A California company has answered a question few people have probably thought to ask: What would happen if you combined the wearability of Google Glass with the gesture-based control of Microsoft Kinect? The answer is a pretty cool wearable interface …
Google Glass fever and upstart Meta’s rapidly financed US $100,000 Kickstarter campaign indicate #1. impending altered reality market maturity, or #2. everything new remixes the old, but still the geeks sing “Ohhhhh look, shiny!”
Google Glass: Loudest Voice in the Room
In development for several years and announced way back when, Glass finally got to developers and the geek elite about two months ago (for US $1500, plus getting oneself to a mandatory orientation meeting thingy). Glass is a kind of hybrid between a head-mounted display and augmented reality (AR) prosthetic outfitted with the internets. Really, if you’re reading Akihabara News you’re probably already hip, but if not there’s a search engine very ready to help you. Big G overlord Eric Schmidt indicated last month that a consumer-ready Glass product is about a year away. Realistically, at this point it’s unclear whether Glass is expected to be a viable consumer product or more of a proof-of-concept development platform.
Meta: Quickly Kickstarted, High-Profile Team Assembled – Working Man’s AR?
If you saw last year’s sci-fi short film “Sight” or the YouTube sci-fi series “H+,” you’re already hip to what Columbia University’s Meron Gribitz & pals are aiming for with Meta. While Glass is more of a HUD with some AR, Meta is less with the acronyms and more what the name suggests: information about information, i.e., Meta hopes to overlay manipulatable imagery/data on the physical world, augmenting real reality and projecting virtual reality (VR) artifacts that you can fiddle with in real time.
For now, Meta has a slick video, a prototype, a crack team of engineers and advisors including professor Steven Feiner and wearable computing advocate guy, Steve Mann, and financing to get their dev kit into dev’s hands. To its credit, Meta does seem to aim less at generalized gee-whiz gimmickry and heads-up automated narcissism, and more toward the getting actual work done.
Asian Alternatives:
First: POPSCI, very well done. The image on the above left melts one’s technosnarky heart.
In typical form, China has assimilated and excreted: the Baidu Eye is their Glass clone. There’s no indication of plans to bring it to market, so maybe they just wanted to say “Ha, ha, we can, too!” Or maybe they just wanted to do research and ride the Glass hype, which is understandable. But China, dude – might wanna think about doing some original stuff someday soon. That lack of intellectual capital is going to sting when “Designed in California” meets “Made in the U.S.A. With My 3D Printer.”
Over here in Japan we’ve got startup Telepathy One pushing a Glass-looking, but as they openly declare, not Glass-like AR headset (above-right). While technology writers rhetorically speculating as much in a headline makes for good Search Engine Optimization (other adjectives include: disingenuous, blithe, lame), rather than compete with Glass, Telepathy One is focusing on social networking & multimedia – but they too are clearly attempting to catch the contemporary current of AR hype – which is understandable. And hey, even if Telepathy One flashes and disappears, that fact that the phrase “Japanese Startup” can be used without the usual preface of “Why Aren’t There Any…” is a positive thing.
Okay Then, It’s Almost Doable – But Still…
Indeed, the apps, core software, computational capability, and the ubiquitous-enough network connectivity essential for decent AR are quickly ramping up. Along with innovative concepts like the AR/VR mashup Eidos Masks, alternatives to and more advanced versions of the above devices will likely continue to crop up. In fact, the never-even-close-to-being-vaguely-realized promises of VR are also showing signs of decreased morbidity. So…
We Actually Want It vs. They Want Us to Want It
Glass, the engine of the current VR hype machine, is of course conceptually nothing new, but it has the word “Google” in the name, so people are paying attention. Of course even Google gets ahead of itself from time to time (Buzz? Wave?), but lucky for them selling ads pays well, and they’ve got a boatload of cash to pour into whatever sounds cool. Millions have benefited from Google’s side projects and non-traditional ventures (Gmail much?), but the expectations leveled on Glass are… perhaps a bit much. Suffice it to say, Google absolutely nails search and software and web apps, but thus far big-G’s hardware projects have but limped.
But if we’ve got the cash, that probably won’t stop us! The soft tyranny of the tech elite is the ability to ring a shiny bell and then watch the doggies line up to pay. Luckily, actually useless products, products produced with too much hype, products produced with too much variety, products out of touch with the people who ultimately finance their creation – no matter how awesome they seem at first blush – they will fail. Hard. (Note: Sony, if you’re here, please reread the last sentence!).
Until AR & VR technologies can out-convenience a smartphone, shrink into a contact lens, dispense with voice controls and the confusing non-verbal communication of fiddling with a touchscreen on your temple, i.e., until such devices can move beyond relatively impractical novelty, it’s unlikely they’ll amount to much more than narrowly focused research and demonstration platforms.
This is to say, along with inventing Google Glass, the search giant might also want to invent something for us to like, you know, do with it. Or maybe that’s not fair – so to be fair, one can concede that no new technology is perfect at 1.0, and any awesome innovation has to start somewhere…
Maybe it could start in 1995. Ask Nintendo about that.
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Reno J. Tibke is the founder and operator of Anthrobotic.com and a contributor at the non-profit Robohub.org.
Props to io9 and Meta’s Kickstarter and Meta (but come on guys, tame that website – autoplay is really annoying). PopSci article/image; Watch the augmented reality-themed “Sight” and “H+” by clicking on those words.
Google Glass made the world at large aware of the existence and potential of augmented reality headsets and heads-up displays. Surely we’ll see more and more similar devices appear. In fact, one such device could launch before Glass. It’s called the Recon Jet, a nerdy accessory for jocks.
Recon Instruments, the company behind the Recon Jet, clearly designed the headset to augment sports and other outdoor-related activities. It has Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and all the other sensors and connectivity technology that Glass has. But instead of projecting its monitor through a prism, the Recon Jet’s display is directly situated at the front of the device. This makes it more visible than the resulting transparent display on the Glass. Recon Instruments placed the Recon Jet’s display below the user’s right eye because according to the company’s research it was the least obtrusive location.
Here’s Mashable’s interview with a spokesman from Recon Instruments:
Without knowing the final specs of both devices, it’s hard to say if the Glass can also do everything that the Recon Jet can. It’s also equally important that Recon Instruments get the support of app developers. One thing’s clear: there’s never been a better time to make prescription contact lenses. Except for the time when there weren’t any prescription contacts.
[Recon Instruments via Mashable via Reddit]
Earlier this morning, we posted about the Meta 1 augmented reality headset — a rather unique pair of glasses that lets you play around with virtual 3D objects in the real world. Being right on schedule, the project has officially hit Kickstarter, with the goal of raising 100 grand in just 30 short days.
Right off the bat you can tell that Meta 1 is a bit different than Google Glass, but that’s also because Meta 1 serves a particularly different function than what Google Glass offers. While Glass merely consists of a small display that shows you alerts and other information, Meta 1 shows you virtual 3D objects that are mixed in with the real world in front of you.
The device itself is still in the development stages, hence the fact that the Kickstarter campaign is for a dev kit of the Meta 1. And as such, the pair of glasses aren’t quite as compact as Google Glass. The Meta 1 features rather squared-off frames that look uncomfortable, with a 3D webcam mounted on the top. Granted, it’s only meant for developers, so the final version should be much more catered towards consumers.
Essentially, the goal for the Meta 1 is to create HUDs similar to those seen in Iron Man and Minority Report, but once more developers join in and begin to make apps for the headset, the possibilities will most likely be endless. The video above gives some decent examples of what’s possible the Meta 1.
The hardware specs of the Meta 1 are quite impressive at this point. You get a 960×540 resolution with each eye that comes with a 23-degree field of view for each eye as well. The webcam that sits on top includes two cameras (one for each eye), and the glasses have HDMI and USB input. And despite looking a bit cumbersome to wear, they only weigh a little over 10 ounces.
The company plans to have these development kits shipped out starting in September of this year. As for price, the full development kit will cost $750, which is a bit steep compared to other headsets, like the Oculus Rift, but the Meta 1 does seem a bit more complex. Granted, it’s still half the price you’d pay for Google Glass Explorer Edition, so if you’re bank account is only allowing so much cash to be spent, the Meta 1 is the cheaper grab.
Meta 1 augmented reality headset fully detailed on Kickstarter is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
It’s turning into a week of wearable computing, with Epson-partnered start-up Meta readying preorders for its true augmented reality headset. First revealed back in January, Meta offers a fully digitally-mediated view of the world – allowing for graphics, video, and text to be superimposed on real people and objects – rather than the Google Glass approach of floating a subdisplay in the corner of your eye. Sales for developers will kick off at 9am Pacific (noon Eastern) on Friday, May 17.
The current developer device, the Meta 1, is admittedly somewhat less aesthetically-pleasing than Google’s Explorer Edition of Glass. Epson has brought its Moverio BT-100 to the party, a headset which projects information onto both lenses rather than just one eye. It also has integrated WiFi, runs Android, and lasts for an estimated six hours on a full charge (it’s worth noting that the battery and processing is housed in an external box, which connects to the headset via a cable).
Onto that, Meta bolts a low-latency 3D camera which is used to track hand movements. Resolution down to individual fingertips is supported, and so complex gestures – like a “thumbs up” movement to “Like” a post on Facebook – can be recognized.
Meta concept video:
Just as per Google’s intentions with the Explorer Edition, Meta is hoping to leverage developer interest in preparation for a far more aesthetically-pleasing consumer version of its headset. That could eventually look like a regular pair of sunglasses, with the twin-camera array neatly slotted into the bridge. Whether that sort of design could also accommodate sufficient battery capacity for any meaningful period of use remains to be seen, however.
Meta is also yet to confirm how much the Meta 1 dev-kit will cost. The unmodified Moverio headset has a list price of $700 (though its street price is down to just $400), though of course that doesn’t take into account the added camera hardware, plus Meta’s external processing box and SDK. The first fifty dev orders will get a $200 discount, however, Meta revealed to pre-interest signups in an email this morning.
Google left its Glass discussion out of the opening I/O keynote, saving it for day two developer sessions where it showed off warranty-voiding Ubuntu installs and native app support with the Mirror API. However, it isn’t the only wearable we’ve been playing with this week. Recon Instruments brought along its Recon Jet headset, a sports-centric take on the concept, which is expected to begin shipping later in 2013.
Meta 1 true augmented-reality headset dev-kit presales inked in for today is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Are you a stellar mobile app innovator who needs a good excuse to show off your work? Any sort of mobile app can be thrown into the running, as long as it’s excellent!
We’ve already seen a handful of concept videos – some legit, some humorous – about the real world use cases of Google Glass. Digital creative agency Playground Inc. illustrates more practical applications of the much hyped augmented reality headset in its own concept video. They also have good news and bad news.
Like any other computer, the functionality of Google Glass is as dependent on its software as it is on its silly-looking hardware. The video below focuses entirely on apps, from simple ones like a map and a barcode scanner to fancier ones like an emergency service hotline and a guitar tutor.
What you saw are just mockups, but the good news is that according to Playground Inc., each and every single one of those apps could be made today. Put another way: what you just saw wasn’t a vision of the future. It’s a window to a parallel present.
The bad news? Playground Inc. says that there are two things that make it virtually impossible to implement these apps – the Glass’ battery and its API. I’d add a third: try filling a street, a room or even just an elevator with people using Google Glass. See how that works out. Seriously though I highly recommend you read Playground Inc.’s blog for more on the agency’s thoughts on Glass.
[via Say OMG]
If there’s one thing people keep asking from Google Glass and other augmented reality headsets, it’s facial-recognition to bypass those “who am I talking to again?” moments. The first implementation of something along those lines for Google’s wearable has been revealed, MedRef for Glass, a hospital management app by NeatoCode Techniques which can attach patient photos to individual health records and then later recognize them based on face-matching.
Cooked up at a medical hackathon, the app is still in its early stages, though it does show how a wearable computer like Glass could be integrated into a doctor or nurse’s workflow. MedRef allows the wearer to make verbal notes and then recall them, as well as add photos of the patient and other documents to their records, all without using your hands.
However, it’s the facial-recognition which is arguably the most interesting part of the app. All the processing is done in the cloud, with the current demo using the Betaface API: first, Glass is loaded up with photos of the patient, and then a new photo is compared to the “facial ID” those source shots produce with the matching tech giving a percentage likelihood of it being the same person.
MedRef for Glass video demo:
There are still some rough edges to be worked on, admittedly. In the demo above, for instance, even with just two individuals known to Glass, the face-recognition system can only give a 55-percent probability that it has matched a person. Any commercial implementation would also need to be able to see past bruising or surgery scars, which could be commonplace in a hospital, and evolving over the course of a patient’s stay.
Currently, the MedRef app data is limited to a single Glass. Far more useful, though, would be the planned group access, which would allow, say, multiple surgery staff or a group of doctors to more readily find notes for patients they might not have previously seen. Meanwhile, the form-factor of Glass would leave both hands free, something we’ve seen other wearables companies attempt, such as the HC1 running Paramedic Pro.
Nonetheless it’s an ambitious concept, and one which could come on in leaps and bounds as cloud-processing of face-matching gets more capable. “In the future,” NeatoCode suggests, “on more powerful hardware and APIs, facial recognition could even be written to run all the time.” That could mean an end to awkward moments at conferences and parties where someone remembers your name but you can’t recall theirs.
There’s more detail at the MedRef project page, and the code has been released as an open-source project on GitHub.
SOURCE: SelfScreens
MedRef for Glass adds face-recognition to Google’s wearable is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
The Eidos masks are really, really cool.
New toys like Google Glass are neat, but augmented reality (AR) has been around forever. Going back to WWII-era active gun sights, forward to the heads-up displays of modern aircraft & automobiles, to smartphone apps that overlay directions, traffic conditions, restaurant reviews, or, through facial recognition, the name of an acquaintance or colleague; throughout the basic concept and implementation of AR has remained fundamentally unchanged.
The same could be said for virtual reality (VR), with one caveat: for practical purposes, it doesn’t really like, you know, exist. In 1992, when Lawnmower Man came out and hundreds of computer scientists died in tragic eye-rolling incidents, VR and enthusiasm for it pretty much crawled into the sci-fi/fantasy corner where it’s spent most of the last 20 years. VR is an endlessly fascinating concept, and it’s endlessly unavailable (though the Oculus Rift shows promise).
The novel and intriguing Eidos project, consisting of a pair of prototype sensory enhancement masks developed by students at the Royal College of Art in London, has very simply but cleverly shoehorned together both AR & VR into an indirect, yet direct augmentation of analog perception.
Basically, the system is digitally processing analog reality and then feeding it back to the user’s organic sight & sound receivers in real time – which is neither discretely AR nor VR, but kinda simultaneously both.
Potential applications abound, so have a watch below, and the admittedly convoluted explanation above should make sense:
Via Mashable – Eidos Home
Akihabara News Contributor Reno J. Tibke is the founder and operator of Anthrobotic.com.
We already have devices that augment two our sight and hearing. But a group of Innovation Design Engineering students at the Royal College of Art built a couple of devices that provide a new level of augmentation. One is a headset that applies special effects to what you’re seeing in real time, while the other one is a mask that works like noise canceling headphones. No Typhoon explosives though.
Tim Bouckley, Millie Clive-Smith, Mi Eun Kim and Yuta Sugawara call their project Eidos. The idea is not just to help us focus on sights or sounds that we consider important, but also to provide totally new ways of seeing and hearing.
The headset for example can apply a long-exposure effect on moving objects – a bit like seeing in four dimensions. The mask on the other hand not only blocks out all sound except for the one you want to hear, it broadcasts the sound through your inner ear. The students claim that this makes it seem like the sound is being sent directly inside your head – a bit like being a schizophrenic.
Obviously the devices in their current state are silly and impractical – the cool use cases shown in the video are all hypothetical and conceptual. Still, wouldn’t be amazing if future sunglasses and hearing aids had these capabilities? I mean I didn’t ask for these, but when they arrive I can see old man Bert buying Eidoses. Eidii. Eidoes. Edeese. Eidosia.
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