BLOOMFIELD HILLS – I had the chance to experience Google Glass, and its hands-free, wireless ability to navigate the web using voice commands, on Feb. 3 at the Augmented Reality MeetUp at the offices of Honigman, Miller.
Local firm EyeWyre and Los Angeles-based Daqri also provided examples of work they are doing. Brian Wassom, attorney at Honigman, and Brad Waid, AR evangelist and educational technology specialist, hosted.
Augmented Reality is rapidly finding a place in the emerging technology ecosystem. An excerpt from Wikipedia defines AR as a live, “copy,” view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented (or supplemented) by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. A view of reality is modified by a computer, enhancing one?s current perception of reality.
Augmentation is conventionally in real-time and in context with environmental elements, such as sports scores on TV during a match. With the help of advanced AR technology (e.g. adding computer vision and object recognition) the information about the surrounding real world of the user becomes interactive and digitally manipulable. Artificial information about the environment and its objects can be overlaid on the real world.
The meeting led off with attendees being given an opportunity to experience Google Glass, and its hands-free, wireless ability to navigate the web using voice commands. Google Glass, which launched in early 2013, has been the first-to-market leader in using elements of AR to overlay user-directed data onto the user’s field of vision, enabling interaction using voice commands, text recognition, and environmental cues to provide a rich, interactive user experience.
Brian Wasson shared a short presentation that showed several other Glass-type technologies. Many were essentially similar in general capabilities, though some offered additional functionality, like full stereoscopic capability, tethering to a Smartphone for added computing power, and variations on display resolution. A myriad of uses are beginning to emerge, from virtual computing using conventional productivity software to enabling head-up displays in ski goggles.
Steven Petersen of Daqri showed attendees several examples of AR applications they are developing, including the use of electroencephalogram signals to create brainwave models that could be used with AR software to create virtual controls to interact with software-based applications. They also demonstrated example of training they are developing for the US military.
Eyewyre’s Brad Pitser, located in Mount Clemens, demonstrated several examples of interactive business cards. Pitser used a QR code printed on a business care to summon a virtual, full-motion image of a UM student violinist searching for a position. Focusing his iPhone on the static QR image, Pitser accessed a file from Cloud, and the violinist emerged on the screen in simulated, full-motion 3-D. A simple interface on the screen enabled the user to explore options for contacting the violinist. Pitser also demonstrated a similar business-based application for a musical group.
To an average person, Augmented Reality appears to have an element of magic about it, combining elements of sci-fi, high-tech, and even fantasy to create a stunning multimedia experience. Finding applications in training, marketing, communications, biotechnology, and other uses, AR will be a truly disruptive technological channel for changing the way we see and interact with the world.
Jeremy recently left Compuware Corp., where he was a marketing technologist and project manager in the Mobile Solutions Group. In the past year, Eckhous has been conducting research and developing strategies to support connected vehicle solutions, mHealth, and M2M solutions. Mr. Eckhous blogs regularly on enterprise mobile management, emerging technologies in the mHealth space, and emerging technologies like Raspberry PI and Ambient Intelligence. He is currently content chief at Mobile Comply, a mobile training and strategy company in Pontiac, Michigan.
