A German company turns regular glasses into an eye-motion-controlled PDA screen
Posted 06.03.2009 at 10:55 am
21 Comments
Do they come in turtle shell?
courtesy of Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
If your mother yelled at you about ruining your eyes by sitting too close to the TV, she is going to go nuts if you come home wearing a pair of these. The German research society Fraunhofer has developed a pair of glasses with lenses that project a heads up display right onto the user's retina.
The glasses contain OLEDs controlled by a chip in the frame's hinge that give the appearance of an image about three feet in front of the user. The prototype only allowed for static images, but the next generation will incorporate eye tracking technology that will allow the user to manipulate the image simply by looking at different spots on the screen.
Fraunhofer says that the glasses will benefit doctors, engineers and other specialists that need to manipulate data while their hands are otherwise occupied. Of course, once this technology becomes affordable, these classes could be used for everything from simply checking email on the go to more advanced reality augmentation for, say, displaying the menu for a restaurant when you stand looking at its storefront on the block or overlays on the street to help with directions. I can already envision a future where everyone is constantly bumping into each other because they are too busy Tweeting with their glasses to watch where they're walking.
[Fraunhofer, via PhysOrg]
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Reminds me of star wars.
Very cool !! Technology marches forward.
I think the display glasses would serve as a better display option for the Sixth Sense gesture interface mentioned in the Invention Rewards. For one thing, there would probably be fewer difficulties with sunlight overpowering the projection abilities. Also, spectacles keep information more discreet than a portable projector would.
Makes me think of the scouter from dbz.
from lavaca, ar
exactly, the scouter for DBZ!!!
I want one just for that, a working replica, VEGETA WHAT IS HIS POWER LEVEL!!!!
from Leechburg, PA
IT'S OVER NIIINE THOUSAAAAAAND!
antic:
I totally agree. I thought the same thing when I saw the article. And as they progress towards the things like direction overlays on streets, I'm sure they'll find a way to incorporate a camera on the front to sense what you're seeing beyond the "screen" which would eliminate the need for the barcode scanner, ect.
I've honestly been hoping for this technology to emerge somewhere for as long as I can remember. It would have so many practical uses! Not just for doctors or engineers, but think of collision avoidance for drivers, or a convenient hud for airline pilots!
-Chase
Also, for those who don't know about Sixth Sense (not the movie) look here
www.pranavmistry.com/projects/sixthsense/
-Chase
I think this is cool, but is it practical, can the viewer be able to read the small print if it is that close to the eye?
I don't think you read the article very carefully Undertech. The image is projected directly onto the retina. You would not be reading text from the surface of the glasses.
Like most new technologies or improvements in the technology, just the fact that it is viable will allow many others to come up with uses for it, usually where not readily apparent.
Too Cool!
Love this tech tool but can see it also as a tool used to limit free thinking and creativity. Sorry but that's my thoughts.
Wait till the pron industry gets a hold of this one...
Would this be able to create real 3D pictures and movies if both retinas were projected onto? Given the fact the quality of the display is projected in high definition? Hollywood would have a ball!
this could be a hazard possibly.
you could be texting with ur eyes instead of watching the road while driving.
Wow, look very cool, but can it harm our eyes?
http://tinyarticle.com/Category/88/0/Healthy-Living.html
wow! that's so cool! I have seen a website before, there is a similar description.http://www.firmoo.com/
I am sorry, I put website and the error, it should be this http://www.firmoo.com/
This is insane. An effetive, lightweight, and durable transparent virtual overlay interface could be used to make video gaming console-less, and even hybridize scenario warfare with console gaming. You could see Live Action Role Playing Games become the wave of the future, you could overlay virtual enemies and effects onto every player's HUD. You could become an active participant in a hollywood movie if you wanted. You would see all new levels of advertising taking up the blank spaces in the world. It would eventually be impossible to escape the virtual world, and unnecessary since the real world would exist side by side with the virtual. I'm investing in this, if they can make it work it would be revolutionary...that is if someone else doesn't effectively steal the technology or one up it.
I could see mechanics and electricians using these for their job. I'd be able to stay at the plan instead of leaving, searching through 28 pages of schematics, going back to the plane, and then back to schematics just to find where one wire leads in and comes out.