Months ago, we showed you some of the powers of Spatial, the HoloLens app that allows groups of workers to collaborate in augmented reality using 3D avatars.
On Monday, the company boosted its profile by taking the stage at Microsoft Build to show off its new integration into Microsoft Teams, a workplace chat application that some might compare to Slack.
The demo was flawless, as Spatial co-founder Anand Agarawala opened a laptop using the Teams app to get things started. Everything looked like a standard Teams chat session until Agarawala donned a HoloLens 2, and then scanned a QR code on a tab in Teams.
Once the user scans the QR code, they are brought into the Spatial app's immersive environment, instantly allowing the user to collaborate with users in other locations.
A particularly powerful aspect of the app that we haven't had a chance to show off is its ability to facilitate collaborations across devices, even when the other users don't have a HoloLens.
In this latest demo, we're shown remote desktop PC user communicating via the web, who is represented by a 2D video panel and can interact with 3D content in the Spatial app.
Similarly, an Android smartphone user, aided by Azure Spatial Anchors, is shown joining the immersive meeting using just the screen on his smartphone to manipulate a 3D model that other users can see in real time.
"We're thrilled to have them back with us at Build to show how Spatial leveraged the Microsoft Graph to tightly integrate with Microsoft Teams to extend the solutions their customers know and love and capture new opportunity for their business," said Matt Fleckenstein, senior director of Mixed Reality at Microsoft, in a statement.
"This integration is part of our larger goal of both streamlining and modernizing workflow for all of our customers, which means we need to provide the best suite of collaboration tools possible," said Spatial co-Founder Anand Agarawala.
In addition to the HoloLens, Microsoft Teams (via Office 365), and Android, the app also works through an iOS app and the web. It will be coming to the Magic Leap One soon, according to the company. The integration of Spatial into the Teams app will go live this June.
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Cover image via Spatial
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