Tag: augmented reality eyewear

Project Glass not likely to offer augmented reality at launch

Google’s Project Glass has been receiving limited attention in recent months, largely due to the fact that Google has pumped the brakes on its promotional campaigns concerning the augmented reality glasses. Project Glass remains in a state of early development, but several prototype models have been seen in the real world, outside of Google’s laboratory. There have been rumors circulating that Project Glass will not actually include augmented reality technology, a feature that drew in the majority of attention concerning the high-tech eyewear. These rumors may actually be true.

Head engineer notes that augmented reality is not an immediate goal

Project Glass head engineer Babak Parviz has announced that augmented reality is not an immediate goal for the project. This may come as a shock for consumers that have been looking forward to the high-tech eyewear because Google has been very adamant about the inclusion of augmented reality technology in Project Glass. When the glasses were first unveiled in early 2012, augmented reality was billed as one of the project’s primary features.

Google faces criticism for hyping augmented reality

For several months after the unveiling of Project Glass, Google has been pushing the idea that augmented reality would be one of the cornerstone features of the glasses. According to Parviz, however, augmented reality has been difficult to incorporate into the project. As such, augmented reality may be completely absent from the commercial launch of Project Glass. Instead, the eyewear will come with an application programming interface that will allow developers to create their own applications.

Developers able to create their own applications for Project Glass

The application programming interface will be able to support augmented reality applications and Project Glass itself will certainly be equipped with the hardware necessary for these applications to run smoothly. Future incarnations of Project Glass may include augmented reality of its own, but the technology is not likely to be seen in the first commercial products that are released from Google.

Vuzix may be able to compete with Google’s Project Glass

The hype surrounding augmented reality glasses has diminished somewhat, but that does not mean that these products have disappeared. Google is still hard at work on Project Glass, and may soon be confronted by a promising competitor known as Vuzix. Vuzix is an ambitious and successful technology company that has set its sights on augmented reality eyewear. The company plans to release its M100 Smart Glasses in the coming years, which may have major implications for the way people live their lives.

Vuzix may revive hype surrounding augmented reality glasses

Google first drew attention to the idea of augmented reality eyewear with Project Glass. The technology company billed Project Glass as a new way to stay connected to social networks, find information on products and events through dynamic digital displays, and experience a wide range of digital content. The scope of Project Glass has proven somewhat ambitious for Google, leading the company to pull back its expectations concerning augmented reality. But Vuzix is on course to introduce many of the features that may be absent with Project Glass in the future.

M100 Smart Glasses designed to use applications of its own

The M100 Smart Glasses from Vuzix are designed to be an “intelligent hands-free display for smart phones.” Essentially, the eyewear will act as a display for a smart phone, enhancing a user’s view of the world with a wide variety of digital displays. These displays can be customized to suit the needs of the wearer. The augmented reality eyewear can make use of its own applications in a similar way that smart phones use applications, adding further customization options.

Augmented reality may have a future in mobile commerce

Though the M100 Smart Glasses lack NFC technology, they could establish a strong foothold in the realm of mobile commerce. Augmented reality has already proven popular amongst mobile shoppers, and the glasses from Vuzix may also be able to meet the needs of these consumers in a dynamic way. Time will tell how the new product could be used in mobile commerce, but the possibility for this is certainly there.