Alpha Run – HoloLens Input & Interaction R&D
Alpha Run was an experimental research project developed during my time as a Design Director within one of the Microsoft HoloLens incubation groups, focused on early-stage R&D for future mixed reality experiences.
Our mandate was to explore both practical everyday interactions and more unconventional experiential use cases made possible by holographic computing. These explorations ranged from straightforward tasks such as typing without a physical keyboard, to entirely new interaction concepts enabled by spatial interfaces.
I was specifically assigned the challenge of reimagining keyboard-free text input. In response, I designed and prototyped an aim-and-select input system, where users could type through gaze or spatial targeting combined with intuitive selection mechanics. The project explored speed, accuracy, ergonomics, and cognitive load in a fully spatial input paradigm.
Alpha Run served as a proof of concept for alternative input systems in mixed reality and contributed to broader thinking around natural user interfaces for spatial computing.
