Microsoft's HoloLens brings you inside a gigantic jet engine - CNET

Many people spent the weekend getting acquainted with augmented reality, the fusing of the digital and physical world, through the popular new Pokemon Go app that lets users see fictitious creatures hanging out in the real world through a phone screen.

But augmented reality, also referred to as mixed reality, can have more practical applications like training.

That's exactly what Microsoft was pushing for at its Worldwide Partner Conference on Monday. Presenters at the Toronto event used Microsoft's heavily hyped HoloLens to bring a digital representation of a jet engine on stage to show how Japan Airlines intends to use the technology to train flight crews and mechanics.

"We can continue to lea in new ways, not possible in the real world," said Lorraine Bardeen, general manager of Windows and HoloLens experiences production and strategy for Microsoft.

Augmented reality, alongside its sibling virtual reality, is one of the hottest trends in technology. Major players such as Microsoft and Google have experimented with both technologies as a potential new way for people to view the digital and real worlds, with potential applications in gaming and entertainment, as well as in the workplace.