We are living in a world of smart technology where living smart or smart living has merely become a daily routine. The augmented usage of smart technology has resulted in many innovations that are now a part of our day-to-day life, of which the smartphones are the most widely used. One would definitely have it vibrating in his pockets which gives a global access to the world from his palm. Smart watches, smart televisions, smart homes, etc., to name a few are what comes under this smart technology, however, this doesn’t end here. What could be more fascinating in today’s world than wearing a pair of smart glasses? Sounds interesting, isn’t it! Yes, the chip giant Intel has recently announced the launch of augmented reality (AR) glasses this year which will be made available soon by the end of 2018, for all the smart technology lovers.
The spectacles, according to reports, will use a laser-based projector that will reportedly reflect contextual information of the lens and into the user’s retina to display the information in the user’s field of view. The device will also support Bluetooth connection through which users will be able to pair their glasses with their phones. These smart glasses will be developed in collaboration with Taiwanese manufacturer Quanta Computer. The wearables that are currently being called ‘Superlite’ by Intel employees, is anticipated to be sold under the name ‘Vault’.
However, this is not the first time that Intel has come up with this project. It has previously experimented the augmented reality, and acquired the company Recon, a manufacturer of sport and enterprise-focused smart glasses, in June 2015. Recon which primarily produced AR glasses designed for enterprise, industrial and sporting occasions, after bought by the chipmaker, made Recon smart eyewear. Much like the Google Glass was this eyewear built for sports and athletes as safety goggles that offered a hands-free display with helpful information like speed or workout data layered into the edge of your field of vision.
When virtual reality has gone mainstream, the tech giant has worked with industrial AR headset company, Daqri, and unveiled “Project Alloy", a device that creates merged reality. Merged reality is something that goes beyond virtual reality, in which it digitizes the real world and allows people to experience the virtual world without coming into conflict with the real world. Project Alloy is a headset that uses the RealSense technology enabling people to use their hands to interact with elements of the virtual world. But unfortunately, Intel had to shut down Recon and discontinue Project Alloy last year.
About five years after the unveiling of Google Glass, it’s now the time for the pair of smart glasses with augmented reality display to enter the market again. With the idea of commercial smart eyewear gaining importance and many companies investing in one, Intel has all its users excited about the consumer-friendly AR glasses. According to reports, the Intel’s augmented reality division is valued at $350 million. By 2025, the market for augmented reality hardware is expected to grow to nearly $110 billion with software accounting for another $72 billion.
Augmented reality has been changing the way users see the world. It may be recalled that after the launch of Pokémon Go game, there was an increased demand for Augmented Reality entertainment worldwide. The augmented-reality displays eventually look much like a normal pair of glasses where the 3D moving images appear in front of the viewer and a pair of virtual reality headsets will produce an audio that will coincide with whatever you see. This is an amazing technology that turns concepts into reality and puts a digital layer over the real world and is expected to gain momentum in the near future.
Rochester, New York-based Vuzix, a small company though has unveiled its Blade glasses at this year’s CES and is expected to launch the consumer version in a few months. Amazon, on the other hand, is also working on their Alexa-powered glasses.