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Interesting blog post, but the conclusion seems hilariously optimistic to me: >Eventually we’ll get to SF-quality hard AR, but it’ll take a while. I’d be surpr

by 0xffff2 11y ago

Interesting blog post, but the conclusion seems hilariously optimistic to me: >Eventually we’ll get to SF-quality hard AR, but it’ll take a while. I’d be surprised if it was sooner than five years, and it could easily be more than ten before it makes it into consumer products. The post is already nearly 4 years old, and we've seen effectively no movement on the state of soft AR since it was written. I wonder if Michael still thinks we're going to see even very early prototype hard AR in the next 6 years. As one of the commenters on the blog post mentions, AR in general is a whole order of magnitude beyond the next useful step. I don't need AR, just give me a wearable interface to my phone so that I don't have to pull it out of my pocket to interact with it. A simple heads up display has far fewer challenges to deal with than any AR system and would still be a huge leap forward in technology.

nostrademons 11y ago
"I don't need AR, just give me a wearable interface to my phone so that I don't have to pull it out of my pocket to interact with it." Isn't that the idea behind smartwatches and Google Cardboard?
- 0xffff2 11y ago
  Smartwatches, sure. I have one and it's definitely an improvement over my phone alone when it comes to email and messaging. Still, I think there's potential for a Glass like device to be even more convenient. I'm not too familiar with Cardboard, but I don't see how it's related.
  - nostrademons 11y ago
    Google Cardboard is a piece of cardboard (& software app) that you fold up into wearable - if quite dorky - glasses that hold your cell phone about 2 inches in front of your eyes. It's not exactly stylish, but it works - you do get a real VR experience - and it's completely free. It does augmented reality as well, using the cell phone's camera. One of my Googler friends showed me a cool demo where if you stared at a QR code in a magazine, you'd see elves and magicians battling it out on top of the pages, like a storybook come to life. https://www.google.com/get/cardboard/ https://www.google.com/get/cardboard/ One of my wife's friends is doing a startup where you can print out the "gun" for a first-person shooter as well, so you get an immersive VR experience using nothing but your cell-phone and a couple pieces of cardboard: http://www.realiteer.com/#intro http://www.realiteer.com/#intro
    - tomjakubowski 11y ago
      I got to spend a day on the show floor at SIGGRAPH this year and AR/VR was the big trend. Most of the VR demos felt empty and lacked soul, but the Realiteer GermBuster VR demo was a blast! Definitely the highlight of the VR demos. I guess it demonstrates that (relatively) low-tech doesn't keep a game from being fun :-)

by 0xffff2 11y ago

nostrademons 11y ago

"I don't need AR, just give me a wearable interface to my phone so that I don't have to pull it out of my pocket to interact with it." Isn't that the idea behind smartwatches and Google Cardboard?

0xffff2 11y ago
Smartwatches, sure. I have one and it's definitely an improvement over my phone alone when it comes to email and messaging. Still, I think there's potential for a Glass like device to be even more convenient. I'm not too familiar with Cardboard, but I don't see how it's related.
- nostrademons 11y ago
  Google Cardboard is a piece of cardboard (& software app) that you fold up into wearable - if quite dorky - glasses that hold your cell phone about 2 inches in front of your eyes. It's not exactly stylish, but it works - you do get a real VR experience - and it's completely free. It does augmented reality as well, using the cell phone's camera. One of my Googler friends showed me a cool demo where if you stared at a QR code in a magazine, you'd see elves and magicians battling it out on top of the pages, like a storybook come to life. https://www.google.com/get/cardboard/ https://www.google.com/get/cardboard/ One of my wife's friends is doing a startup where you can print out the "gun" for a first-person shooter as well, so you get an immersive VR experience using nothing but your cell-phone and a couple pieces of cardboard: http://www.realiteer.com/#intro http://www.realiteer.com/#intro
  - tomjakubowski 11y ago
    I got to spend a day on the show floor at SIGGRAPH this year and AR/VR was the big trend. Most of the VR demos felt empty and lacked soul, but the Realiteer GermBuster VR demo was a blast! Definitely the highlight of the VR demos. I guess it demonstrates that (relatively) low-tech doesn't keep a game from being fun :-)