HoloLens 2 Research Mode as a Tool for Computer Vision Research

TL;DR

This paper introduces HoloLens 2 Research Mode, an API and tools that provide access to raw sensor data, enabling advanced computer vision research and applications in mixed reality, robotics, and related fields.

Contribution

It presents the design and release of the HoloLens 2 Research Mode API and open-source tools to facilitate computer vision research using mixed reality hardware.

Findings

Provides access to raw sensor streams for research

Enables integration with eye and hand tracking data

Fosters community contributions and further research

Abstract

Mixed reality headsets, such as the Microsoft HoloLens 2, are powerful sensing devices with integrated compute capabilities, which makes it an ideal platform for computer vision research. In this technical report, we present HoloLens 2 Research Mode, an API and a set of tools enabling access to the raw sensor streams. We provide an overview of the API and explain how it can be used to build mixed reality applications based on processing sensor data. We also show how to combine the Research Mode sensor data with the built-in eye and hand tracking capabilities provided by HoloLens 2. By releasing the Research Mode API and a set of open-source tools, we aim to foster further research in the fields of computer vision as well as robotics and encourage contributions from the research community.