Category: Augmented Reality

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Augmented Reality Connected Objects Displays Kids/Babies

Egger augmented reality projector is prep school for Pokemon Go

editors-choiceThe prevalence of smartphones and tablets is something that needs to be carefully managed around children lest they become too attached. It’s been proven that too much screen time can have an adverse on young, developing minds, something that prompted the team behind Egger to do something about it.

Their solution is a friendly, egg-shaped augmented reality projector designed with children in mind. The Egger can be used as an educational aid as much as it can be used as an entertainment device, with both subject to inputs from children and adults alike using the packed remoter control reminiscent of a Wiimote. It can play movies, TV shows, and music, with a sketchpad to really let the imagination loose, as well.

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Augmented Reality

Telepathy Walker eyewear lets you follow walking directions, possibly dreams

Navigation on smartphones provides enormous convenience to consumers. But the navigation on those devices -– just like on standalone GPS devices — tends to be designed specifically for driving rather than getting somewhere on foot. The screens on those devices can also be very hard to see while walking when it’s sunny out.

patent-claimedTelepathy Walker is small, Google Glass-like eyewear that’s been specifically designed to provide walking directions. It features a bright screen with patented display technology that enables it to be seen even in bright sunlight. It’s also been designed, unlike other smartglasses, so that the user can see both the screen and the world around them clearly at the same time.

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Augmented Reality Wearables

You’d go mad thinking MAD Glass was Google’s

When Google Glass was first announced, it was an extremely cool idea. As time passed, though, the ethical concerns with the platforms use and the general societal discomfort associated with someone having a digital device plastered to their face during all aspects of the day soon became too much to overcome, leaving the idea to wither away to relative obscurity.

With its Mad Glass, Dragon Creative is reviving the idea of a glasses-styled interface to which a user can offload smartphone features. The company’s goal mirrors Google’s in that they’d like the use of augmented reality to keep important notifications and application in front of users so they can stay present in the world rather than keeping their eyes down to a screen. And in theory, offering features like video recording, GPS navigation, web browsing and even real-time translation should do the trick.

If history is any indication, though, it will most likely meet a similar fate as Google’s version of Glass. It’s certainly useful and will continue to be so with a proprietary app store so that users , but the general image of this interface has been set in the public consciousness — and it’s not a positive one. Still, those who truly believe in the idea of Glass can grab these for $652 with an expected ship date of September 2015. Mad Glass is looking for $72,500 by January 26th, 2015.

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Augmented Reality Displays Music

ORA-X raises the Glass bar for a twist on augmented reality

Augmented reality is one of the hottest emerging technologies right now. But it remains to be seen if the category will attract mass consumer appeal because AR devices tend to be bulky headsets that are specifically designed to exploit the technology.

patent-claimedORA-X, on the other hand, are over-the-ear audio headphones equipped with a Google Glass-like retractable, see-through projection display. Virtual video content is overlaid on the display, but doesn’t block out the outside world like AR devices such as the Oculus Rift or SEER.

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Augmented Reality Connected Objects

ARBot can appear as a tank or race car, makes augmented reality a ball

From ANKI Drive to quadricopters, humans love guiding robots around for enjoyment, especially from their smartphones and tablets. The shapes and features of these machines, however, are often defined by their physical form, which can curtail the imagination factor in paying with them.ARBot

That limitation may be greatly reduced by the likes of ARBot. A spherical robot with a groove in its center that follows the trail of Sphero, ARBot can be controlled by a tablet. However, a companion app allows the ARBot to appear as a race car, tank, or just about anything else. Different kinds of games can take advantage of its different appearances inside the app. Up to 60 ARBots can engage in a battle royale. The battery lasts between 1.5 and 3 hours.

ARBot seeks to raise $30,000 by June 19th. A standard ARBot costs $119 and should be available by January 16th. A special carbon edition si also available for 10 times that amount.

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Aquatics Augmented Reality Connected Objects

Scubus S offers augmented reality under the sea

Scuba divers are lucky; they get to explore parts of the world that most people never get to even see. Unfortunately, they’re limited to using complicated gestures to communicate with each other. The Scuba S is upping the underwater technology game as an augmented reality scuba mask.

The Scuba S is special in that almost anyone but children can wear it, giving it lots of versatility. When worn, the onboard dual core CPU along with the 1GB of RAM work together to provide users with a HUD water temperature, depth and access to a group chat with pre-programmed messages that travel with acoustic waves. The HUD is maneuverable with a small, wrist-worn remote, and can also control a LED flashlight and an HD camera capable of 1080p video. Anti-fog glass is the cherry on top and prevents the Scuba S from being unusable. The early bird price for the product is $499, shooting up to $699 after the end of the $200,000 campaign. Backers can expect their own Scuba S in June of 2015.

The Scuba S offers a lot of functionality in a familiar package, but it’s worrisome to see tech creeping underwater alongside us. Is the vast splendor of the ocean not enough to maintain a diver’s attention span? Won’t there be more missed if we’re busying toggling group chats and cameras?

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Augmented Reality Input

Nimble Sense brings virtual reality the input devices you were born with

Virtual reality technology is on the brink of reaching the average consumer after decades of failed vision and false promises. While head tracking and immersive headsets are great, the next level of immersion comes from a sense of touch rather than just using a keyboard and mouse.

The Nimble Sense is a hand-tracking camera created by Nimble VR, a company with years of experience working in the biggest tech companies and a history of focusing on hand-tracking technology. With this, their first proprietary camera, they are offering a gesture control and navigation system not just for gamers looking to lose themselves in a fantasy world, but also something that can have a wide variety of applications across a number of real-world situations.

Like the Kinect camera that Microsoft bundles with its Xbox consoles, the Nimble Sense creates a 3-D point cloud to track motion, depth, and gestures. With 110 degrees of vision and the ability to be mounted in any number of devices, the thin but powerful Nimble Sense is great for adding intuitive functionality to any piece of compatible technology. The 70 centimeter range also allows for any length of arms and less restrictive motion. Nimble VR needs $62,500 to complete design, testing, tooling, and production of the Sense. Supporters can reach out and grab one for only $99, with an expected release of June 2015.

By focusing exclusively on the hands, the Nimble Sense should offer a greater sense of accuracy and precision than many other motion cameras available, and will be a great companion for any Oculus Rift buyers. At this point, however, the technology is largely for novelty purposes, and it’s hard to think of existing practical applications for this product. Creators and VR enthusiasts will love it, others may want to let the technology continue to develop.