Microsoft IGNITE(d) everything again!

Hi all, hope everyone is doing great! This week Microsoft had their IGNITE event, where they normally do some cool announcements and give a couple signs about where the future is heading. I did not imagine it was going to be THIS cool and impacting!

So Microsoft has not given up on the HoloLens, and I called it! (kinda)

A couple of weeks ago in my newsletter I talked about a patent that Microsoft filled that could indicate work for the HL2 successor. Before I take any credit, I did pretty much state that I thought MSFT had given up on this line of work, but fortunately I was wrong.

The big announcement - HoloLens 2 gets CoPilot! (for M365 Guides)

For those that are not familiar with the HoloLens, it is a Mixed Reality headset that allows you to view holograms and interact with them through hand tracking, whilst being able to see your environment through a see-through display.

Microsoft has two main 1st party applications for the device (recently merged into one application). Remote Assist and Guides, both focused on providing front-line workers with access to information and support to increase productivity and create a better work experience.

At the Ignite event, Microsoft unveiled that it will be introducing CoPilot into the M365 Guides platform. MSFT is implementing CoPilot into many of their products, where the LLM can is powered with an organisation's database. Creating an AI model that can be queried on the users emails, product manuals, manufacturing plants details, pretty much anything, as long as it seats within that M365 environment.

The announcement followed a video that will get anyone excited for the future and it's possibilities:
AI + Mixed Reality for the Frontline | Copilot in Dynamics 365 Guides
Microsoft done a great job at showcasing some of the real world scenarios where this will empower frontline workers to perform at their best.

Two of my favorite features highlighted by Microsoft...

to learn more about this, visit the MSFT overview page here

Gen AI + Image Recognition + Spatial Data

CoPilot for Guides will empower employees to point and ask to receive guidance. For example: 'what tools do I need to replace this part' or 'where does this part fit in'.
As explained by MSFT: 'Copilot recognizes what the user is pointing at and provides answers. 3D models and spatial maps provide the foundation for the technology to identify what the worker is looking at and then project a hologram to show instructions'
This feature will be incredible to get new employees up and running quicker, by reducing the 'babysit' time required and empowering them with an assistant that will boost their confidence to go out into the field.
This reminds me of Iron Man interacting with Jarvis, it is crazy to think that a couple of years ago this seemed quite far fetched!

On-demand content generation

The M365 Guides platform has mostly been used to create step-by-step holographic guides that could be used for a variety of training scenarios.
Set-up has always been quite easy as it is a low/no code platform, allowing for quick generation of content. However, it still does consume time resources and the need to have someone that understands the platform to build out those Guides.
Interestingly enough, Microsoft said that CoPilot will enable quick creating of Mixed Reality content by 'using customer-defined data sources'. From what I understand, creating training scenarios on Guides will be reduced from a couple hours to minutes. This will positively impact adoption barriers as it will be much easier for organisations to insert Mixed Reality into their processes through AI-generated content.

I truly believe this announcement has given the HL2 a new lifeline, increasing the ROI it can give to organisations that decide to adopt it. That being said, I still think Microsoft need to release an updated version of the hardware, even a new chipset would do the trick, we just need it to be snappier and sharper. If three weeks ago I said I would not bet on Microsoft releasing a HL3, now I am probably sitting on the other side of the fence. If CoPilot for M365 Guides does live up to the hype, it will provide tremendous value to innovators across manufacturing, healthcare and other sectors that rely on front-line workers.

See you next week,
Davi, MetaVisions