Tech Trends is heading over to Seattle for Microsoft Build 2017, and we’re VERY excited about it.

Seattle Skyline Picture by Eric Kilby

No, it’s not often I get this excited about a conference. Let’s be honest, sometimes they can be rather dull. But this is a big deal. Tickets for Microsoft Build sometimes sell out within minutes (impressive considering they cost over $2000) and although this year there were some technical issues which meant that it took about 8 hours for the 2017 edition to fill up, it can’t really be argued that the event is not very popular indeed.

Tech Trends is heading over to Seattle for Microsoft Build 2017
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Tickets for Microsoft Build usually sell out within minutes
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But this year Microsoft’s flagship conference (which takes place from the 10^th to the 12^th May) is going to be rather more special. Not only is it taking place in Seattle for the first time –the company’s spiritual home – but there is a lot of genuinely exciting stuff happening.

There should be a lot of new and exciting stuff coming out about the Microsoft Mixed Reality Ecosystem
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Rumors abound about cool new hardware such as the Surface Pro, and we’re likely to see a lot of interesting news all things Microsoft, but quite frankly, for me, it’s all about AR, the HoloLens and what’s happening around their Mixed Reality ecosystem. This will be a chance not only to get the latest scoop, but also to catch up up with Microsoft’s developing partners (some of which we already met, most recently during an awesome demo session in London)

Microsoft promises to unveil its “latest new technologies and exciting plans on the horizon. Microsoft Build is filled with strong technical sessions as well as opportunities to meet and learn from others in the industry. We’ll make sure the schedule is filled with solid content, and will strive to deliver some fun surprises along the way.”

Bring it on!

If you’re going to be in Seattle for Build (or just to stay up-to-date with the latest news from the grapevine), be sure to connect on LinkedIn, follow me on Twitter and tune into the live stream below:

Tune into the #MSBuild Live Streamed sessions here at Tech Trends!
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Microsoft Build 2017 Conference

May 10-12

Washington State Convention Center

Seattle, WA

#MSBuild

For companies looking to get into VR/AR/MR our Virtual Reality Consultancy services offer guidance on how these technologies can enhance and support your brand strategy.

Alice Bonasio is a VR Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow @alicebonasio and @techtrends_tech on Twitter.

The post Tech Trends at #MSBuild appeared first on Tech Trends.

Believe that we’re still years away from Minority Report-like interfaces? Think again. At a recent Microsoft demo showcasing some of the latest work from its HoloLens partner agencies, I was rather blown away by what Rik Hepworth, the IT Director at Black Marble was showing off.

This was called tuServ, an application for mobilising Command and Control Units. It effectively allows police officers to produce holographic, virtual, mobile command and control centres, which can be dynamically deployed anywhere at short notice, and bring together all the available information in a way that enhances real-time information sharing.

“It brings together all the available elements onto an overall map view,” explains Hepworth. “You can then pull out individual pieces of evidence and reorganize them by resizing and dragging the skills around any room which you happen to want to make into a control room.”

Yet he makes it clear that they’re not out to replace existing Command and Control or Crime Scene systems, but rather to enhance, or – rather appropriately, augment – them.

“We want to be the tool for presenting that information, because at the moment these systems area all about presenting information to you or extracting information from you, they’re not about sharing that information, and that is the element of collaboration that we think the HoloLens is particularly well-suited for and that will allow the police forces to make more efficient decisions.”

TuServ was developed on Microsoft’s Universal Windows Platform (UWP), and is delivered across devices, including tablets, laptops and phones. It was designed in close collaboration with operational police officers, so is very much based on their practical needs, enabling improved accuracy and much more agile and efficient use of resources.

Rik Hepworth from Black Marble

The HoloLens is particularly well-suited for enabling collaboration
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What this effectively enables is a fully functional Command and Control unit that can be taken and quickly deployed anywhere. Running tuServ on the HoloLens allows officers in a Command and Control scenario to view officers and incidents on a map interface, providing an overview of everything going on in the area. It allows officers to be assigned to incidents, communicate with their colleagues on the ground, and provides a dynamic live picture of what is going on at the scene in real time.

With tuServ you can effectively have a fully functional portable Command and Control Centre
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Not content with resting on those laurels, however, Black Marble got busy developing a Proof of Concept solution that enabled the capture of content at a Scene of Crime using the HoloLens, and I got to try it out first-hand.

Simply put, it creates a whole new way of approaching the scene of a crime, by enabling officers to place virtual markers and gather multi-media evidence without in any way disturbing the physical scene and potentially tainting the scene. Crucially, the captured object mesh ensures that everything remains positioned exactly where it was originally placed/captured within the room to give the investigator a real understanding of the scene, regardless of when they choose to revisit it. That sort of evidential continuity and collaboration is something that simply hadn’t been possible before.

Once you experience the boost in efficiency that using Mixed Reality can bring, it's hard to go back
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Whereas before investigators relied going back to printed and gathered evidence once the crime scene had been cleared, this application preserves that evidence in its original context and setting, allowing investigators to come back virtually to the scene of the crime at any time, viewing the markers they placed and all the evidence gathered not only by them, but by their colleagues.

“As a detective, I can say that its ability to scan crime scenes and create a mapped 3D version will allow for a reduction in cross contamination issues and allow for investigators to visualise in real time the scenes of major crime,” says Superintendent Nick Lyall of Bedfordshire Police.

That enthusiastic feedback is typical of what they have been getting from forces trying out both products according to Black Marble. In fact, during the demo they said that some crime scene investigators practically cried with happiness upon testing the functionalities it enabled. It also opens up huge potential for safely and consistently training new police officers in real-world investigative scenarios without compromising crime scenes or evidence in any way.

Tech Trends will be at Microsoft Build 2017 - See you in Seattle in May!
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And as much as I hesitate to use the word “fun” in the context of Crime Scene Investigation, it is definitely safe to say that I was impressed. Like so many Mixed Reality applications, the immediate gains in efficiency are so remarkable that once you experience them it’s incredibly difficult to imagine how you ever coped without it. Which is why we’re particularly thrilled to share the news that Tech Trends will be attending Microsoft Build 2017 in Seattle in May. Watch this space for more exciting Mixed Reality news!

Looking to make an impact in VR/AR/MR? Get in touch about our Virtual Reality Consultancy services and see how this exciting technology can be integrated into your brand strategy.

The post MR CSI isn’t SciFi appeared first on Tech Trends.