For how long the HoloLens can map the environment and for what distance?

HoloLens8

Is the time of spatial mapping is limited? And is the distance or the space limited?

stepan_stulov

Hey, @HoloLens8

HoloLens continuously maps the environment and tries to always have the most up to date and most precise understanding of it. This process cannot be paused neither from within the OS nor from within your app (unless you turn off the device of course). This process also cannot be, to my knowledge, customized in terms of precision, level of detail, radius etc. The only thing you can do is delete the space in the settings which will re-initiate the process. I don't know any specific limitations to how far the HoloLens will scan the environment before it starts erasing older data. There may not be any specific geometrical restriction, rather memory.

Now, not to be confused with spatial mapping. Spatial mapping is the process of feeding of the reconstructed mesh (as a snapshot of the environment) into your app with certain rate. Once the snapshot is created it represents the past. You can only wait for the next snapshot. That process is only one way from the OS into your app. You cannot feed anything back to the HoloLens, that data is a lossy anyway. This one is probably one of the most frequently asked questions on the forum: a'la "how do I load my own space into HoloLens and make it bealieve it's its own". You cannot. You can, however, pause that process and stop receiving the mesh. You can also choose level of detail and radius of the mesh you desire. Also don't get confused with HTK/MRTK's wrapper around spatial mapping that introduces something like scan/rescan/save/load. It doesn't override the fundamentals and still has the same good old spatial mapping under the hood with the same concepts.

Hope this helps.

stepan_stulov

Hey, @HoloLens8

HoloLens continuously maps the environment and tries to always have the most up to date and most precise understanding of it. This process cannot be paused neither from within the OS nor from within your app (unless you turn off the device of course). This process also cannot be, to my knowledge, customized in terms of precision, level of detail, radius etc. The only thing you can do is delete the space in the settings which will re-initiate the process. I don't know any specific limitations to how far the HoloLens will scan the environment before it starts erasing older data. There may not be any specific geometrical restriction, rather memory.

Now, not to be confused with spatial mapping. Spatial mapping is the process of feeding of the reconstructed mesh (as a snapshot of the environment) into your app with certain rate. Once the snapshot is created it represents the past. You can only wait for the next snapshot. That process is only one way from the OS into your app. You cannot feed anything back to the HoloLens, that data is a lossy anyway. This one is probably one of the most frequently asked questions on the forum: a'la "how do I load my own space into HoloLens and make it bealieve it's its own". You cannot. You can, however, pause that process and stop receiving the mesh. You can also choose level of detail and radius of the mesh you desire. Also don't get confused with HTK/MRTK's wrapper around spatial mapping that introduces something like scan/rescan/save/load. It doesn't override the fundamentals and still has the same good old spatial mapping under the hood with the same concepts.

Hope this helps.