NASA is using the Microsoft HoloLens Development Edition headset, combined with augmented reality software, to help design the next rover that will be sent to Mars in 2020.
Engadget reports that the HoloLens is being used by NASA to simulate the Mars surface with an application called OnSight. Another app called ProtoSpace is being used with the HoloLens to help design the rover itself:
The vehicle, which is essentially a Computer Assisted Design (CAD) model in holographic form, appears as a floating, dynamic animation. You can do things like slip your arm through the brightly colored parts and bolts that are projected in front of you. But what the rover lacks in definition it makes up for in presence. Unlike the CAD design on a flat computer screen, mixed-reality technology brings a full-scale replica of the rover to life inside a room.
Microsoft is currently selling the HoloLens Development Edition to app creators for $3,000.
