Check out this cool video of a fictional augmented reality / contact lens application. I find videos like these fascinating, for the potential AR applications they expose. This video in particular hits on all the typical uses…entertainment, reality enhancement, self improvement, etc. Also hits a bit on the darker side of this, blurring the line between being fully human, and just doing what machines tell you to do. Worth watching (especially the end…).
Leap Motion Sensor
A company named Leap is working on a really impressive motion tracking hardware/software package for PCs. If you’ve seen the motion tracking on the Xbox or similar game systems you might have a basic idea of the potential, but Leap has made some huge improvements to the resolution of what can be tracked. It’s tracking fingertips to sub-centimeter accuracy levels, opening up new possibilities for human-machine interaction. The cost? A mere $70, which also means that you can expect this to become ubiquitous in future PCs.
In addition to the website linked to above, here’s a cool demo by the company’s CTO:
Oakley smart glasses
It’s pretty much a given that the first wave of augmented reality applications will not be through smartphones’ interfaces, but through glasses that have information overlaid on the display (such as the Google Glasses rumored for release later in 2012). So, it should come as no surprise that Oakley has been working on this since the late 90s, according to their CEO. It just goes to show that this really is cutting edge technology…it’s no small feat, though Oakley has made incremental steps in this direction first with their ‘Thump’ glasses that also had an MP3 music player, and also with bluetooth-capable glasses that would stream music from your iPod. It’s similar to the Apple product design philosophy of slowing incorporating features into your products to learn from that, eventually merging into one awesome product that’s light years ahead of the competition. A newly awarded patent shows that Oakley is indeed working on adding video capability to their glasses. They’ve got the bluetooth link worked out. Battery technology has been a continual learning area for them. I’d say they’re poised to be a leader in AR glasses soon, though ultimately the hardware will not be what makes or breaks a company…it’s all about the software when it comes to AR. If they release an API that provides for an easy link between the glasses and smartphones (since they’re the most ubiquitous portable computers), they could have a hit here.
There’s a bit more on this over at Techcrunch , also at Bloomberg, if you’re interested.
An alternate possibility for Google AR glasses
Yesterday I (and about a million other websites) posted a video of Google’s concept Augmented Reality (AR) glasses. It was pretty similar to other AR systems (here and here, for example) so in that respect was nothing new. I found it interesting how much more publicity that video gained, perhaps because of its source? Well no matter. I really had to share an funny video that someone made to show a possible downside of this AR glasses technology. Hilarious, yet so true…and it shows some of the real challenges that designers of these AR systems will be facing.
AR with Google
Google is rumored to be releasing some Augmented Reality glasses later this year, and while there is no official word on this, they make no secret of the fact that they’re interested in this market and working on concepts. One such concept implementation is shown in the video below, and is a really interesting example not only of AR, but how Google specifically can offer services that enhance your AR experience.