Google has admitted that the view through its Project Glass wearable computer won’t quite be the Terminator-style augmented reality that its eye-catching demo video initially suggested. Rather than full-view overlays of context-based information and buttons, a Google spokesperson confirmed to CNET, Project Glass’ display will hover in the wearer’s vision “about where the edge of an umbrella might be.” Meanwhile, there’s news from the patent office about the physical design of the headset.
Another day, another step closer to wearable computing: German researchers Fraunhofer have been polishing their own Project Glass alternative, boosting the resolution of their eye-tracking microdisplays. While Google may have got most of the attention recently for its voice- and gesture-controlled headset, Fraunhofer has been quietly working away with some big-name partners to commercialize its own augmented reality alternative that uses your own eyes for navigation.
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Google continues its Project Glass public testing, sharing new samples from the wearable computer’s camera, while Google+ chief Vic Gundotra has jumped on the augmented reality bandwagon too. Gundotra was snapped sporting a Project Glass prototype by colleague Bradley Horowitz, though his feedback on the headset was minimal: “Having a fun day at work today. Go Project Glass!” he wrote.
AR isn't just about flashing Google Project Glass alerts up in your line of sight, it's also about getting your hands dirty with some mediated reality thanks to an Augmented Reality Sandbox project by UC Davis. The handiwork of researchers at the W.M. Keck Center for Active Visualization in the Earth Sciences, the digital sandbox uses a projector and Microsoft Kinect sensor to track the contours of the sand and overlay a real-time topographic map complete with virtual water flow.
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The Google Project Glass team is aspiring to change the way we work with mobile devices, says Sebastian Thrun taking a photo without so much as a tap and a couple of nods. What we've got here is an interview Google X's leader Thrun took with Charlie Rose, he using the opportunity to wear and show off the glasses to the world once again. He not just took the photo, he posted it on Google+ during the interview - it showing up instantly, or so he said, and shared with the world via his online profile. This interview also had Thrun noting that it's not photography but the sharing of everything that's been seen thus far as the most compelling use-case for the project thus far.
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Augmented reality is headed into the museum today, though as a way of making science exhibits more engaging rather than relegating the tech to the history books. London’s Science Museum has teamed with Top Gear presenter James May and app developer DigiCave to use Qualcomm’s Vuforia augmented reality system to put a virtual guide on key exhibits. Nine of the Science Museum’s most prized items now get a personal tour by May on your iPhone, iPad or Android device; check out our hands-on with James May Science Stories after the cut.
The augmented reality floodgates have broken, and next up is Brother with its AiRScouter WD-100G/WD-100A headsets finally hitting the market come June 15. Announced back in 2010, the headsets - one for glasses-wearers, the other for everyone else - may not be as sleek as Google's Project Glass prototypes, but they do have the advantage of actually working, projecting an SVGA 800 x 600 picture into your left or right eye.
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Sunglasses manufacturer Oakley is working on its own augmented reality glasses technology, the company’s CEO has confirmed, taking on Google’s Project Glass with both standalone and tethered functionality. The wearables research has been going on for fifteen years, chief exec Colin Baden told Bloomberg, initially centering on sports applications though with plenty of other possibilities on the drawing board. “Ultimately, everything happens through your eyes,” Baden points out, “and the closer we can bring it to your eyes, the quicker the consumer is going to adopt the platform.”
Valve has confirmed that it is doing its own research into wearable computing, joining a club that includes Google’s Project Glass and Nokia R&D, though the company has warned not to expect a commercial product any time soon. Managing director Michael Abrash revealed his pet project this week, researching the future of hardware and software for wearable, “Terminator vision” style devices that could possibly be a direction Valve might follow.
DARPA will be taking possession of a new set of prototype contact lenses that could be available to the public as early as 2014. DARPA will be testing the lenses, which can be paired with a compact heads-up display to allow images to be projected onto the lenses of the glasses. DARPA hopes that contact lenses will help increase the situational awareness of soldiers on the battlefield.
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Google may be saying Project Glass is still “years away” but that hasn’t stopped DIY versions of the AR headset by others inspired by the eye-catching demo video. Now, we’ve seen plenty of ironic parodies of Google’s wearables – including what might happen if Microsoft waded in – but augmented reality developer Will Powell actually took the time to make a functional version, using a pair of Vuzix glasses, a custom-crafted UI, and Dragon Naturally Speaking for voice recognition. Check out the demo video after the cut.
Google’s Project Glass has been through the usual story arc – rumors, a mind-blowing concept demo, rabid excitement, practicality doubts and then simmering mistrust – in a concentrated three month period, but the back story to augmented reality is in its fifth decade. The desire to integrate virtual graphics with the real-world in a seamless way can be traced back to the days when computers could do little more than trace a few wireframes on a display; it’s been a work-in-progress ever since. If Google’s vision left you reeling, the path AR has taken – and where it might go next – could blow your mind.
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