Augmented reality Expo AR a from being the outbreak Oculus Rift

When it comes to augmented reality (Augmented Reality), what do you think? Virtual fitting room? 3D interactive ads?

Held in Santa Clara, Silicon Valley Expo 2014 augmented reality (Augmented World Expo), these applications of augmented reality is difficult to find traces of the once popular, instead, combined with smart glasses or car applications.

Although the exhibition attracted a large number of exhibitors and visitors, but appeared at the site of application equipment and most vertically-oriented industry, the killer application for the consumer market yet.

Augmented reality show turned into a smart optical fair?

If you do not know in advance the exhibition theme, enter the virtual reality Expo Hall, you would expect yourself to be an intelligent optical fair: more than more than 30 exhibitors, nearly half were showing products associated with the smart glasses.

Hardware vendors, in addition to outside the dry Epson BT-200, several start-up companies displayed their smart glasses products. Most of them only available product prototypes, appearance close to the Google Glass, based on the Android system, priced at US $ 900-4000.

Since the Android system itself supports a number of enhanced applications, these glasses in the built-in camera can be achieved with the help of a few functions, such as identifying specific patterns, and 3D effects superimposed on an activity on which to achieve some interesting shows, and even games. Interaction issues for smart glasses, these teams also develop the corresponding feature, for example finger as mouse control glasses, or directly with gesture control glasses.

Around the smart glasses development of augmented reality platform software developers there are also. They can provide the same gesture recognition, gesture and AR functions such as special effects for specific patterns, and SDK for developers, developing rich applications based on these technologies and raw materials; is different from the hardware developers, software developers can include augmented reality Google on a variety of smart glasses, Glass.

In addition to the smart glasses, and other head-mounted device can be seen, for example, Oculus Rift.

Leap Motion-sensing controller developer to own equipment combined with the Oculus Rift, to stick it in the latter case. From practical experience, the combination can lead to good results on: Oculus Rift, put his hand to the glass front will appear in the virtual reality world of a virtual hand, but it's every move and his hand exactly.

Leap software engineer Raffi Bedikian Motion says and Sixense sense of virtual reality is different, Leap when Motion with Oculus Rift not only can use gesture control applications, can also be displayed in the view, "which is really VR and AR". Hello Kitty cases

Head-mounted devices to augmented reality has brought an unprecedented display of channel, and many other types of AR application developers in the past two years steering the smart glasses or Oculus Rift. A software developer, said his company has been established for three years, but it was not until last year, found a clear direction – developing AR applications for Google Glass; in his view, not only promotes the smart glasses AR, "it drives everything." Hello Kitty iPhone 5S case

Augmented reality version of "car manual"

Other typical applications of augmented reality and car-related. In short, developers wishing to do it yourself in augmented reality way vehicles, modified vehicles, provide real-time graphical information.

In the United States, do not have a car, you can hardly move. But as United States higher labor costs, repair and modification needs that are common, many people chose to do it yourself to save money. But car repaired or modified car is not an easy thing: on the one hand, and with the increase in style and function, cars become more and more complex on the other, a lot of people are buying a "n breaker", the original manuals were nowhere to be found.

Car AR application can solve the problem. Put phone or flat of camera alignment car of engine, it can told you will in corresponding location internal of structure, and provides disassembly, and replaced parts of guide; alignment body of specific parts and select you need of accessories, it can show modified Hou of effect; alignment car within of audio or other digital component, it is will in corresponding location displayed its products information and internal structure, told you the how repair. The AR version of the tutorial, you no longer need pain to read the instructions, you can pick up their tools to quickly deal with the small problems in the car, or into, the way you want it.

Scene you can see two real cars, one from Bosch and Audi; the first augmented reality application developed by themselves, the latter by its partners, developed by Metaio company. But two products are only for a single brand of cars, is not extended to other car; Metaio a principal of the company said, it is because of this type of application requires a lot of car-related data can only be provided by vehicle manufacturers.

AR domain "Oculus Rift" when it appeared?

Head-mounted devices and cars will provide new development opportunities for augmented reality, but industry has become a hot spot for virtual reality, augmented reality seems to still look tepid.

On augmented reality World Expo, both AR applications based on smart glasses are AR applications associated with the car, or no real scenario, just a Demo show; or its scenario to vertical industries, were unable to penetrate the consumer market. For a new technology, industry can make a number of manufacturers have in abundance, but produced $ 1 billion level for the company, but also depends on its outbreak in the consumer market.

Virtual reality is a good reference. A few years ago, the technology had also been limited in vertical industries, the pace of development even augmented reality. Oculus Rift appears to attract a large number of game developers, and the cool effects of this technology to the game attracted many players, which makes the consumer market to recognize the value of virtual reality, creating a virtuous circle, eventually Facebook acquisitions Oculus VR has produced a thoroughly in this area.

When it comes to games, many game developers in the field of augmented reality. For example to develop smart ball famous Orbotix Sphero, they developed more augmented reality games, Sphero can on a tablet takes on a variety of different effects, and interact with reality. Before the Maker Faire and the augmented reality World Expo, Orbotix are on display on their games, but most of them are children, in the view of many adult visitors, they also lacked the appeal of the game.

Meta recently watched augmented reality glasses SpaceGlasses can play virtual reality "Oculus Rift" roles, augmented reality into the consumer market? Judging from the present situation, it is very difficult.

It also provides SDK, and attracted a lot of AR developers, is expected to build an ecosystem around augmented reality technology, but from a performance on Kickstarter, Meta SpaceGlasses raised just us $ 194,000, far worse than those in the Oculus Rift 2.437 million dollars, its visibility is still relatively limited. The other hand, Oculus Rift than to promote virtual reality games, Meta SpaceGlasses no AR brought breakthroughs in the field, the scenario is still limited to the vertical.

However, from the strong level of the development of industry and developers, augmented reality seems to have reached the critical point of the outbreak; once the new equipment could bring killer application on the consumer market, is expected to become the next virtual reality augmented reality.