What Remote Expert does
Three things happen when a Remote Expert session is active:- The expert sees what the worker sees. The HoloLens 2 camera feed streams into the Teams meeting.
- The expert draws annotations that appear anchored in the worker’s physical space, in real time.
- The expert shares content — URLs, PDFs, and
.glb3D models — that the worker can view and interact with on the headset.
Two ways to connect: Contacts vs. Meetings
The HMD app supports two complementary flows for reaching an expert. Pick whichever fits the situation.Contacts — ad-hoc assistance
The worker searches for an expert by name, sends an invitation, and waits for them to join. The expert receives an Adaptive Card in their Teams chat.
Meetings — join a scheduled call
The worker browses their Microsoft Teams calendar on the headset and joins a pre-scheduled meeting directly. No invitation is sent.
When to use which
| Situation | Use |
|---|---|
| ”I’m stuck right now. I need any available expert.” | Contacts — search, invite, wait for the first who joins. |
| ”I have a weekly triage meeting at 10:00 with Engineering.” | Meetings — browse calendar, tap to join. |
| ”I need one specific person on a specific machine.” | Contacts — pick that person by name. |
| ”The expert pre-scheduled this troubleshooting window.” | Meetings — both join the same calendar invite. |
The HMD-side experience
How to access Remote Expert
Switch from Procedures to Remote Expert on the HoloLens and understand the two tabs.
Search & invite an expert
Step-by-step search, invite, and waiting-state behavior in the Contacts flow.
Join a scheduled meeting
Browse and join Teams meetings that are already on your calendar.
Remote Expert hand menu
Mute, reposition the call panel, and exit the session with a palm-up gesture.
Call controls the worker gets
During a live session, the worker has:- Camera toggle — turn the HMD video feed on or off.
- Microphone mute/unmute — via the call bar or the hand menu.
- Reposition call panel — bring the call UI back in front of them if it drifts out of view.
- Exit — end the session with a confirmation dialog.
The Microsoft Teams-side experience
Pre-call: verify the Teams app
Confirm the Altoura Remote Expert app is deployed in your tenant and add it to your Teams client before the first call.
Join a session (Contacts flow)
How the expert receives the Adaptive Card notification in Teams and joins the call.
Add the app to the meeting
Drop the Altoura Remote Expert app into a live meeting to unlock annotation and sharing.
Annotate & share
Everything the expert can do inside the meeting side panel.
What the expert sees
Once the Altoura Remote Expert app is added to the meeting, a panel opens in the Teams meeting toolbar with:- Start Annotating — captures the HMD user’s live camera feed into the main meeting canvas.
- Share URL — send web links that appear in the worker’s space.
- Share Files — drag-and-drop
.glb3D models or.pdfdocuments to push to the headset.
Annotation toolbar
When the expert clicks Start Annotating:- Arrow — place directional arrows on the captured view.
- Pen — freehand drawing.
- Color — change annotation color.
- Undo — undo the last action.
- Delete — remove all annotations at once.
File & URL sharing
- URLs appear in a list; each can be removed from the panel (removal only hides it from Teams, not from the headset).
- PDFs are delivered to the HoloLens where the worker can view them.
.glb3D models are delivered and rendered in the worker’s space for inspection.
The Microsoft Teams plugin — under the hood
The expert experience is powered by the Altoura Remote Expert Teams meeting extension. It is:- A custom meeting app uploaded to your tenant by your Teams administrator (
altoura-remote-expert-v1.12.0.zip). - Hosted at
altouraremoteacs.azurewebsites.net. - Backed by a single-tenant Entra ID app registration in your own tenant.
- Authorized with a focused set of Microsoft Graph delegated permissions (plus one application permission for user lookups).
A typical session, end to end
Worker hits a blocker
Running a procedure on HoloLens, the worker encounters a part that doesn’t match the expected state.
Worker switches to Remote Expert
From the side menu, they tap the phone icon to open the Remote Expert screen.
Worker finds an expert
Using the Contacts tab, they search for the right specialist by name and tap Invite Expert.
Expert gets notified in Teams
An Adaptive Card titled Frontline Remote Expert Request appears in their Teams chat with a Join Meeting button.
Expert joins and adds the app
They click Join now, then open Apps in the Teams meeting toolbar, search for Altoura Remote Expert, and Add it.
Expert annotates
They click Start Annotating, the HMD video feed fills the Teams canvas, and they draw arrows pointing at the correct component.
Expert shares a PDF
They drag the service manual PDF into the Share Files area. The worker can now view it on the headset.
Why experts love it
- No new app to install. Experts use the Teams client they already run all day.
- Same controls as any Teams meeting. Camera, mic, screen share, chat — all standard.
- No context-switching. Annotations and file sharing live in the meeting side panel, right next to the video.
- No “can you hold your phone steady?” The worker’s HMD camera and field of view are inherently stable and hands-free.
Why IT loves it
- Single-tenant Entra ID app registration, fully in your control.
- Least-privilege delegated permissions for meetings and chat; one application permission for user lookups.
- Auditable. Meetings are created as the signed-in user and show up in their calendar.
- Deployable centrally. Upload the Teams app package once via Teams Admin Center, pin it via setup policy, and it’s available to everyone.