Tag: ar technology

Wearable technology contact lens connects augmented reality and mobile health

| February 11, 2016

This tiny wearable allows wearers to benefit from glucose monitoring and AR tech at the same time.

A team of researchers at the University of South Australia have now created the prototype for a piece of wearable technology in the form of a contact lens that sounds more like science fiction than actual reality.

At the same time that smart glasses haven’t seen the hoped-for adoption, this eyewear offers a unique experience.

The contact lenses have been created to be a wearable technology that is electrically conductive and that could potentially host tiny displays. The tech would make it possible for a wearer to receive health feedback, such as blood sugar levels, and would be able to take advantage of certain augmented reality displays that would be shown as an overlay on top of the actual visible environment around them.

This type of wearable technology has been the pursuit of a few different teams around the world.

Contact lens wearable technologyThat said, the University of South Australia researchers from the Future Industries Institute (FFI) have been making some astounding advancements in the area of ultra-thin film tech sensors and displays. Previously, the same team of researchers have managed to come up with a type of thin reflective film coating that would improve the efficiency of vehicles. This same material could be used for the creation of smart windows on a building, so the amount of sunlight entering a room could be controlled.

That said, the most recent focus of the team has changed directions to a more medical pursuit. According to Drew Evans, an FII associate professor from the research team, “We have always known that our film coating technologies had potential for many applications and now we have taken that a step further by proving that we can make biocompatible, conducting polymers at the nanoscale and grow them directly on a contact lens.”

The wearable technology prototype was designed by using a layer of hydrated hydrogel substrates on the lens, which made it possible for a PEDOT polymer to be added to the lens surface. That polymer was engineered to be highly conductive at the same time that it is bio-compatible. Moreover, the team treated the hydrogel with plasma ahead of the application in order to ensure improved adhesion.

Augmented reality creates thrilling new experience out of climbing walls

| February 3, 2016

As though rock climbing weren’t exciting enough, AR is now being used to turn it into a kind of video game.

Indoor climbing company, Brooklyn Boulders, has now launched a new type of augmented reality experience that allows its customers to turn their regular bouldering challenges into an entirely new competitive video game experience.

The sport of indoor rock climbing has been spiking in popularity and businesses are working to stand out.

As climbing gyms start to appear all across the United States, it is reaching the point that these companies are starting to need to work to allow themselves to stand out from the competition. In this effort, Brooklyn Boulders – located in New York City – has become the first in this industry to implement an augmented reality technology based game on their bouldering wall. The hope is that by adding a lit up, competitive game experience similar to video gaming, it will help to make this sport even more appealing and will draw people specifically into their location.

The augmented reality climbing game experience was first created by John Cheng and is called Time Trial.

Augmented Reality - Indoor Rock ClimbingTime Trial is a form of digital AR climbing game from the Randori startup. The game works by projecting numbered circles next to the hand hold positions on the various climbing walls. When a climber touches those circles, he or she gains points. The purpose of the game is to be able to collect all the available points throughout the length of a climb. Moreover, the climber must complete the bouldering challenge within the shortest time possible.

In order to run the Time Trial system, the equipment needed includes a laptop to run the program, a camera sensor, and projectors. Cheng, a former student of computer science, is a Brooklyn Boulders member and originally demoed his AR game, last year. Since it was first showcased, Time Trial has gone through additional evolution as it can now display the scores and times of the climber on the wall next to the number targets.

Cheng is now working to implement the augmented reality climbing experience at locations outside of Brooklyn Boulders and is currently looking into opportunities in Queensbridge and Chicago.