REALITY CHECK

Although the Microsoft HoloLens visor looks like a hightech device for nerdy gamers still living in their parents’ basements, it’s the first product to tackle the next big thing in technology: augmented reality, or AR. Slip on the visor and the world you know will now be superimposed with a layer of data, effectively turning your reality into a literally life-sized iPad that reacts to your voice, hand and eye movements.

Augmented reality has tremendous value and obvious implications in all industries, from entertainment and tourism to construction, though it becomes especially useful – and lifesaving – in health care. Surgeons have been experimenting by overlying data directly onto patients, thereby making more precise cuts and reducing unnecessary trauma during operations. For example, a 3D holographic model of a tumour could be fabricated, then physically rotated and flipped in or- der to analyze and devise a clear, concise procedure to extract it. The operation could be transmitted to an expert anywhere in the world, who could slip on the HoloLens and take over the scalpel remotely.

Though real innovation begins on a more cosy, day-to-day level. Whether you’re sick, immobile or just too damn comfortable in your snug recliner to make the freezing six-hour drive out to your annual family get-together, augmented reality can transport you there. Think of it as next-generation video chatting, where your nearest and dearest are digitized into three-dimensional holograms that you can interact with – and you’re the hologram on their side. A technology that helps save lives is terrific, but a technology that lets you socialize with the outside world without having to put your pants on and leave your comfortable abode is downright revolutionary.