Bill Gates: HoloLens is ‘the start of virtual reality’

Forget Oculus Rift and Project Morpheus – Microsoft founder Bill Gates believe the company’s new HoloLens headset is the true beginning for virtual reality.

Posting as part of a Reddit Ask Me Anything, the former Microsoft boss says the fact that the device – which is based around augmented reality – does not trigger motion sickness and the potential applications make HoloLens a hugely promising device, Polygon reports.

"The HoloLens is pretty amazing," he wrote. "Microsoft has put a lot into the chips and the software. It is the start of virtual reality. Making the device so you don’t get dizzy or nauseous is really hard. The speed of the alignment has to be super fast. It will take a few years of software applications being built to realise the full promise of this."

Gates is currently working with Microsoft on a Personal Agent project: software that remembers everything you do at work, help you find things you’re looking for and, over time, learn what is important to you.

He also predicted that the will be more technological advancements in the next 30 years than ever before.