Leading the way to a new future of immersive experiences, Microsoft’s mixed reality devices are some of the most impressive on the market. When Microsoft launched the HoloLens 2, it quickly captured the attention of endless companies searching for new ways to bring teams together and improve productivity in the modern world.
This fully immersive headset supports all kinds of experiences, enabling everything from holographic meetings to real-time interactions with virtual content. The new HoloLens 2 Industrial edition takes the crucial features of the HoloLens 2, like boundless collaboration through holograms and hands-free accuracy, and prepares it for an industrial environment.
Originally, the Industrial Edition was announced in February 2021, when Microsoft announced it was responding to the growing demands for mixed reality experiences in industrial environments. Here’s what you need to know about the HoloLens 2 Industrial Edition.
Hololens 2 Industrial Edition Review: Features
For the most part, the Hololens 2 Industrial Edition is the exact same product as the standard Hololens 2. You’re still going to get all the functionality you need to embed yourself and your team into holographic collaborative experiences. The major difference is the Industrial version is more ruggedized and equipped to meet important industry standards.
The HoloLens 2 Industrial Edition is now clean room compatible, with ISO 14644-1 Class 5-8 approval. The device also follows Intrinsic Safety standards for UL Class I Division 2. You’ll also get an included two-year warranty with the industrial purchase, plus a rapid replacement program with expedited shipping, just in case anything goes wrong. Features of the HoloLens 2 Industrial Edition include:
- Approval for Intrinsic Safety Standards regulations
- Clean Room Compatible ISO 14655-1 Class 5-8
- Rapid replacement program with expedited shipping
- Two-year warranty (compared to 1 year for Hololens 2 standard)
- Designed and tested to support regulated environments
- Untethered mixed reality support
- Carrying case and cleaning cloth
- See-through holographic lens 2k resolution
- Holographic density >2.5k radiants
- Eye-based rendering with 3D eye position
- 5 channel microphone array
- Built-in spatial sound
- Two-handed fully articulated hand tracking
- Real-time eye-tracking
- Windows Hello Enterprise grade security with iris recognition
- Voice command and control
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 Compute Platform
- Second-generation custom-built holographic processing
- 4GB DRAM and 64GB UFS 2.1
- Wi-Fi 5 support
- Bluetooth F
- Windows Holographic Operating System
- Microsoft Edge access
- Dynamics 365 Remote Assist
- 2-3 hours of battery life
Just like the standard Microsoft HoloLens 2, the Industrial edition gives companies everything they need to collaborate like never before, with immersive holographic experiences, spatial audio, hand and eye-tracking. There’s also a host of security and protection features implemented to meet specific standards for industrial environments. The addition of an extra year of warranty protection and the rapid replacement program are a nice touch.
Microsoft HoloLens 2 Industrial Edition Review: Benefits
Perfect for all kinds of regulated industrial environments, this unique version of the Microsoft Hololens 2 can transform the way teams work. Designed and tested to the highest standards, the Industrial Edition of the Hololens 2 can now be accessed without modifying protocols, space or workflows in regulated environments.
The headset is ideal for giving teams access to remote experts and allowing them to complete tasks accurately and faster with 3D interactive guides. The benefits of this Industrial headset include:
- Designed for regulated environments: Designed according to the standards of leading regulatory bodies to ensure you can access MR in any industrial environment. The certification of the technology, combined with access to two years of warranty coverage and a fantastic extra-fast replacement policy means you never have to worry about protecting your investment in an industrial environment.
- Incredible immersion: The See-through holographic lens on the HoloLens 2 allows users to collaborate like never before. You can access holographic versions of specialists and see them as though they’re standing right next to you, with unique sensors to bring the interaction to life. Comprehensive 6DOF tracking and world-scale positional tracking deliver an unforgettable mixed reality experience.
- Excellent control: It’s easy to manage your experiences within the Hololens environment with two-handed fully articulated models and direct manipulation. The real-time eye tracking will help to ensure you’re always able to focus on the content you need most. There’s even voice command and control, with natural language understanding too.
- Security: Aside from extra certification for regulated environments, the HoloLens also comes with features to boost your security and privacy in other ways. Eye-tracking, for instance, also works with Windows Hello, so you can unlock enterprise-grade iris recognition features. The technology also comes with passive cooling to ensure nothing overheats.
- Amazing Software: The HoloLens 2 comes with Windows’ Holographic Operating system for ease of use, access to Microsoft Edge, and a Remote Assistant to help you get more done. The fantastic software has access to firmware updates from Microsoft so you can update your technology in real-time with new functionality and features.
All the benefits above combined with things like built-in spatial sound and a microphone array with five-channel coverage transform the Hololens 2 Industrial Edition into an incredible tool for today’s teams. For companies who want to experience collaboration and innovation like never before, there’s nothing quite like the Hololens 2.
Microsoft HoloLens 2 Industrial Edition Review: Verdict
As companies continue to invest more into tools capable of supporting a distributed team of specialist workers, virtual and mixed reality headsets are becoming increasingly attractive. The HoloLens 2 from Microsoft has already captured the attention of countless professionals around the world with its incredible features. With the HoloLens 2 Industrial edition, companies in regulated environments can now unlock the benefits of holographic collaboration and mixed reality for themselves.
This state-of-the-art headset with access to fantastic sensor technology and built-in software is sure to make a massive impact on any business. The industrial edition simply allows more companies to finally explore the magic of the HoloLens for themselves.