GDC Thursday
Another great exhibit from this year’s GDC was the Vuzix booth. Vuzix is a company based out of Rochester, NY, which is putting its efforts into developing a personal video display device for consumers, as well as low profile, head-mounted virtual reality displays. They have a number of applications that their headwear can boast, and at GDC2009, as you might expect, they had on display some of their ventures into the gaming world.
Visitors to the booth could try on a pair of glasses with a heads-up display inside, and through the use of video, created an augmented reality in which gamers could interact with the real world supplemented with computer-generated graphics. The Vuzix glasses use live video imagery, digitally processed and then enhanced with various objects, targets, and avatars, symbols, and controls.
There’s a lot of augmented reality being used in various applications right now, and it’s an exciting time for the consumer as these products become more available.
While augmented reality might still be a mystery for some of our readers, a little web research can help define what exactly AR is. Ever watch a football game on television and see the yellow first down line placed over the image? Commentators drawing on the screen with yellow pens, mapping out what just happened in the play before or what might happen during the next? This is a simple application of AR – the combination of graphics and the commentators’ interaction and insight with actual footage of the players. A lot of networks are actually placing digital advertisements (sponsor logos) onscreen, so they appear a seamless part of the stadium or venue. Or watch an NHL hockey game and you’ll see the puck outlined in yellow, making it easier for the viewer to follow the action.
Again, this is AR at a simple level, but consumers can expect more interactive devices like Vuzix’s head-mounted application in the future. AR products are being developed for drivers and airplane pilots, offering heads up operational information like navigational instructions and fuel levels. AR can be used by scientists too: geologists looking for a certain type of rock formation in the field, or architects and engineers, displaying their work to colleagues or clients with a heads up digital overlay of a planned building or project. There are plenty of applications the can and will feature AR – it’s a promising field.
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