As tech companies like HTC and Oculus start to release their own virtual reality devices into the market, Microsoft is silently developing and dominating one market, augmented reality. The Redmond-based tech giant recently announced that it is teaming up with startup tech company Meta in developing a new type of augmented reality device that allows users to manipulate virtual images with their hand.

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Dubbed the Meta Two, the augmented reality device costs a staggering $949. According to Tech Crunch, Meta started accepting preorders for the device on March 2 and will start shipping in the third quarter of this year.

The Meta Two is a development kit that includes glasses. The company claims that the glasses can take flat, two-dimensional images and then recreate them into a fully holographic three-dimensional images that appear to float in the front of the user's eyes.

The closes illustration that comes to mind is when Tony Starks, from the "Iron Man" movie franchise, interacts with his experiments.

Unlike virtual reality devices, which creates a virtual world and blocks users from the real world, the Meta Two employs a see-through display that projects virtual images into the actual world. The device can track a user's location and the position of virtual images in relation to real world objects, including the user's hands. Meta promises that its flagship device will allow users to reach out and grab virtual reality objects without the need of extra controllers or gloves.

Compared to the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, the Meta Two is definitely more expensive. On the other hand, all three devices pale in comparison to the price tag of the Microsoft HoloLens Developer Kit, which is currently billed at $3,000.

In a statement, Meta chief executive officer Meron Gribetz said, "My belief is that five years from today, all of us will be wearing a strip of glass on our eyes. And it will be completely transparent and very thin. And it going to project holograms directly into your eyes."

TagsAugmented Reality, Augmented Reality, meta, meta, Meta Two, HTC, Oculus, Virtual Reality, HoloLens, Microsoft