Items tagged with AR
Although companies like Microsoft and Google have targeted the augmented reality glasses market with the HoloLens/HoloLens 2 and Google Glass respectively, a company called nReal has announced AR glasses aimed directly at the consumer market. The aforementioned glasses from Microsoft and Google comes with high price tags that make them more suitable for enterprise applications, but nReal's lower price point could be a big advantage. The company says that the nReal Light Consumer Kit will ship in limited quantities later this year for $499, while mass availability isn't scheduled to happen until 2020. The device connects via a USB-C cable directly to compatible "XR optimized" devices and is powered...
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While virtual and augmented (VR and AR) reality hasn't taken off in the consumer space in a big way, its hardware and technologies are still being driven, but mostly with a focus on enterprise use as of late. Microsoft unveiled its HoloLens 2 augmented reality headset at MWC 2019 in February. The software giant was clear that the device wasn't aiming at the consumer market; rather it was more for enterprise customers. Later, word surfaced that Microsoft had won a contract with the U.S. military that would see the Army get a version of the HoloLens 2 for use on the battlefield, something that a small group of vocal Microsoft employees complained about, leaving Microsoft's CEO defending the contract....
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Google is no stranger to the augmented reality (AR) field, having helped introduce many people to the concept with its original Google Glass wearable. Although Google found some success in the enterprise market with Google Glass, it wasn’t exactly a ringing commercial success and those that dared to wear the eyewear in public were labeled “creepy” or “glassholes.” However, a new patent has surfaced which suggests that Google may working on a next-generation AR device that is similar in concept to its predecessor. The patent was actually published yesterday, and describes a “head-worn augmented reality display.” Attached to the frame...
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Hardware and game makers thought years ago that the next big thing for gamers was virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) gaming. That has failed to happen, but adoption in the business sector is coming along much faster. Microsoft unveiled its Hololens 2 at MWC 2019 and aimed it at enterprise users. The software giant signed a big contract with the U.S. military to provide Hololens headsets for training in a deal that is worth $479 million, something some employees were against. Despite a recent patent application from Microsoft that showed an AR app for smartphones, a company executive has now admitted we are years away from consumer adoption of the tech. Microsoft's director of communications,...
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Is Apple working on an augmented reality (AR) device? Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recently reported that consumers should expect AR glasses from Apple sometime next year. The device will supposedly be marketed as an iPhone accessory. Apple’s AR glasses will serve primarily as an iPhone display while the actual computing, internet connectivity, and location services will be provided by the iPhone. Although users will need to carry their iPhone around with them to use the AR glasses, the glasses themselves will supposedly be smaller, more lightweight, and more comfortable to wear. It is also likely that the AR glasses will pair with other devices like the Apple Watch. Kuo believes that the...
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Microsoft unveiled the HoloLens 2 augmented reality headset at MWC 2019, and as cool as the hardware is, it is aimed at the commercial market and carries the price tag to go with it. Consumers aren't the market Microsoft's fancy new headset targets, but a new patent filing shows how the software giant plans to bring virtual and mixed reality to the consumer masses via an AR smartphone app. Credit: Microsoft via USPTO A patent application has surfaced that outlines part of what Microsoft plans to do for consumers with mixed reality technology on smartphones. The patent document states that in a virtual reality experience, virtual imagery is displayed in the field-of-view of the user, to provide...
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The 2019 Mobile World Congress kicks off tomorrow in Barcelona, Spain but several companies have already introduced a wide variety of products. Many consumers are eagerly awaiting the announcement of mobile devices like foldable or 5G smartphones. However, after several months of heavy-handed hints, we have finally seen what Microsoft plans to do with their offering in mixed reality technology. The Redmond company just unveiled their HoloLens 2 at its press event today. The HoloLens 2 builds upon the original HoloLens, a mixed reality headset that was released by Microsoft in 2016. According to Julia White, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Azure, the HoloLens assisted...
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At last year's Google I/O conference, there was much talk about augmented reality (AR) enhancements that would be coming to the huge popular Google Maps navigation app. We haven't heard much else since the feature was first talked up, but Google is now letting a select few testers see how AR navigation works in the real world. In this case, The Wall Street Journal was given early access to a test build, which uses a combination of your phone's current location (pinpointed via GPS) and your smartphone's camera to get a "live view" of the environment around you. The upper two-thirds of the display within the app shows you the live feed from your camera; then overlays for street names,...
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Anyone who was ever tired to buy prescription eyeglasses or sunglasses online knows that it's hard to find something that looks good on your face without having the frames in your hands. A new app from Warby Parker is using augmented reality to solve the dilemma of trying on glasses without actually having the frames there to put on your dome. AR certainly hasn't taken off like Apple or Snap hoped with its Spectacles, but this virtual try-on feature in the updated Warby Parker app is very cool. The app uses AR to overlay glasses in whatever frame style you choose on your face. Warby Parker has offered a successful in-home try on feature where they send up to five frames to your home for you to...
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Intel has announced the latest its long line of RealSense Tracking Cameras, the T265. The chipmaker is touting the T265 as a new class of standalone inside-out tracking devices that can give developers the tools they need to build autonomous devices with high-performance guidance and navigation. Intel's T265 tracking camera uses proprietary visual simultaneous localization, and mapping (V-SLAM) tech that Intel says is key for applications that need a "highly accurate and low-latency tracking solution," and it notes its tech is ideal for robotics, drones, augmented reality, and virtual reality. The T265 is powered by an Intel Movidius Myriad 2 vision processing unit (VPU) that handles all the...
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The holiday season may be behind us now, but we wanted to keep you all in the holiday spirit just a little longer. As you've likely heard, we hooked-up with our friends at Lenovo for another HOT Holiday Giveaway that ended in December, just before we headed out for CES 2019. For this giveaway, we had not one but three awesome prizes up for grabs -- two Lenovo Smart Displays with Google Assistant – one 10” model and one 8” – along with a Lenovo Star Wars Jedi Challenges AR Kit with Kylo Ren Lightsaber; cool tech, great gear, good times. In any event, we've finally scoured through all of the entries and have picked the lucky winners! So,...
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The holidays are almost here, and we want to do our part to get you all worked up and in the holiday spirit. We thought there’s no better way to do that than to give away some HOT new tech gear brought you by Lenovo! Up for grabs in our latest HOT Holiday giveaway are two Lenovo Smart Displays with Google Assistant – one 10” model and one 8” – along with the Lenovo Star Wars Jedi Challenges AR Kit With Kylo Ren Lightsaber! 1st Prize: Lenovo 10” Smart Display 2nd Prize: Lenovo 8” Smart Display 3rd Prize: Lenovo Star Wars Jedi Challenges AR Kit With Kylo Ren Lightsaber To be entered to win one of these awesome prizes, please hit the widget below and...
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Snap Inc. wants its wearable cameras to be a big deal, and it keeps refining the design to make them more appealing to consumers. So far, the existing Snap Spectacles haven't exactly taken off with respect to sales. Two new Spectacles unveiled in September were essentially the same as the brightly colored and strange looking original Spectacles from 2016 in sleeker frames. Snap Inc.'s Original Spectacles Snap Inc. is reportedly set to launch another Spectacles style by the end of 2018 with new tech crammed inside. Reports claim that the new Spectacles are known internally as Newport, and will feature an all-new design that has a premium frame made of aluminum. So far, all versions of Spectacles...
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Palmer Luckey is the founder of the company that created the Oculus Rift VR headset, so he is a bit biased when it comes to VR hardware. On his blog, Luckey penned a new post titled "Magic Leap is a Tragic Heap," and he goes on to say that he carefully chose the title. Luckey writes that the Magic Leap headset is a "tragedy in the classical sense" and then notes that the device is a flashy hype vehicle that no one can use in any meaningful way. Luckey seems to be most angry because the hype surrounding the Magic Leap headset "monopolized" funding in the AR investment community, yet the headset fails to deliver on "almost any" of the promises it made to raise that funding. There are some...
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