AI and robotics firm Rokid has unveiled a prototype of its planned augmented reality product, Rokid Glass, this week at CES. The company, better known for its home assistant products (that bear similarities in looks and functionality to Amazon’s Alexa Dot and Google’s Home Mini), appears to be making its first foray into the augmented reality space. Reportedly, the glasses will operate as a standalone headset, but also provide functionality to connect to smartphones or other devices via Bluetooth or WiFi to bolster processing power and network range. The glasses run a variant of Android 6.0 — suggesting it may eventually leverage Google’s ARCore to
Apple Manufacturer Quanta Partners With Lumus For AR Displays
Quanta Computer Inc. is a manufacturing partner for Apple and many other hardware manufacturers in the PC/smartphone space. They’re one of the most important companies that consumers have never heard of. Recently, they reached out to Lumus, an Israel-based business that designs displays for AR glasses and headsets. If you recall Google’s “Glass” project from a few years back (which included very limited shipments of Google Glasses), Lumus works on similar hardware and has been doing so for quite a while. In 2008, they sold the PD-18, one of the first AR glasses of its kind, and just a few years later they started producing hardware
Let’s go to the Theatre – AR Version
Google Glass managed to make AR and it seemed inaccessible with limited applications and maximum privacy concerns. Now, simple AR apps like Pokemon Go and Snapchat have brought down consumer walls and made us see the fun side of the technology. Now that ARKit has launched on iOS 11 and Apple has effectively created a huge platform for AR on the iPhone overnight we can only see it expanding in terms of depth and breadth. Just to remember, ARKit is an augmented reality framework Apple introduced at WWDC ’17 that is compatible with iOS 11 iPhones and iPads. ARKit lets developers place digital objects in the real world by blending the
Intel Dismisses IoT for Augmented and Virtual Reality
The IoT community recently looked in disbelief as Intel started to dismantle its IoT efforts – the amount of emails we received is quite surprising, as we’re not exactly a logical place to go for IoT information. However, Intel terminated the business division that was developing wearable devices such as fitness trackers, digital clothing, baby monitors, etc. It also EOL-ed (End-of-Life) numerous IoT products with the notable exception of Curie, which is quite popular. There’s a clear reason why, and it can be found in recent ‘resurrection’ of Google Glass in ‘Enterprise Edition’, as well as wanting to react to popular products from Vuzix and ODG (Osterhaut
Magic Leap Could be a Great Strategic Acquisition
Since Magic Leap’s inception in 2011, there has been great innovation in the technology sector focused in the virtual reality (VR)/augmented reality (AR)/mixed reality (MR) space with Magic Leap trying to create a new hardware interface designs. However over the last 6 years, Magic Leap has continually run into issues with its product pipeline causing critics to swarm on the perceived failure of the company. Company culture has been on attack with allegation of misogyny and discrimination towards women. The company is at a crossroads and must pick a new direction to sustain its survival. Magic Leap has pivoted its business model on multiple occasions
Did Seebright Just Launch Google Cardboard for AR?
Augmented Reality, also called Mixed Reality (MR, MxR) is set to represent a very large part of our lives. Even today, if you own a car with a heads-up display (HUD), you are a user of Augmented Reality. Still, the development of AR applications is extremely difficult due to high barrier of entry. Unlike the VR, where you can purchase an Open Source VR Hacker 1.4 headset (OSVR) for just $299.99 – AR headsets can set you back for thousands of dollars. Case in point is Microsoft’s HoloLens, where a development kit will set you back for $3000. Osterhaut Design Group sells their R-7 glasses for $2799.99. Thus,
Dress Coding the 21st Century
Famous New York institution, the Metropolitan museum announced “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology” for its 2016 Gala Theme. Topic of love affair between fashion and technology is now joined at the altar. While the two are usually viewed almost as complete opposites, they have been slowly gravitating towards each other for the past few years. As two of the largest global industries, it was only a matter of time before fashion and technology joined forces. Quite conveniently, sponsors of the exhibition are Apple and Conde Nast. The influence of technology on fashion is evident for quite some time now and has revolutionized almost all aspects of the
Google Translate Translates Almost Everything in 27 Languages
Couple of years ago, the world of mobile apps was shocked with the appearance of World Lens app, which detected words on live cameras. Even though the mobile phones at the time had quite limited camera capabilities, what World Lens showed to us was the future of translation. Naturally, revolutionary apps like that do not just disappear as Google proved by acquiring the app maker, Quest Visual. Given that World Lens for Google Glass was one of most impressive things I’ve personally used on Google’s first attempt at Augmented Reality, as you can see on video below: Now, over a year passed since the acquisition of
Privacy Matters: The Looming Threat Over AR
A society wired to augmented reality poses a true threat to your privacy. But with the proper safeguards, the threat can be mitigated.
Tim Sweeney: Virtual Reality will Literally Change the World
In a recent interview, Tim Sweeney detailed recent developments in Epic Games, as well as his visions of the future.
IDC: The Wearables Market is Expanding
The Strength of the Apple Watch App Store Will Determine Its Success
The strength of the smartwatch’s app library will determine if it’s just hype or a sustainable product.
Is Microsoft HoloLens the Future of Computing?
The way we interact with computers is changing. Is the future Microsoft’s HoloLens? Or is it something else?
Google Glass is No More
Skully Motorcycle Helmet: Extreme Tech Challenge Finalist
More than 1,900 applied, only 10 were chosen. The Extreme Tech Challenge finalists vying to pitch their company to Sir Richard Branson on Necker, his private island, includes Skully, a smart motorcycle helmet. Skully combines the latest in technology in one extreme helmet. To begin with let’s cover the basics. The streamlined helmet is water and dust proof with a comfortable NASA originated Outlast lining that is removable and washable. It comes in black or white and gives you a Darth Vadar appearance. Now, on to the technology. Essentially, the Skully AR-1 eliminates blind spots. The helmet sports a 180 degree rear view camera with
Google to Launch Refreshed Glass in 2015
Taiwan’s Himax Tumbles After Google Opts Against Further Investment
Google Glass supplier reports Google has pulled back from a planned second round of investment.
Intel Teams Up With Fossil For Wearable Technology Products
After failing to secure any major hardware wins with its mobile processors, Intel is shifting focus to the wearable segment by announcing a collaboration with watchmaker Fossil. Although details on any upcoming products were divulged it is likely that Intel will be leveraging wearable technology from Basis, a wearable technology manufacturer that Intel acquired earlier this year. The wearable market itself is in its nascent stages, and although we saw a flurry of new device staunches at the IFA earlier this week, manufacturers are tinkering away at new form factors, like Samsung has with the Gear VR. In the smartwatch segment, the South Korean vendor
Google Glass Gets the Diane von Furstenberg Treatment
Google has been working with Diane von Furstenberg for a very long time and if you remember, last year, during New York Fashion Week they did a lot with her in and around fashion. So, it comes as little surprise that she would work with Google to spice up their currently incredibly ugly Google Glass. Google has already taken some pretty significant steps in terms of making Google Glass more visually appealing, including their partnership with Luxottica. However, Luxottica is mostly a manufacturer of glasses and still works very close with most of the designer brands in order to ensure that their designs are in
Watch: Elders React to Google Glass
Usually, the YouTube channel TheFineBros asks people of differing ages (usually much older or much younger) to react to a certain type of video, but sometimes they ask someone to respond to a physical technology item that they might not understand. In the past, they did a video about how kids reacted to a Sony Walkman cassette player with admittedly hilarious results. In this video, however, they’ve flipped the technology and the audience and tried to see what it was like for older people to react to Google Glass, and unsurprisingly enough they were far more aware of what it was and were far more able