Hasta La Gadget!

Early Google Glass owners are dominated by developers and tinkerers, so it’s only fair that they get easy access to the downloads they need. Appropriately, Google has quietly set up a page that centralizes both Glass images and kernel source code. The company has even saved owners from having to hack their eyewear the hard way — one image comes pre-rooted for those willing to toss caution (and their warranties) to the wind. Most of us can’t take advantage of these downloads for about a year or more, but those with early access can swing by the new code hub today.

Filed under: Wearables, Google

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Via: Android Police

Source: Google Developers

The US military’s dabbled with full-on robotic suits in the past, but it’s now looking at a less convoluted, more energy-efficient approach. A project called Warrior Web from DARPA aims to enhance soldier carrying capacity and minimize injuries by distributing loads better, providing better joint support and “reapply(ing) energy to enhance motion.” Such a suit would be equipped with sensors to detect forces, and be able to fit beneath existing uniforms while consuming only 100W of juice. The US Army has nearly completed five months of prototype testing using a multi-camera motion capture system (see the video after the break) to develop critical tech. The next step will be to design and fabricate a suit ready for real-world testing, which should happen in the fall — assuming the program keeps its footing.

Filed under: Wearables, Science

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Source: DARPA

Countless wearers of Google Glass stalked the halls of this year’s Google I/O developer conference, but only a lucky few were sporting the prescription model, which makes room for lenses in a more conventional glasses frame. Among those lucky early adopters with imperfect vision was Thad Starner, a Georgia Tech professor who, in 2010, was recruited to join a top-secret project at Google’s fabled X Lab. That project, as it turned out, was Glass, and Starner’s role on the team as a technical lead would be a vital one.

Starner invented the term “augmented reality” in 1990 and, after experimenting with wearable technologies for 20 years now, offered us a rare perspective on where the stuff has been and where it’s headed. So, then, we were very glad to get a few moments to chat with the man at I/O and get his insight into how we got to be where we are and, indeed, get some suggestions from him on where we’re going from here.

Filed under: Wearables, Google

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We haven’t heard about Mirasol for a while now, but Qualcomm’s reflective display tech showed up in a few proof-of-concepts on the SID Display Week floor. We got a look at a previously announced 1.5-inch panel embedded on the top of an “always-on” smartphone and on the face of a smartwatch. Though a rep took care to emphasize that these were just mockups, he said the screen will soon show up in some third-party devices.

More interesting, though, was the company’s next-gen display: a 5.1-inch panel sporting a stunning 2,560 x 1,440 (577 ppi) resolution. Viewed up close, it delivers crisp images, but the reflective display kicks back a silvery tint and colors don’t pop as they do on other handsets. But while the sky-high pixel count may not tell the whole story, the screen offers one huge plus: a 6x power advantage over LCD and OLED displays. In practical terms, that means devices could go days without charging. Don’t expect to see this guy in your next smartphone, though: by “next-gen,” Qualcomm means this tech has a few more years in the R&D phase before it’ll be ready to hit a licensee’s production line. For now, make do with our hands-on video after the break.

Filed under: Cellphones, Displays, Wearables, Mobile

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When Valve‘s first hardware hire, Jeri Ellsworth, tweeted back in February that she was fired from the company, we were disappointed but also intrigued by what she meant by “time for new exciting projects.” Well we finally saw what she’s been up to here at at Maker Faire 2013. It’s called Cast AR, and it’s a pair of 3D augmented-reality glasses that she and former Valve programmer Rick Johnson were working on at Valve before they left.

The model we saw is still in the early prototype stages, but the concepts are already in place. Perched atop a pair of active shutter glasses are a couple of miniature LCD projectors, which bounce images from a connected computer onto a special reflective surface at a 120Hz refresh rate. A camera module sits on the eyewear’s bridge and monitors an array of infrared LEDs embedded in the reflective surface. This allows for quick and accurate head tracking. Join us after the break for our impressions and our video interview with Jeri Ellsworth.

Filed under: Gaming, Wearables

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