Author: Julie Campbell

The HoloLens is now being sent into space for NASA employees to test while weightless.

Even though virtual and augmented reality technology based gadgets haven’t really done much in mainstream life down here on Earth, when it comes to people who are living in space, a different situation is underway.

The Microsoft HoloLens is now being sent up to the residents of the International Space Station.

The resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) has included 2 Microsoft HoloLens devices that are meant to be used by NASA astronauts. This will allow them to test out the augmented reality technology for uses in weightless scenarios. The astronauts living on the ISS will be given devices that are meant to function as instruction manuals that offer relevant information in real time. This is a component of an existing NASA project that is called Project Sidekick.

The idea of this use of augmented reality is to boost the communication between the ISS and ground control.

In this way, a tech on Earth located in Houston would be able to see exactly what an astronaut wearing the HoloLens AR headset is viewing, and they will see it in real time. That would then make it possible for that individual on the ground to be able to draw a circle around a specific button or hardware on the view of the space station so that the astronaut’s attention can be drawn to it quickly and easily without lengthy descriptions and directions to find it. The idea is to make it easier to offer instructions for conducting experiments and repairs in a more efficient and effective way than written or verbal instructions.

According to the ISS program director, Sam Scimemi, “HoloLens and other virtual and mixed reality devices are cutting edge technologies that could help drive future exploration and provide new capabilities to the men and women conducting critical science on the International Space Station.” He added that the use of this new augmented reality tech could improve opportunities for explorers in the future who require heightened autonomy, such as on a journey to Mars.

The company has said that it would prefer to leave that country than to open its servers to authorities there.

BlackBerry Ltd. has announced that it will be placing its previous intentions to withdraw from its Pakistan operations on hold for the moment but that it will stand firm when it comes to maintaining the mobile security and privacy of its customers.

It continues to say that it will step out of its Pakistan operations if authorities there continue to demand access to its data.

The authorities in Pakistan have been demanding “unfettered” access to all of the customer data stored on the company’s BES servers. BlackBerry has been refusing to comply with these demands and had intended to close up its business there. While it has now said that it is delaying its withdrawal, it has added that it is not changing its position when it comes to the mobile security and personal and business privacy of its customers.

The Canadian smartphone maker has said that it will keep up its mobile security and Pakistan operations until December 30.

This extension is the outcome of a compliance extension that the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority issued to its original order that was created in July. The company had already been saying that it would not breach the privacy of its customers on the BES servers and that it would leave Pakistan rather than comply with the demands being made by those authorities. It had been required to provide full access to the server content of its BlackBerry Enterprise Service by November 30, though this has been extended by another month.

While it did say that it would be willing to work with the authorities in Pakistan in order to ensure that public safety remains protected, but that the mobile security and privacy of its customers are at the highest priority to BlackBerry and that it won’t give in or even compromise when it comes to opening up all access to the authorities in the country.

Marty Beard, the BlackBerry operations chief, explained that the company does know that it is vitally important to cooperate with a government’s lawful information request when it comes to detecting criminal activity, but that it never has and never will simply open up complete access to BlackBerry’s service.