When video glasses first appeared, most people (well, at least Star Trek fans) immediately thought to themselves “Cool, it's like being Geordi La Forge from Star Trek: The Next Generation.” However, that was pretty far from the truth, since those models (and most such products currently available on the market) are still in their infancy from a technological point of view.
Nevertheless, things might actually change quite a lot in the future, as Vuzix, one of the best-known manufacturers of eye-wear for mainstream consumers, has just announced its Augmented Reality Accessory Kit, designed specifically to work with the VR920 Virtual Reality Video Eyewear in order to bring a more or less imaginary world to life.
Hence, this kit is actually formed of two very important components: the CamAR, a clip-on USB camera that mounts onto a pair of Vuzix Video Eyewear, and the PhasAR, a wireless augmented reality input controller designed to be used in unison with the CamAR.
The CamAR allows the user to not only see through to the real world but is also designed to accurately track objects and the user’s position in 3-dimensional space. On the other hand, the PhasAR allows users to interact with virtual, mixed and augmented reality worlds by using a 6-degree of freedom tracking system that lets the computer know exactly where the user is touching in the virtual and real worlds.
As you can imagine, such a kit opens up a very large number of possibilities, related either to gaming but also some more serious endeavors. For example, by using such an augmented reality kit, people would be able to accurately control robots from a great distance, but also watch all sorts of extra content when visiting some important location. The possibilities are infinite, really, and for this reason, Vuzix's new technology might actually bring about a true revolution in the concept of entertainment as we perceive it today.
