Microsoft’s HoloLens is a truly remarkable piece of tech, capable of everything from a giving a whistlestop tour of the world to improving a soldier’s field of view in the midst of combat. If you’re feeling confined by your current living arrangements, it can even give you the illusion of some extra space.
The developer of a project called Exanaview has published a video to YouTube demonstrating the capabilities of the 3D Spatial Authoring app. The tool allows users to modify their very surroundings and see the results reflected in real-time via the headset, according to a report from MS Power User.
The video shows the software being used to establish the position of a wall in a small apartment. From there, the wall becomes a virtual canvas for two simulated corridors, each of which has the illusion of depth, thanks to the capabilities of the HoloLens headset.
These two corridors are then combined into one virtual space that the user can view through a pair of closed doors that are physically present in the real-world version of the apartment. Even despite the fact that the virtual space is illustrated through flat, brightly colored slabs, it’s a thoroughly convincing effect.
It’s easy to see how this kind of utility could have practical applications for designers and architects. For these kinds of tasks, the ability to transform real-world surroundings into an easily manipulable sketch pad would no doubt be very helpful in terms of assessing the logistics of a particular design concept.
The Exanaview website illustrates various other features of the app, including the ability to insert detailed 3D models of their own creation into a space. While the software is currently being developed for HoloLens, its developer also plans to introduce support for hardware including Google Tango and Intel’s Project Alloy.
