Smart Glasses With Augmented Reality
Smart glasses with augmented reality (AR) overlay 3D images, videos, and holograms over real-world scenes or environments to augment the users’ vision.
These are a great way for consumers and enterprises to connect with the virtual world around them. However, these glasses are still very new to the market and have a long way to go before they become mainstream.
North Focals
If you’re looking for a pair of smart glasses with ar, you might want to take a look at North Focals. Previously known as Thalmic Labs, this Canadian company rebranded in 2018 and redesigned their glasses from the ground up. They now have a much more sleek design that looks like regular glasses, but with a small projector embedded in the frame that projects images at arm’s length directly to your eyes.
Unlike other smart glasses, which rely on the user’s phone to send information to the display, Focals aren’t always active; they just fire up when there’s something you need to see. They can do things like show you text messages, turn-by-turn driving directions, weather data, call an Uber, and more, all in a highly customizable interface that’s designed by North themselves.
In addition to the screen that projects the Focals user interface, there’s a ring on your finger called the “Loop” that has a tiny joystick that lets you navigate the interface without having to touch the glasses directly. These features allow the glasses to work with a variety of different apps, including Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
The glasses use a Qualcomm APQ8009w system-on-a-chip (SoC) that runs on four Arm Cortex A7 CPU cores at a clock speed of up to 1.09GHz. There’s also a Qualcomm Adreno 304 GPU.
Since they’re powered by a SoC, the Focals can run for up to 18 hours before needing a charge. This means you can wear them for a full day of productivity, which is quite impressive considering they’re not a full-fledged smartwatch or a standalone device that needs a smartphone connection to work.
Another great feature of the glasses is their ability to float in space about two feet away from your face, giving you a sense of depth and visibility. This was a big selling point for many of their early customers and has been an important part of the glasses’ success, especially for those who have trouble seeing clearly due to age-related eye issues.
As you can imagine, the Focals aren’t without their drawbacks. For one, you need to know your prescription beforehand, so you’ll have to make a trip to an eye doctor. Then, you’ll have to pick out the frames that are most suited to your facial structure and preferences.
Vuzix Blade
The Blade runs on an ARM Cortex-A53 processor, which allows the glasses to be used for many different applications. smart glasses with ar These include video conferencing, video chat and remote support communications using audio and video, among other things.
The company has partnered with a variety of companies to provide apps for the glasses. One of them is AccuWeather, which will bring AR-based weather experiences to the Blades in the first quarter of 2019. It will also let you see current and future weather conditions as well as forecasts in real-time.
Another app is called Dino Hunt, which projects a pre-Cambrian world with dinosaurs roaming about. Then there’s a bubble level so you can tell whether something is straight or tilted, and a karaoke machine with lyrics on the screen as songs play.
All this is controlled via a touch panel on the right frame. It’s easy to use, with one tap to select and two-finger swipes to return to the main menu.
Unlike the Glass and HoloLens, which are bulky, awkward and uncomfortable to wear all day, the Blade looks more like a pair of ordinary sunglasses than anything else I’ve seen. And the company’s CEO, Paul Travers, says that was the goal from the beginning.
The Blade is a big step forward in the field of augmented reality (AR) technology. But it still has a ways to go before it becomes a consumer-grade product.
For now, Vuzix is focused on providing enterprise-focused applications for its smart glasses with AR. It has a growing ecosystem of partners and apps, and is working with Amazon to integrate its Alexa AI into the device.
It has a lot of work to do before it can become a full-fledged consumer product, but I think that could happen in 2019. The Blade’s design and build quality is pretty impressive, and it’s comfortable to wear all day, too.
The Blade does have one drawback that sets it apart from other AR devices: you can’t watch videos or movies without connecting wired headphones or a dongle. The Blade does have a microSD card port covered by rubber, though, and that can be used to expand the glasses’ internal storage past 5.91 GB.
Vuzix Vigor
Vuzix, which is headquartered in Rochester, NY, makes wearable tech that delivers on the promise of a slick, hands-free mobile experience. The company’s products include personal display and wearable computing devices, which deliver high-quality visuals at a competitive price point.
The company is also a pioneer in augmented reality (AR) technology. AR technology is a computer-generated visual experience that uses data from a device’s sensors and displays to generate a highly realistic, 3D image. It’s used in a variety of applications, including military, healthcare and industrial sectors.
The most impressive Vuzix product is Vuzix Shield, which boasts the aforementioned uLED display as well as the world’s first dual waveguide optical system that produces a high-quality video picture with plenty of detail and a low lag time. The aforementioned waveguide system also features a pair of tiny micro-LED projectors, which produce one of the most powerful and efficient displays available on a smart glasses. The most important feature of the Vuzix Shield is its ability to connect with the LogistiVIEW Connected Worker Platform, allowing users to view, interact and communicate with other LogistiVIEW users from anywhere in the world. The aforementioned waveguide system also includes self-contained batteries, which keep it operational for long periods of time.
Google Glass
Google Glass is a pair of smart glasses that are based on the principle of ubiquitous computing. Developed by Google’s moonshot research division, Google Glass follows smart glasses with ar the philosophy that devices should be always available and connected to the Internet.
Rather than using a flat screen, Google Glass uses a prism-like display that sits over your right eye. Images project onto the reflective surface of the prism and are reflected back into your eyes by the lenses. The screen is semi-transparent, meaning that the image looks a bit like the real world.
The camera lens is located at the outer edge of the frame, and it can take photos at 5 megapixels, as well as video at 720p resolution. The camera is connected to the microprocessor that runs Glass, which interprets voice commands and sends them to the display.
You can use Google Glass to make calls, receive messages and interact with social media feeds without touching your phone. There are also a number of other useful features that can be controlled through voice commands.
There are also settings that allow you to activate the glasses through tilting your head rather than pressing a button on a touchpad. These settings can make Glass more practical and useful for everyday users.
Some of these features include voice translation, a virtual reminder and a voice dictation mode. The system can also show you personal calendar items and upcoming meetings on the screen.
Aside from these features, the glasses are easy to use and convenient to wear. They are lightweight and compact, so you can easily pack them in your pocket or purse.
However, you have to be careful about how you use the glasses. You should not place them in front of your eyes or face directly, especially when you’re driving a vehicle or performing other strenuous activity. The screen can get hot, and the mirror coating on the screen may flake off.
In addition, you should always charge the device fully and leave it in a protected mode after each use. If the device goes to sleep, it will not turn on.