Microsoft reveals all the tech that’s inside the HoloLens

The HoloLens is an amazing piece of technology capable of projecting realistic holograms into your field of vision, but one of the device’s most impressive features may be its untethered design. Microsoft’s headset works on its own without a separate computer to power the experience, and that means the company had to pack a ton of technology into a relatively small space. Now we can see how all that hardware comes together, thanks to a new inside look from The Verge.

At the front of the HoloLens you’ll find a visor, and just above it sits a depth sensor capable of scanning the room in 3D. It’s similar to Microsoft’s Kinect camera, but shrunk down to fit on your forehead. Behind the visor, you’ll also find special holographic lenses that beam images straight into your eyes.

Microsoft also designed a unique motherboard that’s shaped to fit into HoloLens. Unlike the usual rectangle, this one looks more like a boomerang. It packs in a 32-bit Intel CPU, flash storage, RAM, chips for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and Microsoft’s new holographic processing unit (HPU).

Don’t forget the HoloLens’ special spatial sound speakers. These tiny modules are capable of projecting audio into your ears at a specific angle so it sounds like it’s coming from one part of the room. Finally, there’s a trio of batteries positioned around the device to power the experience.

It’s pretty incredible how Microsoft was able to squeeze all that technology into such a small space, and this is just the beginning. By the time the company is ready to ship a consumer version of the HoloLens it may be even lighter, slimmer and more powerful.