Where Google Glass failed, Microsoft's HoloLens already seems to be winning

Microsoft's virtual reality headset, HoloLens starts shipping to developers on Wednesday, Microsoft announced at its annual developer's conference taking place in San Francisco.

Hololens is Microsoft's attempt to do something Google Glass-like.

It's a virtual reality/"mixed reality" headset that projects holograms onto the real world around you.

It recognizes your hand gestures to interact with this projected world. At last year's Build conference, Business Insider got to try it out and even though the demonstration was limited and extremely scripted, it was obvious to us that Hololens can be a game-changer.

Microsoft has taken a different tact with HoloLens than Google took with Glass. It's not being marketed as a consumer device (yet), but as a new work device. Google also figured this out, and Glass is now being developed as a work device, but not before it gained a poor reputation as a consumer gadget for so-called "Glassholes."

In Microsoft's case, the company lined up some big business partners to work with the prototype in the last year and create apps for it for their own use. These include NASA, Saab, Japan Airlines, others.

For instance, here's Hololens being used at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. They used the device to capture images of Mars which has become an exhibit called Destination Mars. 

Here's the full video showing how other businesses and universities are using Hololens.