What can augmented reality actually accomplish in terms of real-world engineering problems? One example is the ability to overlay a digital video conference unit into one’s viewpoint,which means hands-on training can occur from a remote connection.
We’ve seen Microsoft try to position a real-world use case for HoloLens with the Thyssen Krupp elevator story, which was a valid example of overlaying video conferencing for elevator mechanics so that they could be helped remotely while keeping their hands free.
Likewise, any team that could benefit from a hands-free equivalent to a smartphone is probably considering augmented reality to one degree or another. A startup named AMA Xpert Eye did the same thing with Osterhaut Smart Glasses for field mechanics of the MBTA rail line last year.
Vuzix is a company that specializes in video eyewear. It was founded in 1997, and has been winning CES innovation awards every year since 2005. The predecessors to the M300 Glasses are the M100 Smart Glasses, which were launched in 2013 and cost USD 1000.
Vuforia was launched two years prior in 2011, and has rapidly become a very popular platform for programming in augmented reality. Vuforia was acquired by PTC in 2015, and with 350,000 partners and developers, is arguably one of the most popular development environments for augmented reality.
The Vuzix M300 Smart Glasses have a monocular display, use an Intel Atom CPU for processing and Vuforia developers can use Unity and Android Studio to create apps for supply chain workers, medical professionals, and maybe retail workers. There are also 40,000 existing apps that could be made ready for Vuzix M300 Smart Glasses users. The cost is USD 500 for pre-order, and the total price is USD 1500.
When Vuforia’s official support for Vuzix M300 kicks in for developers later this year, we should see some practical applications for augmented reality including customizable training applications that could be used for a variety of similar purposes, albeit with a little tweaking.
What kind of digital information would you overlay if you were creating a headset?A good place to start would be to ask yourself one question: What problem do you currently use your smartphone for that requires both hands?