Microsoft HoloLens is the most powerful MR personal computing Windows device. It allows you to place your digital content in the real physical world where it matters most to you. This is what is called a MR device, one that tries to blend the real and digital worlds seamlessly and provides new ways to visualize the world beyond the screens. The boundaries between the real and the digital world start to blur, and you can interact with the digital world very similarly to how you would interact with the real physical world.

What is it about HoloLens that makes it stand out from the other devices in this genre? It is the fact that Microsoft HoloLens is the first fully untethered, self-contained computer running on Windows 10. Yes, that's right: no hassle of wires, additional cables, or connection to a computer or additional device. It is hands-free, self-contained device with a built in battery.

Using HoloLens, you see virtual objects placed in the real world that are merged so seamlessly in the real world that it appears as if they are a part of it. You can interact with them using gestures as well as spoken commands, very close to how you would interact with real entities.

From this chapter onward, the focus will be on MR development using HoloLens. By the end of this book, you should be able to develop independent HoloLens applications. Another important focus of this book is to guide you through enterprise--integrated scenarios and how HoloLens applications can be developed to have external integrations and seamlessly work with enterprises' line of business (LOB) applications. In this chapter, we will cover the following topics:

• Components that build the HoloLens device
• Holograms and the real world
• Interacting with holograms
• Exploring different possibilities with HoloLens
• Key differentiator for the HoloLens device
• Understanding the development process
• Building up teams for HoloLens app development

Before we delve into the development process and start building projects, we need to have a good understanding of the device and the different types of application that can be developed using this device. To develop holographic applications using HoloLens, it is important for us to understand the different components it interacts with and the different ways to interact with virtual objects when they blend in real environment.