Apple, and Germany-based optics company, Carl Zeiss, may come together to produce reality glasses. There is no confirmed news on this issue from the companies, but according to tech blogger, Robert Scoble, the reality glass from Apple Inc. and Carl Zeiss may be launched somewhen shortly.
Although Apple is quite secretive about its’ upcoming products and technologies, CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, however, revealed that the company is keen on working with Augmented Reality (AR).
What is Augmented Reality?
An Augmented Reality is created when a computer-generated sensory input like sound, graphics, video or GPS data is superimposed on the viewer’s field of vision. Augmented Reality turns your surrounding into a digital interface by adding virtual graphics or objects in the real surrounding. The Augmented Reality is most likely going to explore the following sections.
Augmented Reality 3-D Viewers: The Augmented Reality is designed in such a manner that a life-like 3D object is integrated into the environment of the viewer.
Augmented Reality Browsers: This technology is meant to enrich the camera or smart phone display with additional information. For example, if you point your camera or phone to an object, say a historical building, the technology will help you know about the building by superimposing texts and data regarding the building, on the real picture, creating an augmented reality.
Gaming: Augmented Reality can occupy a very important position in gaming because of its capability of enriching the gamers’ experience by utilizing the actual surrounding of the gamer and adding computer programmed graphics or objects on them. The popular game, Pokemon Go, is based on Augmented Reality. The game pulled out the characters (Pokemons) that we could see only on television and integrated them into a real-world like environment.
Augmented reality is different from Virtual Reality. Virtual Reality focuses on generating a whole new environment which is totally different from the real world. The application of Virtual Reality needs an entire set of devices and instruments that can create the new world. HTC Vive or Samsung Gear VR Headsets are based on Virtual Reality.
Why Augmented Reality (AR)?
There is, however, a reason, why Apple chose to work with Augmented Reality when most technology industry is joining the VR (Virtual Reality) community. Apple believes that the future of communication lies in the Augmented Reality domain and that Augmented Reality is more viable than Virtual Reality. While Virtual Reality restricts the human interaction with the reality, Augmented Reality allows the user to enclose them into an experience that is based on the real environment, and interact with some graphic visuals or audio.
Apple has also made some recent strategic hires and purchases, which shows the company’s interest in the technology. Apple Inc. has acquired the Zurich-based start-up, Faceshift (maker of the motion capture technologies which was used in Star Wars); the advanced Artificial Intelligence developing start-up, Perceptio; the German Augmented Reality start-up, Metaio; and the spatial perception start-up, Flyby Media.
