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posted by janrinok on Wednesday July 08 2015, @04:42AM   Printer-friendly
from the I-see-what-they-did-there dept.

Microsoft is giving HoloLens prototypes and funding to academic institutions in order to create applications for the augmented reality device:

The so-called Academic Research Request for Proposals will award five universities or institutions with $100,000 each, as well as two HoloLens kits. Although the goal is to see how the device will help research of all types, the company is looking at how it will impact studies in a few specific areas.

In order to be considered for one of the five prizes, applicants (restricted to U.S. residents only) must submit a one- to three-page proposal paper by 11:30pm PDT on September 5, 2015. Information includes an abstract of the proposal as well as a detailed description, the approach to research, use of funds and an overall schedule of the entire project. After submission, the application will be considered using a few criteria such as its overall impact in terms of scholarly papers and presentations, how feasible is the project for completion, and the overall qualifications of the main investigator. Microsoft noted that the $100,000 funding will end after one year, as it is only meant to kickstart projects. Researchers should also look into finding multiple avenues of funding during and after Microsoft's investment.

The academic research is but one of the many paths that Microsoft will pursue to test the use of HoloLens. Last month, it collaborated with NASA for Project Sidekick, which would use two HoloLens devices in the International Space Station to enhance Skype communication with a NASA operator on Earth, as well as a standalone procedure that involves using its augmented reality software on top of real-world items in order to train astronauts while in the station. However, the devices never made it to the International Space Station, as the SpaceX shuttle carrying them exploded early in the flight.

This terrestrial HoloLens giveaway seems a lot safer. Microsoft is looking for industrial/medical/research/educational motivations for using augmented reality, just as Google was with Glass. A recent FCC filing suggests that Google Glass may be quietly resurrected.


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 08 2015, @04:47AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 08 2015, @04:47AM (#206345)

    Put students to work, while they are still naive enough to work for free.

    Microsoft is trying so hard to be as evil as Google. Summer of Code? More like Summer of Slavery! Toil at those keyboards, for the glory of Google!

  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 08 2015, @06:37AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 08 2015, @06:37AM (#206359)

    Microsoft has been actively pursuing policies that are harmful to their customers for decades. As bad as Google may be, compared to Redmond, they are pure rainbows and sunshine.

    • (Score: 2, Disagree) by Tork on Wednesday July 08 2015, @07:10AM

      by Tork (3914) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday July 08 2015, @07:10AM (#206367)
      Are you even aware of how Google makes money? You should look into that before you talk about how consumer friendly they are compared to Microsoft.
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      • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 08 2015, @02:23PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 08 2015, @02:23PM (#206468)
        Are you even aware of how Microsoft makes money? They sit in front of nearly every computer for sale and essentially collect a tax, whether you want their product or not. How is what Google does to make money worse than that? They use what they know about you to try to sell you stuff, sure. But what do they have to do in order to make that happen? Their search engine (and other services like GMail) needs to be top-notch, otherwise people would go elsewhere, and they'd stop selling ads and their revenue will dry up. Who is more consumer-friendly then? Google has to please you in order to make money from you. Microsoft can force shit into your mouth and you'll have no choice but to swallow it and pay them for the privilege. I'm finding it hard to find laptops without Windows 8 installed on them. I dread the day that this Windows 7 laptop I have today hits obsolescence and needs to be replaced.
        • (Score: 2) by Tork on Wednesday July 08 2015, @03:25PM

          by Tork (3914) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday July 08 2015, @03:25PM (#206476)
          Whatever data you give Google, they keep. That means twenty years from now they will still have whatever you gave them today. By then they'll be under entirely different management with no way to predict what their motives will be. You can also bet that whatever Google collects about you ends up in the hands of the US gov't. I dare you to log in and tell me that's actually preferable to a Microsoft Tax.
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          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 08 2015, @04:46PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 08 2015, @04:46PM (#206505)

            Microsoft's products send your data home too so it's possible all of the same objections might apply. There are often opt-outs in Microsoft software to prevent data being sent to Microsoft but considering they wrote the entire OS, how confident are you that other data isn't being stored and perhaps transmitted at some point?

            • (Score: 2) by Tork on Wednesday July 08 2015, @05:08PM

              by Tork (3914) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday July 08 2015, @05:08PM (#206516)
              How confident are you that any data Microsoft gets is even a significant fraction of what Google gets from you?
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