For some time I thought the convergence of modern computer vision (including server-side machine learning based object discrimination) and mobile cameras had the potential to create tech indistinguishable from magic. And with Pokemon Go there was a glimpse at the possible consumer demand for the right combination of user interface and compelling content or use case.
But now consider something like "Medical Mixed Reality" following an exponential law of growth into the coming decades. Imagine travelling virtually inside the human body to excise the moribund sections of a liver in vivo with the help of a robotic laser operating on a patient on another continent.
Multiply the potential across verticals. And across platforms like Microsoft HoloLens, Google Tango, MagicLeap and you begin to see how the future will be "mixed"!
Augmented Reality's A-ha Moment:
http://www.madewitharkit.com/post/163454867118/augmented-rea...
With 3D hand tracking and gesture recognition.[1] When the new Clay SDK releases (RSN?)[2], I expect a new wave of ARKit demos.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fa9wgHkIucs&start=43 [2] http://claytheworld.com/news/
Do people really want to run around wearing glasses/headsets all the time?
If you'd ask me, this idea could just as well end the same way as 3D TV.
Absolutely! If I could wear some regular looking glasses that could identify objects, give me directions, etc, I would totally wear them.
I'm really good with faces, in that I can see someone after a long time and know that I know them, but I'm really bad with names, so I can never remember their name. If I could have glasses that looked in my contacts or Facebook or whatever and told me the name of the person I'm looking at, that would help me be less awkward at social gatherings.
But yeah, that's why it would have to be real subtle.
And how do you think the people you are "talking" to feel when you're constantly occupied with your AR glasses? :)
glass was more of a novelty camera you wore on your face. it was extremely unfashionable, and quickly became associated with “people trying to record you” and invasion of privacy in general.
i think if apple releases some kind of headset, it will look more like regular eyewear. it will also unquestionably be for augmented reality. society probably won’t conflate it with someone trying to snap candid shots like glass.
Because at the end of the Summer hundreds of millions of users will upgrade to an OS that has the ARKit API built in and developers will have a standard solution that works well. That's with the hardware out now, enhanced AR friendly sensors will probably start shipping on the new iPhone and then in subsequent model years it's anyone's guess.
I don't think I've seen the killer app yet, but if it's awesome, wearing glasses won't be too much of a problem once they become slim and light.
I don't want to carry a big flat phone in my pocket, but its worth it.
I think ARKit has potential, Pokemon Go is still big and Snapchat glasses has generated hype among people that don't identify the glasses with AR.
Imagine the Metaverse exists, fully fledged, and there are two products which can access it:
1) A headset that you strap on your head, and you're "inside"
2) A picture frame that you can hold up and look through, and the Metaverse appears on the other side. You can reach behind the frame with your other hand, and it's then inside, and can touch stuff inside
Which will be more popular?
Now, I know a lot of VR enthusiasts are going say #1, but I suspect a lot of people will prefer #2. It has several benefits:
- No nausea
- If freaky shit starts happening, you can just look away or put the device down
- You can keep talking with real world people
- You can look back and forth between the Metaverse and the real world without taking your headset off or performing any kind of switch
- You can still make eye contact with people in the real world
- A bajillion people already have an iPhone
- There's nothing really to learn, the Metaverse is just a new app on your phone, not a whole new interaction paradigm
The downsides are two:
- Less immersive
- One of your hands is taken up
I can see the uses for both devices, but I predict the picture frame gets at least 50% of Metaverse interactions over the next decade, maybe more.
From what I understand, I believe other commenters in this thread refer to AR as a combination of 'real' reality and computer generated overlays. This is opposed to VR where all of reality is generated. So when we talk about AR headsets we're talking about things akin to Google Glass or Microsoft Hololens if you're familiar with these products. In that sense you are never 'inside' AR (with a headset or phone), it simply augments what you currently experience with extra data. With a true AR headset it is still possible to interact with people in the real world, you can turn on/off the extra data easily (since you are still immersed in the real world) and the computer generated overlays fit in with your real surroundings in a way that is simple and intuitive. Granted such a headset does not yet exist, but I believe that is the end goal.
What you describe as 'stepping inside the Metaverse' with no possibility of interacting with the real world is exactly what VR is all about (full immersion). (As an aside, the Metaverse as described in Snow Crash is exactly this: a Virtual Reality.)
As for the headset vs phone debate, personally I believe that the applications of AR in a non-headset configuration will be limited. There are definitely applications for one-off utilities which don't require constant use (ie. don't require gorilla arm), but having it available at all times and transparently via some sort of headset is where I believe it will really be useful.
Another version would be something like the "darknet" in the book Daemon/Freedom by Daniel Suarez https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom%E2%84%A2
I haven't heard anything about them for a few years now.
Visual-inertial SLAM has been working for a few years on mobile phones: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7bjsIqlbS0 So there should be plenty of third-party libraries you can use.
They solve the chicken and egg problem, having phones with the needed hardware before the apps/demand even exists.
World lens has been around since 2010
Layar since 2009
https://techcrunch.com/2009/08/17/layar-proves-the-augmented...
Yelp Monocal in 2009
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZyOZBqI8FM
ARKit is still the same hold your phone up to do AR. Why is it different now ?
Because it doesn't require hardware and it's incredibly accurate...
Not to mention execution: my experience with Layar is that it was pretty shit for the most part. Wordlens was cool, but it's not like I can just build an app that uses Wordlens' tech, and even if I could, it would be, well, Word Lens. Not AR in the broader sense.
Everything I've seen from ARKit seems much more solid and much more practically useful than the 'floaty overlay that roughly stays in place' glorified tech demos I mostly see.
Camera's on all smartphones is the most used app why not make even more useful and fun to use?
Also, wearing any AR or VR headset is a horrible experience. AR needs to be created where it's seen and enjoyed without a headset! It just needs to blend in with daily life sans the need to wear a headset.
Apple has solved few real world AR problems, which were usually hard for an average app developer to get started with. But with ARKit, apple, is "trying" to do the heavy lifting in terms of plane and object recognition etc.
Another thing is the platform of distribution. People will use AR apps, which will hit the app store after September like crazy. And these same people, will be primary audience for Apple headset.
It's like, before releasing headset, Apple is proving people that you really need a headset to overcome the pain of "continuously" moving your phone in the space.
Also, other OS and vendors will follow the trend and release AR compatible phones/hardware early. The only potential pitfall, I see is, battery usage. If it's properly optimised, I think a large AR wave on smartphones is about to hit.
Just my 2 cents!