Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope.

After planning a few posts ahead, I stopped cold when I learned about Microsoft Mesh. You know that scene in the Original Star Wars movie where Luke Skywalker is cleaning R2-D2 and accidentally starts the hologram of Princess Leia saying “Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope.”? That is Microsoft Mesh. Well, not quite that advanced but it will remind you of movie special effects immediately.

The technology is called Mixed Reality (MR) and combines real and digital objects. Unlike Virtual Reality (VR) goggles where all you can see are projected images, MR headsets allow you to also see through the projected image to your own immediate surroundings.

Microsoft describes it like this… “See, share, and collaborate on persistent 3D content. This common understanding ignites ideas, sparks creativity, and forms powerful bonds.” And even if a lot of that is hype, the concept is very exciting.
Here is the official Microsoft Video describing Mesh.

You can read more about this technology on the official Microsoft website here. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/mesh

I do not think of Mesh as a new gaming platform. In this pandemic world, think how awesome it would be to interact with coworkers and actually see your eye contact theirs. That is a step way past Teams or Zoom. I cannot wait!

By the way I could not help myself. Thanks to Google I can share the entire quote of the Princess Leia hologram without re-watching the movie. Again.

“General Kenobi. Years ago you served my father in the Clone Wars. Now he begs you to help him in his struggle against the Empire. I regret that I am unable to convey my father’s request to you in person, but my ship has fallen under attack, and I’m afraid my mission to bring you to Alderaan has failed. I have placed information vital to the survival of the Rebellion into the memory systems of this R2 unit. My father will know how to retrieve it. You must see this droid safely delivered to him on Alderaan. This is our most desperate hour. Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope.”

from Star Wars Episode IV – A New Hope 1977