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I think the issue is less about whether it’s a good idea or not, but rather that AR interfaces essentially HAVE to be translucent (unless you’re doing video pas

I think the issue is less about whether it’s a good idea or not, but rather that AR interfaces essentially HAVE to be translucent (unless you’re doing video passthrough) — so might as well figure out how to get it right.

layer8 1y ago
In AR the user needs to be able to tell which objects are real (R) and which are virtual/injected (A), but the latter type doesn’t need to be indicated by transparency. Consider the scenario where, instead of conventional HUD-type AR, we could conjure up the A elements as physical objects into thin air by magic. There is no particular reason why those would have to be translucent. Sure, depending on the situation it can be useful to control their opacity in order to be able to see what’s behind them, but otherwise there is no more reason than for real physical objects.
- two_handfuls 1y ago
  Parent was talking about current screen technology ("real AR" vs "passthrough AR").
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
Dylan16807 1y ago
It's not particularly hard to dynamically darken part of a pair of glasses.
- ozten 1y ago
  This is impossible in current glasses form factors. The display is additive. If you are starting at a display which displays a video feed (VR/MR form factor), you are correct.
  - Dylan16807 1y ago
    It is not impossible in the current glasses form factor. You add a film onto the glasses that darkens specific areas on demand.
- didgeoridoo 1y ago
  It appears extremely hard. From what I can tell, localized opacity has only been commercialized once, by Magic Leap, at insane expense and questionable quality. What information do you have that this is “not particularly hard”?
  - Dylan16807 1y ago
    The insane expense and questionable quality in magic leap was the projection system, not the darkening. As for what information I have, I could link you some press releases from FlexEnable, but how about I simply point out that you can slap a commodity grayscale LCD on the outside of any pair of glasses, whether or not they have an AR projector. There are multiple brands of sunglasses and AR glasses that can already do global tinting with the press of a button, you just need to split that up. The hardest part is getting the alignment right, but you already did the hard alignment work if you build AR glasses. Also making things as light as possible is hard but glasses that are a bit heavy are still valid solutions.

layer8 1y ago

In AR the user needs to be able to tell which objects are real (R) and which are virtual/injected (A), but the latter type doesn’t need to be indicated by transparency. Consider the scenario where, instead of conventional HUD-type AR, we could conjure up the A elements as physical objects into thin air by magic. There is no particular reason why those would have to be translucent. Sure, depending on the situation it can be useful to control their opacity in order to be able to see what’s behind them, but otherwise there is no more reason than for real physical objects.

two_handfuls 1y ago
Parent was talking about current screen technology ("real AR" vs "passthrough AR").

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]

Dylan16807 1y ago

It's not particularly hard to dynamically darken part of a pair of glasses.

ozten 1y ago
This is impossible in current glasses form factors. The display is additive. If you are starting at a display which displays a video feed (VR/MR form factor), you are correct.
- Dylan16807 1y ago
  It is not impossible in the current glasses form factor. You add a film onto the glasses that darkens specific areas on demand.
didgeoridoo 1y ago
It appears extremely hard. From what I can tell, localized opacity has only been commercialized once, by Magic Leap, at insane expense and questionable quality. What information do you have that this is “not particularly hard”?
- Dylan16807 1y ago
  The insane expense and questionable quality in magic leap was the projection system, not the darkening. As for what information I have, I could link you some press releases from FlexEnable, but how about I simply point out that you can slap a commodity grayscale LCD on the outside of any pair of glasses, whether or not they have an AR projector. There are multiple brands of sunglasses and AR glasses that can already do global tinting with the press of a button, you just need to split that up. The hardest part is getting the alignment right, but you already did the hard alignment work if you build AR glasses. Also making things as light as possible is hard but glasses that are a bit heavy are still valid solutions.