Hasta La Gadget!

When Google first announced that they were about to work on Project Glass, you could hear jaws drop. After all, this is deemed to be a natural progression in the area of personal consumer electronics – and who does not want to look cool anyways? Seeing how Project Glass was demonstrated at the recently concluded Google I/O Conference in San Francisco, you could say that this is a niche product, and those who can afford it will most probably fork out the money. To be able to record what I see as well as snap photos without having to pull a digital camera from my pocket is definitely something new, and this novelty also extends the fact that it does not end up in the way of my vision.

Other companies are said to have bitten onto the Project Glass bug, and most recently, we have heard whispers on the grapevine that even Apple is looking into some sort of Glass alternative. Well, today, we have Olympus and their Olympus Meg 4.0 wearable display prototype which is meant to see action in everyday life. Sounds familiar? Let us take a closer look at the nitty gritty right after the jump.

For starters, the Olympus Meg 4.0 wearable display prototype will come with Bluetooth connectivity so that it can “talk” to similarly equipped smartphones, in addition to another obvious benefit, which would be wireless connectivity and easy controls. Apart from that, the Bluetooth chipset within does not really add to the overall bulk, allowing Olympus to achieve a compact, lightweight, low power consumption device that can be used for a long time.

The Olympus Meg 4.0 wearable display prototype also follows in the footsteps of Project Glass, as this particular prototype does not get in the way of your normal sight, so it does not obstruct your everyday view. Not only that, you can also increase the utilization efficiency of light of the display panel in order to achieve a higher level of brightness without sipping too much power. Other hardware capabilities include a built-in acceleration sensor and gyroscope that will, in the long run, I suspect enable you to do far more than just snap photos and record videos. No idea on when a consumer class version is ready, but we do hope sooner rather than later at a sweet price point!

Press Release

[ Olympus Meg 4.0 wearable display prototype copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Watch out, Google. Here comes Olympus with the MEG4.0 and don’t dismiss this as a Google Glass knockoff. Olympus has been researching and developing wearable displays for more than 20 years. The MEG4.0 concept, and with that, its eventual production counterpart, has been a long time coming and could be a serious competitor in the space.

Olympus made it clear in today’s announcement that the 30g MEG4.0 is both a prototype and a working name. The stem-like system sits on one side of the glasses and connects to a tablet or phone through Bluetooth. A 320 x 240 virtual screen floats above the wearer’s eye line. The MEG4.0 is designed for all-day use and should last eight hours on a charge, although Olympus states the glasses are designed for bursts of use, 15-seconds at a time.

Google isn’t the only player in the augmented reality game. In fact several companies have toyed with the concept for the last few years including Olympus. The company introduced a working set of AR glasses back in 2008. Called the Mobile Eye-Trek (shown above) the glasses were designed to be worn on a daily basis, feeding information like email to the wearer on a screen placed 50cm in front of the eyes, making it appear as a 3.8-inch screen.

While the Mobile Eye-Track never hit the retail market, Olympus indicated at the time that the prototype would lead to a production version by 2012.

However, much like Google, Olympus is not revealing the user interface yet. If the MEG4.0 is to be a success, the interface, and more importantly, the depth of the information available needs to be as mature as Google Glass. Price and availability was not announced.

Back when we were younger, it was probably every geek’s fantasy to have glasses that worked like computers. With the advent of today’s technology it looks like that fantasy is turning into a reality. Google recently demonstrated its Project Glass that went up for pre-order last month, and now Olympus wants in on the market as well. However, it won’t be coming up with its own frames like its competitors. Called the MEG4.0, it is a wearable display that can be fitted on most glasses – this means you’ll be able to keep your favorite pair of glasses and have a high-tech display. For folks who like changing their glasses every half year or so, this sounds like good news.

The MEG4.0 has a QVGA resolution (320 x 240), 10 cd/m2 – 2,000 cd/m2 brightness, an accelerometer, and a Bluetooth connection which is used to connect to your smartphone. With a battery life of 8 hours and a weight of 30g, the MEG4.0 should be able to fit into your daily life with ease. In its current stage, the device looks a bit odd but we’re pretty sure Olympus will get around to refining its design before it is released.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Olympus Creates World’s Thinnest Videoscope capable of HDR [Video], Olympus unveils M.Zuiko 75mm f/1.8 Micro Four Thirds lens,

While Google may have grabbed headlines for its recent wearable tech stunt, Olympus is doggedly forging ahead with its own similar prototypes, seven years on. Unlike Project Glass, the MEG4.0 isn’t a standalone structure and needs a glasses frame to hang on, although the sub-30g unit shouldn’t tax it too much. The QVGA (320 x 240) display can connect to devices through Bluetooth 2.1, with Olympus pointing to a smartphone hook-up to provide both the processing power and internet connectivity — which sounds different to what we’re expecting from Google’s effort. The current prototype can squeeze out eight hours of intermittent use, or two hours of non-stop projection. While the device is being pitched at everyday users, Olympus isn’t offering any suggestions of launch dates or pricing, but you can check on what the company is willing to share in the (Google-translated) press release below.

Continue reading Olympus announces MEG4.0 wearable display prototype, skips the skydive

Olympus announces MEG4.0 wearable display prototype, skips the skydive originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Jul 2012 08:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Olympus have been working on wearable displays since the past year and have shown several prototypes already, however, the company today announce yet a new concept/prototype with the MEG4.0 a tiny wearable display that can be fitted on most glasses.
The MEG4.0 comes with QVGA resolution (320×240) with a 10cd/m2 – 2,000 cd/m2 brightness, an accelerometer and Bluetooth connection to be used with a smartphone with GPS. The MEG4.0 weight around 30g and has up to 8h of battery life in …