theverynearfuture: Screen Break I seriously don’t get...

theverynearfuture:

Screen Break

I seriously don’t get VR.

via Tumblr http://bit.ly/2c2jAJN

materialsscienceandengineering: Film coating transforms...

materialsscienceandengineering:

Film coating transforms contact lenses into computer screens

A polymer film coating with the ability to turn contact lenses into computer screens is set to transform the wearable visual aids into the next generation of consumer electronics.

Scientists from the University of South Australia’s Future Industries Institute have successfully completed “proof of concept” research on a polymer film coating that conducts electricity on a contact lens, with the potential to build miniature electrical circuits that are safe to be worn by a person.

UniSA researcher from the FII, Associate Professor Drew Evans said the technology was a “game changer” and could provide one of the safest methods to bring people and their smart devices closer together.

“We’re talking about anything from a simple sensor that can measure the amount of glucose in your blood through to actually creating electronic displays so rather than having something like a pair of glasses that’s acting like a computer, you can actually generate images directly on your contact lens,” Assoc Prof Evans said.

“We have always known that our film coating technologies had potential for many applications and now we have taken that a step further by proving that we can make biocompatible, conducting polymers at the nanoscale and grow them directly on a contact lens.”

Read more.

This seems more like the future of tech than VR. AR mounted in our eyes seems like where mobile could go (with smart watches as an additional interface).

via Tumblr http://bit.ly/1p2CtiD

techcrunch: Virtual reality is a reality…in the sense that the...

techcrunch:

Virtual reality is a reality…in the sense that the hardware, software and content stars are finally aligning to make the platform approachable to more than just hardcore developers, gamers and hobbyists.
Today, the true consumer model of the Samsung Gear VR hits the shelves. The Gear VR costs $99 and requires Samsung’s Galaxy S6, S6 Edge, S6 Edge+ or Note 5 to run.

Check out the “window to the future” here! 

I still don’t understand the use case…

via Tumblr http://bit.ly/1YEgZmR

Cats like VR, apparently.

Cats like VR, apparently.

via Tumblr http://bit.ly/1PqAj5D

Microsoft HoloLens Disappoints

Did anyone actually expect anything else?

So, the Verge was on the scene at Build and reports in the video below about Microsoft’s HoloLens…

And guess what? It’s disappointing. Shocker.

It’s a cool idea, sure, but it just fundamentally doesn’t work, or at least doesn’t deliver on what it promised.

The screen is not immersive in the way that the press videos used suggest. You don’t see a full field of view world with your augmented reality imposed on all of it, rather you see your world with a small square of AR on it. It’s enough to immediately pull you out of the AR, and you stop believing any of it.

Also, as anticipated, the interaction gestures are still questionable. There are all sorts of air taps and voice commands, the former of which have consistently been shown to be frustrating on every platform that has tried to use them.

Beyond Microsoft’s shortcomings, the biggest question of this device is why would I want it? The use cases are cool in a tech demo, but I don’t think it improves anyone’s life experience in any way. Their biggest pushes are for 3D CAD modeling and gaming. For anyone who has ever done serious 3D CAD modeling, you would know that this headset would be basically impossible to use unless you used it solely as a monitor with dedicated mouse/keyboard/modeling tools plugged in. That would be entirely pointless.

On the gaming point, I think full VR has a much better gaming angle. The AR minecraft demo strikes me as a cool parlor trick, but not something that gamers would actually want. It’s not really any more immersive than screen gaming, and your world would end up very limited.

So color me not interested in HoloLens. But definitely let me know what you think about it in the comments.

via Medium