPU is a TSMC-fabricated 28nm coprocessor that has 24 Tensilica DSP cores. It has around 65 million logic gates, 8MB of SRAM, and an additional layer of 1GB of low-power DDR3 RAM. That RAM is separate to the 1GB that's available for the Intel Atom Cherry Trail processor, and the HPU itself can handle around a trillion calculations per second.

http://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2016/8/23/12602516/microsoft-hololens-holographic-processing-unit-specifications

Microsoft and Boeing set a course for the Azure Cloud

Last month, in a keynote at the #Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC), Microsoft demonstrated on stage how Japan Airlines is using #HoloLens to improve the technician training experience, bringing jet engines to life in 3D, hologram-based augmented reality. Neat stuff.

But a week after WPC, Microsoftannounced that it and #Boeing are partnering around #Azure and data. I wanted to know more about that. Given that commercial airplanes are described by some as "flying data centers" and considering the number of inefficiencies that exist in commercial air travel today (just ask anyone who flies more than once a year), the potential for analytics in commercial aviation seems immense, and so do the potential benefits.

Talking to both companies
I asked Microsoft if I could learn more and the company was kind enough to set me up to speak with Andrew Gendreau, the director of advanced information solutions in Boeing's Digital Aviation division, and Greg Jones, Microsoft's global industry director for travel & hospitality.

http://www.zdnet.com/article/heres-how-boeing-is-partnering-with-microsoft-on-its-cloud-data-platform/

Microsoft just inched ahead in the race to bring holograms to businesses

In the office of the not-too-distant future, we will all be sitting around, wearing special eyewear that projects holograms and information into the room around us. That is, if companies like #Microsoft, and #MagicLeap have their way. While most of the world is still waiting to try the Magic Leap tech, (the company has sworn to secrecy the thousands of people who have demoed its device, its CEO says), Microsoft is zooming ahead with its augmented reality glasses, #HoloLens. On Tuesday, Microsoft made HoloLens available to anyone who wants to pay $3,000 per device to buy one. That's probably a bit steep for consumers but Microsoft has always geared the device towards business use.

http://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-leads-race-to-bring-holograms-to-businesses-2016-8