30-04-2021



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Most emulator users will only need to use the basic input controls for the HoloLens Emulator or the Windows Mixed Reality simulator. The details below are for advanced users who have found a need to simulate more complex types of input.

Concepts

Keyboard with thumbstick

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To get started controlling the virtual input to the HoloLens Emulator and Windows Mixed Reality simulator, you should first understand a few concepts.

Motion refers to controlling and changing the position and orientation of something in the scene. For a targeted controllable object, motion is controlled with both rotation and translation (movement) along three axes.

  • Yaw: Turn left or right.
  • Pitch: Turn up or down.
  • Roll: Roll side-to-side.
  • X: Move left or right.
  • Y: Move up or down.
  • Z: Move forward or backward.

Gesture and motion controller input are mapped closely to physical devices:

  • Action: Simulates the action of pressing the forefinger to the thumb or pulling the action button on a controller. For example, the Action input can be used to simulate the air-tap gesture, to scroll through content, and to press-and-hold.
  • Bloom/System gesture or Home: The HoloLens bloom/system gesture or a controller's Home button is used to return to the shell and to fire system actions.

Hands have a rich representation in HoloLens 2. In addition to being tracked/not tracked and usable for driving gestures, hands now have an articulated skeleton model fit to them and exposed to the developer. The skeleton model has 26 tracked points on each hand.

  • Joint: One of 20 tracked positions for a given tracked hand with an associated point in 3d space.
  • Pose: A complete collection of all of the Joints in a tracked hand, 26 Joints in all.

We don't currently expose direct control of individual joint positions through the emulator, but you can set them through the simulation API. We have a set of useful representative poses that the emulator allows you to toggle between.

You can also control the state of simulated sensor input:

  • Reset: Returns all simulated sensors to their default values. Starting with the HoloLens 2 Emulator, a reset can be scoped to one or both hands. Engage the desired hand(s) using the modifier key(s) or button(s) (Left and/or Right Alt, or the left and/or right bumper on the gamepad).
  • Tracking: Cycles through the positional tracking modes, including:
    • Default: The OS chooses the best tracking mode based upon the requests made of the system.
    • Orientation: Forces Orientation-only tracking, no matter the system requests.
    • Positional: Forces Positional tracking, no matter the system requests.

Types of input

The following table shows how each type of input maps to the keyboard, mouse, and Xbox controller. Each type has a different mapping depending on the input control mode. You can find more information on input control modes later in this document.

InputKeyboardMouseXbox controller
YawLeft / right arrowsDrag Left / RightRight thumbstick left / right
PitchUp / down arrowsDrag up / downRight thumbstick up / down
RollQ / EDPad left / right
XA / DLeft thumbstick left / right
YPage up / page downDPad up / down
ZW / SLeft thumbstick up / down
ActionEnter or spaceRight buttonA button or either trigger
Bloom/SystemF2 or Windows keyB button
Controller grip button / Hand graspG
Controller menu buttonM
Controller touchpad touchU
Controller touchpad pressP
Controller thumbstick pressK
Left controller tracking stateF9
Right controller tracking stateF10
Hand 'Close' Pose7
Hand 'Open' Pose (default)8
Hand 'Point' Pose9
Hand 'Pinch' Pose0
ResetEscape keyStart button
TrackingT or F3X button

Note: The controller buttons can be targeted to one hand/controller or the other using the hand targeting modifiers.

Targeting

Gaming Keyboard With Thumbstick

Some of the above input concepts stand on their own. Action, Bloom/System, Reset, and Tracking are complete concepts, don't need, and are not affected by, any additional modifiers for targeting. The remaining concepts can be applied to one of multiple targets. We have introduced ways for you to specify which intended target your command should be applied to. In all cases, it's possible to specify through the UI or through keyboard presses, which object to target. In some cases, it's also possible to specify with the xbox controller directly.

The following table describes the options for targeting, and the way to activate each of them.

ObjectKeyboard ModifierController ModifierEmulator UI Modifier
Body(default)(default)(default)
HeadHold H(Not available)(Not available)
Left Hand/ControllerHold Left Alt buttonHold Left Shoulder ButtonLeft-Hand pushpin
Right Hand/ControllerHold Right Alt ButtonHold Right Shoulder ButtonRight-Hand pushpin
EyesHold Y(Not available)Eyes Pushpin

The following table shows how each target modifier maps each of the core movement input concepts

InputDefault (Body)Hand/controller (Hold Alt, hold gamepad shoulder button, or toggle UI pushpin)Head (Hold H)Eyes (Hold Y or toggle UI pushpin)
YawTurn body left / rightMove hand left / rightTurn head left / rightEye gaze looks left/right
PitchTurn head up / downMove hand up / downTurn head Up / downEye gaze looks up/down
RollRoll head left / rightRoll head left / right(No action)
XSlide body left / rightMove hand/controller left / rightTurn head left / right(No Action)
YMove body up / downMove hand/controller up / downTurn head up / down(No Action)
ZMove body forward / backwardMove hand/controller forward / backwardTurn head up / down(No Action)

Controlling an app

Keyboard with a thumbstick

The following set of controls is suggested for day-to-day use:

OperationKeyboard and mouseController
Body XA / DLeft thumbstick left / right
Body YPage up / page downDPad up / down
Body ZW / SLeft thumbstick up / down
Body YawDrag mouse left / rightRight thumbstick left / right
Head YawH + drag mouse left / rightH (on Keyboard) + right thumbstick left / right
Head PitchDrag mouse up / downRight thumbstick up / down
Head RollQ / EDPad left / right
Hand/Controller XAlt + A / DShoulder + left thumbstick left / right
Hand/Controller YAlt + Page up / page downShoulder + DPad up / down
Hand/Controller ZAlt + W / SShoulder + Left thumbstick up / down
Hand/Controller YawAlt + drag mouse left / rightShoulder + right thumbstick left / right
Hand/Controller PitchAlt + drag mouse up / downShoulder + right thumbstick up / down
Hand/Controller RollAlt + Q / EShoulder + DPad left / right
ActionRight mouse buttonTrigger
Bloom / System / HomeF2 or Windows keyB button
ResetEscapeStart button
TrackingTX button
ScrollingAlt + right mouse button + drag mouse up / downShoulder + trigger + right thumbstick up / down
Move/rotate fasterLeft or right Shift keyPress and hold the right thumbstick
Move/rotate slowLeft or right Ctrl keyPress and hold the left thumbstick

Using a Windows Mixed Reality immersive headset and motion controllers with the HoloLens 2 Emulator

When using a Windows Mixed Reality immersive headset with the HoloLens 2 Emulator, movement and rotation are automatically mapped to headset movement and rotation. Motion controller position and orientation are automatically mapped to hand position and orientation in the emulator. The table below lists additional actions available when using a motion controller.

Note

When using a headset, standard keyboard, mouse, and gamepad controls are automatically ignored.

OperationActionNotes
Body XThumbstick Left / Right
Body ZThumbstick Forward / Back
Body YKeyboard Page Up /DownEnsure that Windows Mixed Reality has focus. Press Win+Y if focus is on the Windows Desktop to return focus to Windows Mixed Reality.
Eyes Look Left / RightDPad Left / Right
Eyes Look Up / DownDPad Up / Down
TapTrigger
Pinch/GraspGrip button
System GestureMenu button
Reset PositionThumbstick click

Perception Simulation Control Panel keyboard shortcuts

You can access the Perception Simulation Control panel and enable or disable PC input devices with the following keyboard shortcuts.

Keypad With Thumbstick

OperationShortcutDescription/Notes
Toggle 'Use keyboard for simulation'F4When turned off, keyboard input goes to the HoloLens or Windows Mixed Reality application.
Toggle 'Use mouse for simulation'F5When turned off, mouse input goes to the Mixed Reality environment (Windows Mixed Reality only)
Toggle 'Use gamepad for simulation'F6When turned off, gamepad input is ignored by simulation
Show or hide the control panelF7
Set keyboard focus to the control panelF8If the panel is not currently visible, it will be shown first.
Dock or undock the panel to/from the emulator or Mixed Reality Portal windowF9If the window is closed when undocked, it's docked and hidden.

Analog Gaming Keypad

See also