HoloLens contains an array of sensors and cameras that accumulate data from the real environment. In the top-front part of the HoloLens, there are several front-facing cameras and sensors that are used to scan the environment and collect as much data as possible.
Sensors pass the data to processing units, which make it understandable by the HoloLens. At a high level, the sensor bar on the HoloLens embraces the following:
- Depth Camera
- Ambient Light Sensors
- Environment Understanding Camera
- Video Camera
The following figure illustrates the different types of sensors placed in the sensor bar:
It all starts with the Depth Camera. The HoloLens Depth Camera is based on the Kinect technology, which uses a combination of camera and infrared depth-sensing vision to draw the digitalized surroundings by measuring the distances and depth.
HoloLens device has a wider field of view and looks out at the world with a field of sensing 120x120 degrees.
Ambient Light Sensors maximize visual quality and energy conservation within the device, depending on the change in environment lights. An ambient light sensor is mounted in front of the HoloLens to detect the environment's light quality and intensity, which help the device in controlling the brightness. This helps to reduce power consumption, extend battery life, and provide optimum viewing in diverse lighting conditions.
The Environment Understanding Camera builds a quick understanding of the environment and provide the basis for head tracking and surface reconstruction. This is the key to understand your physical world and place holograms on physical objects.
HoloLens has a 2MP HD Video Camera that is used to record and share the visuals captured by the device and capture real-time photos. Camera feed can also be used to share the visual experience among different users.