[ExI] "Augmented Reality" in Mobile Devices

[Eugen Leitl]

On Wed, Oct 28, 2009 at 10:36:54AM +1030, Emlyn wrote:

> It is ridiculous that we don't have HMDs. To be fair, I think the

Absolutely. Especially, since we don't have them anymore.
There used to be commercial products one could buy. No longer.

> problem's been quality; the stuff the wearables people have been cool
> with has been chunky and low res. Also, making input intuitive has

You don't need more than 640x480 to be usable. I would not have
called http://www.cc.gatech.edu/ccg/publications/starner-phd/#918
chunk, in fact, as a mirroshade it's not recognizable as a HUD.

> never been resolved satisfactorily. So it's always been in the realm

See the Twiddler right at above URL. Yes, you can't buy one
either. You cannot also board a civil supersonic flight, or go
to the Moon.

> of something us geeky types would do and appreciate, but would never
> hit the mainstream.

This has nothing to do with geeks. Hands-free navigation, military,
repair technicians, multimedia, VR/AR (another technology gone the
way of the dodo) are all straightforward application profiles.
 
> The iPhone augmented reality is totally wrong, I agree, but it's a
> step along the path of mass adoption. Regular people are just coming
> to terms with carrying a powerful general purpose computer around with
> them; phones have been powerful for a while, but people have never
> really understood them as computers, just as flashy phones, until
> recently.

But why must mass adoption take 15 years? It makes one wonder, doesn't it.
 
> So, you've got to give the great unwashed time to process the idea of
> the powerful general purpose device that they have always on them. The
> hopelessness of the UI of that device (beautiful though it is), will
> become more and more apparent, and solutions to that, like HMDs,
> probably including project natal type technology, should start to

Machine vision on video input is nothing new. Of course having cheap
3d info in realtime is neat, assuming we'll ever get to that.

> emerge in a real way.
> 
> In the meantime, anyone know of any decent, reasonably priced HMDs
> that could be a usable replacement for a desktop monitor? It could be

Nope. It would be trivial to do with today's LCDs or OLEDs, especially
given that you can print OLEDs on curved surfaces and you can do
nonlinear mirror optics, but nope.

> one that blocks out all vision. I've been struggling with shoulder and
> neck issues due to overuse of computers generally, and I suspect it's
> largely due to holding myself stationary for extended (extended...)

Try something like http://www.swopper.com/ (there are cheap clones around,
some using inflatable rubber tires as base). Do not spend more than 1 h
on it initially, slowly upping up the time.

> periods. I know you're supposed to get up and move around and all
> that, great in theory. I'm wondering if an HMD might help, in that
> there's no reason you need be so stationary if the screen is strapped
> to your face.

Another option might be using a video projector, and a reclining chair.

-- 
Eugen* Leitl <a href="http://leitl.org">leitl</a> http://leitl.org
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