HoloSuit Proof of Concept Uses Full Body Motion to Control the HoloLens

Here at NextReality, we talk a lot about the many different ways of controlling holograms in the HoloLens and other augmented and mixed reality devices; New and creative ways are coming more and more every day. Most recently is something called the HoloSuit. In the 25-second clip below, you can see a woman moving the arm of a jacket which in turn moves a 3D model of Darth Vader on the screen. It's a simple idea with big potential.

From what appears to be a very recent startup, Kaaya Tech has released this video accompanied by a PowerPoint slideshow on their website, which outlines their proof of concept, as well as what they hope to accomplish with it. The presentation is devoid of any technical information other than it is a Bluetooth device.

HoloSuit Proof of Concept Uses Full Body Motion to Control the HoloLens — *Image via Kaaya Tech*

Kaaya Tech is hoping to apply this technology to a broad range of emergent technologies and real-world applications including training, education, and, of course, mixed and augmented reality. In the PowerPoint presentation, they also have a list of proposed software applications. A golf trainer and the HoloSuit Jedi game really stood out as potentially fun ideas.

Motion controllers aren't a new idea. One example would be the musician Imogen Heap who has been experimenting with motion-controlled music creation for many years. She has even been known to use the Microsoft Kinect, which is an excellent example of a more consumer-friendly motion controller. For some reason, the consumer base has never quite bought into it. Often, it's argued that is was too new of a technology and developers did not understand how to get away from the paradigms associated with console applications—at least, in a way that connected to the all important consumers.

The president of Kaaya Tech, Shwetha H, posted an updated video overnight. The tracking seems a little more consistent in this video. A good sign.

Developing for motion controllers is far more complex in general. Hopefully, with a few generations behind us and engines like Unity to simplify the process, this problem will be solved soon. One point to mention is that the demonstration in the video does appear to be using Unity as the platform. I would recognize that Skybox anywhere. It does seem like the smart direction for anyone that wants to be competitive these days to go.

Do you see motion controllers becoming a common thing? Or will the HoloSuit like other motion controllers just collect dust? Let us know in the comments.