The director of Intel Laboratories in the US explains why products like Google Glasses are not yet ready for the general market
Why are wearable computers getting so much attention lately?
Sensor technologies, communication and computing have for the first time reached a stage where the potential of wearable computers for the general public has become real. This is the new thing. Basically, nowadays you can take everything that is inside a smartphone and install it in a pair of glasses, although they will be a bit heavy. And so the glasses can become, in theory, an interesting communication platform.
Why do you say "in theory"?
We believe that eye devices are still a big challenge. No one has been able to demonstrate a transparent display that performs well. The side displays on Google Glass and Oakley's Airwave snow goggles are, in a way, an acknowledgment that the transparent display problem has yet to be solved, even though a lot of people are working on it. [For a transparent display with good performance] there will be an optical engine for the right eye and an engine for the left, which will project images into the lenses. The display will be built so that the virtual images remain in front of the eyes, regardless of the direction of the head or gaze. Thus, if you walk in New York, you will see the words "Empire State Building" or "Statue of Liberty" floating above the actual buildings. Everyone wants to reach this ability as soon as possible.
There are a handful of companies, such as Lumus, that have had such technologies for a long time, but they are still in development or have been sold for augmented reality research. In general, the transparent displays so far are too bulky and not bright enough to enter the market.
Why can't these transparent augmented reality glasses be made to look more like eyeglasses or sunglasses?
A very high level of optical engineering is required to do this properly. [But] those who work on such technologies are mostly small start-up companies with low budgets, or people who are only interested in optics and not in the actual construction of a complete [smart glasses] product.
Are there any wearables that deliver the goods?
One of our favorite systems is Looxcie, a small clip-on video camera. The idea of a constant recording of life is quite interesting. What you really want, though, is good facial recognition so that when you go to a cocktail party, a little something will whisper in your ear: "Hey, this is Bob Jones, who was your friend in high school." Then you can go up to him and say, "Hey, Bob, how are you? Good to see you." I promise you that you will sell a million units within a week.
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פרופיל
Name
Justin R. Ratner
role
Senior colleague at Intel, director and head of technology at Intel Laboratories
.
Hillsborough, Oregon
The article was published with the permission of Scientific American
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