Augmented Reality seems to be a trending topic in today’s technological world. Augmented Reality is not a new topic; however, what makes it more appealing now is the evolution of the mobile phone. This small device has the ability to connect to many different databases and figure out where you are. In accordance to the input it a program may return information about a specific building you are pointing at with your camera. An application I enjoy using is Layar. It provides the user with a platform to access this world of augmented reality. I have the ability to connect to different databases, such as Yelp, and by pointing my camera at a restaurant I see information about it, including other users’ comments. There are of course many other applications that support augmented reality.
Professor Babak Amir Parviz, from the University of Washington, is working on a new technology with his students in order to compress this technology into an eye contact. With the use of LEDs (Light Emitting Droids) they are able to create that lens in which by wearing it you may be the next “Terminator.” These lenses are still in their early stages.
Yes, it might be nice to watch your favorite episodes during class while no one notices, or to walk around the city in search of the best restaurant. However, these lenses may many other uses, for example it may provide subtitles to the deaf. They might also be the substitute to the bulky 3d glasses.
A question that begs itself is about the safety of this product. Will you be willing to wear a contact lens which has different chemicals and corrosive materials? Of course all these issues would be addressed before this product is made commercial.
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