Virtual and augmented reality were big hits with consumers, especially gamers. Now, mixed reality is gaining popularity with innovations like HoloLens, which lets you experience both virtual and natural worlds simultaneously. Can you wear glasses with HoloLens? Let’s find out.
How Does HoloLens Work?
The HoloLens is a futuristic-looking head-mounted device. Yes, it’s a sophisticated technology that seamlessly blends the digital world with your physical world. And it ultimately gives you control over what and how you see everything around you. With HoloLens mounted on your head, you can manipulate virtual objects in real-time. But, at the same time, you have contact with the real things around you.
Can you close your eyes and allow your imagination to run wild? When your eyes look through the illuminated lenses of HoloLens, whatever you see is the start of a world of possibilities.
Plus, there’s more. It’s not only about the breathtaking sights or unique objects. HoloLens can provide several applications depending on your requirements.
Personnel training is a great place to start. You can use the application to download training guides, which your trainees can learn through a 3D experience.
You can also use it to promote your business. Simply download images or demonstrations showing how people can use your products. Then allow potential customers to view these demonstrations through the HoloLens.
Other than that, you can use it to manage data and give technical support to people in the field. Professionals such as engineers and technicians can use it to render simulated virtual assistance remotely.
Even gaming can be more thrilling with HoloLens. Above all, HoloLens plays a significant role in education. Today, schools are using it to enhance the learning experience.
Is There Any Risk for Your Eyes From Using Hololens a Lot?
Since it is an all-new technology, there is still a lot to discover about the HoloLens. Though the benefits have been heavily advertised, there are also some downsides to this latest development.
People are particularly concerned about the effect on their eyes while using the HoloLens. They wonder whether staring at pixelated LCD screens at such a close range could harm the eyes. We agree that concerns for the eyes may be justifiable. So, it is best to take a closer look at the product. But, first, let’s analyze the HoloLens design.
The Visor
The visor on HoloLens features a flip see-through lens. The lens allows you to see your surroundings so that you don’t bump into objects in the real physical world. And for comfort, the display on the lens is several inches away from your eyes. This design protects your eyes.
The visor allows you to see the 3D holograms in the real world. That’s how the device blends the digital world with your real physical world. In addition, the lenses have binocular optical vision capability, just like the human eyes. So your eyes function in a natural, coordinated pattern without any strains, fatigue, or pain.
Another quality of the visor is its flip-up feature. This makes the transition between the mixed reality world and the actual physical world instant. You can take a short break every few hours and give your eyes some rest any time you want without ending the session. All you need to do is flip the visor up.
We can consider the HoloLens as safe for your eyes based on these features.
Resolution Control Buttons
The resolution control buttons allow you to control the brightness level while using HoloLens. So naturally, your eyes spontaneously react to a sudden change in the illumination around you. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have to protect them.
It is no secret that staring at too bright screens for a long time is unsafe. So when you use a device like HoloLens, you have to protect your eyes. These buttons give you the power to do the needful. If you feel like the display is too bright, you may lower it to a comfortable level.
Field of View
By default, your eyes have a field of view of around 200 degrees. However, the best area of view the HoloLens can offer you for now is 52 degrees. This means when you use the HoloLens, your eyes responsively try to adapt to a smaller field of view. And you may end up unconsciously tilting your head and turning your neck to get the full view of projected images. This mainly happens when the target image is relatively large. Then, it’s either you can’t see either side or both sides. Or one of the vertical ends is out of view.
Despite this apparent inadequacy, your eyes are still safe. However, if you are not mindful of this, you may feel a strain on your neck or shoulders.
Eye-tracking Feature
Before using the HoloLens for the first time, you need to calibrate it for optimal performance. This is a way of enhancing the coordination between your eyes and the device. HoloLens saves data it collects from your view. This data makes up your calibration profile. So you don’t have to do the eye calibration every time you’re using it. The devices can save the profiles of up to 50 different users.
Once successfully calibrated, the HoloLens can track your eye movement and view. Therefore it can preempt your eye’s target objects and act accordingly. This feature relieves your eyes because you avoid eye movements that cause fatigue or strain.
Not only that, the feature is adaptation-oriented. In other words, it’s the device that tries to keep up with the pace of your eyes. This will put less burden on your eyes.
Auto Eye Position Support
With this feature, HoloLens eliminates what could have been a significant risk to your eyes. The incorporation of the auto eye position support relieves your eyes. So naturally, the human eyes can comfortably maintain gazing between 10 – 20 degrees below the horizon. But you don’t have to worry about this, as the HoloLens automatically adjusts appropriately.
This feature extends the eye-tracking function and is closely connected to eye calibration. But even when you’ve not done any eye calibration, this function works in the background. It puts images in the correct position. With this active feature, there will be no worries about fatigue.
Is it Possible to Wear Glasses with HoloLens?
If you need to use glasses to see clearly, you probably have wondered if you can use the HoloLens with your eyeglasses. Well, here comes the answer you’ve been waiting for all this while. It’s yes, and no.
Let’s start with the ‘yes.’ HoloLens can accommodate different sizes and shapes of glasses. The visor is some inches away from your face. And this leaves enough room for your eyeglasses. In fact, the visor is adjustable such that you can tilt it upward to get ample space for your glasses to use the device properly.
But this is not without a glitch. For example, it may be a little disturbing if you have to use HoloLens without wearing glasses because you’d have to recalibrate each time you switch. Otherwise, you’ll not enjoy the full functions of the eye-tracking feature.
On the other hand, bifocal or trifocal glasses don’t work so well with the HoloLens. Expectedly, the reading segment of the bifocal increases the size of the images visible through the holographic lenses. And in most cases, this causes some distortion.
However, while wearing bifocal or trifocal glasses may not give you the best HoloLens experience, it doesn’t wreck the whole experience either.
Here’s our advice, if you cannot see without your glasses, then make the best out of the experience. Who knows, you may never experience the distortion of images while using HoloLens with your glasses. However, if you can manage, it is best to use the device without wearing glasses. This gives the best experience. Also, you will feel more comfortable while enjoying the augmented reality experience.
Finally, taking note of past technological trends, there is still room for new enhancements that can change things around. For example, future generations of HoloLens may have the capacity to work well with any glasses.
Verdict: Yes, you can wear glasses with HoloLens, but not all types of glasses are compatible with the device.
Is the Focal Distance of HoloLens Adjustable?
Your HoloLens comes with many cameras, at least six. Only one of them is a video camera with a peripheral function. You can use it to capture videos and images displayed through holographic lenses. The other five cameras are intrinsically involved in making your device genuinely mixed reality. They are responsible for creating the virtual world merged with your physical world.
But is the focal distance of HoloLens adjustable? These cameras have an automated focus. But if for some reason this feature malfunctions, can you manually adjust the focal distance? Unfortunately, no, you can’t.
The cameras are fully automated. And, to be frank, you may not want it otherwise. Cameras, especially professional ones, are arguably one of the most complicated devices out there. But, from experience, it’s apparent that not many people want to be saddled with anything that complex. So, automation is always a relief for most users.
But come to think of it, if HoloLens’ cameras had manual options, which some people might appreciate, using them would be too difficult for some people. Users would have to be highly skilled to use it satisfactorily. Thank goodness, it is not that way.
So what do you have? The device comes with cameras that automatically sense your environment and accurately place images/texts at the best focal point.
Also, the developers know that a flickering hologram or a blurry text poses a threat to your sight. Therefore, they made sure that HoloLens came with cameras that have autofocus. With this feature, you won’t feel any strain in your eyes.
Another point is that the efficiency of HoloLens cameras depends on apps. For instance, text legibility is a function of applications. That’s why developers build apps for HoloLens following strict guidelines and aiming to meet specific criteria. And as the user, you are responsible for choosing the best apps for your device.
Don’t forget that HoloLens is a computer with an operating system. That’s what makes it a stand-alone VR.
Finally, it’s not up to you to adjust the cameras for now. It’s possible that the experts who design the HoloLens may consider giving you more control over the cameras in the future.
Verdict: At the moment, it is not possible to manually adjust the focal distance of the HoloLens focal.
Conclusion
HoloLens is a super fantastic mixed reality head-mounted device. It is a new technology currently trending in digital gaming and augmented reality.
Using the HoloLens is safe for everyone who wants to have a fantastic experience, even those who wear glasses. It can also be used in different professional fields to teach, guide, or render remote support. Though there are areas where it can use vast improvement, its current level of accuracy and precision is still incredible.
Finally, you can wear glasses with the HoloLens. Even though it may seem quite uncomfortable at first, you will get used to it over time.
