Vuzix is back with an impressive new offering for Augmented Reality fans, the STAR1200 which packs a HD camera, 6-dof head-tracker, control logic, connectivity, and more all into 1 amazing (and pricey) pair of glasses.
A high-speed 1080p high definition camera with a dedicated USB connection enables exceptional performance for marker or object recognition. The camera, seen by the computer as a standard webcam, allows for easy adaptation and application support without proprietary software.
A miniature 6-DOF (Degree of Freedom) head tracker with compass plugs directly into the STAR 1200 display module providing cooked or raw tracker data through the STAR system’s control interface. A VGA Control Box interfaces with Windows based netbook, laptop or desktop computers or lithium ion rechargeable Wrap PowerPak+ connects to the iPhone/iPad family of mobile devices, enabling tracker support.
They aren’t cheap, running $5000 with a $2000 commitment up front, but they look like they’re state of the art in Augmented Reality headwear.
Although, one has to ask how long AR Glasses will remain relevant with the booming smartphone AR market.
Why do people from Vuzix always show their new glasses without the cables in the pictures? Why don’t you show the things like they actually are? …with a very short and heavy pair of thick cables hanging off them?
I have to say that this technology is incredible (i work developing AR applications and I use them everyday), but people have to now the truth… What they don’t show you and nobody says is that wearing these glasses for 2 minutes is like your worst teenage hangover…
People see that picture and think it would be like wearing a pair of sunglasses, but that’s far away from reality… even the augmented one!
About the accelerometers, compass, gyroscopies… You have incredible aproximations, but to be true, not the thing “outsiders” would expect.
So you spend a month of everyday work developing an application and the result is a dissapointed customer.
That’s the problem when you try to sell a your product saying it’s way better than it really is.
Never mind… these glasses are impressive, but be aware, life it’s not a movie.