Microsoft’s stake hold in the phone business and other markets has been less than stellar in recent years — besides Xbox — but with the recent announcement of its newest project, HoloLens, it’s apparent that they’ve been working quietly behind closed doors to bring the world one of the most enthralling technological advances in recent memory.

HoloLens is a bulky goggle device — a bit smaller than the Oculus Rift but much larger than Google Glass — that projects holograms in the physical world around you, to immerse you in the digital world. It essentially tricks your brain into seeing light as matter.

The chief inventor behind HoloLens is the same man that brought to life the Kinect for Xbox. He explained the future that he envisions with his next-level product in an article with Wired.com. The author Jessi Hempel broke it down pretty well. “You used to compute on a screen, entering commands on a keyboard. Cyberspace was somewhere else. Computers responded to programs that detailed explicit commands. In the very near future, you’ll compute in the physical world, using voice and gesture to summon data and layer it atop physical objects.”

In layman’s terms, you’ll basically be inside the computer program and will be able to manipulate the holograms and give it commands. Connect those projected images to a 3D printer and the possibilities are endless.

The design of the goggles is clearly in early stages of styling and design, but the technology is breathtakingly futuristic. The voice commands seem to still be on Siri’s level and the program still needs to work more seamlessly, but it’s an intriguing thought. Microsoft and Alex Kipman should be proud.

It’s refreshing to see a company that doesn’t blindly release mediocre products year after year just to stay relevant. Microsoft is really helping catapult the world into the future with HoloLens and it’s looking like the future may be pretty bright. Check out the mind-blowing video on Microsoft’s website here, and take a peak at how holograms will change the world we see.

http://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-hololens/en-us