Today is the first day of Build 2016; it's also the first day Microsoft ships the developer edition of its HoloLens mixed reality headset to developers able to fork out US$3,000.
To give developers an example to study and make their own HoloLens apps, Microsoft has also released its Galaxy Explorer app on GitHub. Developed in six weeks as part of the Share Your Idea program where the community submitted and voted on ideas, it shows holograms of planets that HoloLens users can manipulate with gestures.
Even if you aren't a developer, it doesn't hurt to check out the cool demo video from the keynote that I've embedded at the top of the page, especially the medical use case demo by Case Western Reserve University and The Cleveland Clinic. And in a pre-recorded clip, NASA talked about the Mars OnSight project, where the agency uses the HoloLens to help explore the surface of Mars. Using data that it has gathered, NASA has also built Destination Mars to allow the public to explore the red planet.
Our articles may contain affiliate links. If you buy through these links, we may earn a small commission.