In so many science fiction movies, we’ve seen characters use these cool unimaginable gadgets like force fields, holographic screens, etc. Looks like we could be getting closer to that reality, and the proof of that is AR Glasses.
What are they?
For some time now, people have been expecting AR Glasses that can be used in our daily lives. AR Glasses are basically normal glasses that can add Augment Reality in our daily lives. It can display information in our view, do functions that we can do on our phones, maybe be able to play video and audio, and even more! The main AR Glasses we have today are the Google Glass Enterprise 2 and Microsoft HoloLens 2.
Current Versions
The Google Glass Enterprise 2 is only intended for business purposes. Doctors can use it to check patients and take notes of the patient’s symptoms without using a computer. Engineers can use it for building machines and for testing them. Technology like this makes their lives so much easier, and it can increase efficiency in the workplace. The Google Glasses project its Augmented Reality through this small cut on one corner of the glasses, and you can interact with it by a tapping gesture on one side of the glasses. The first model was created in 2013, and the glasses have come a long way from there.
Microsoft’s AR Glasses, the HoloLens 2, are designed more like a VR Headset rather than glasses. This is because Microsoft intended for them to only be used for a short amount of time. The Glasses’ glass part can fold to show the real world. These glasses are also intended for industrial purposes, but they have some extra features that the Google Lens doesn’t have, like virtual connectivity. People can video call or interact in the form of Avatars. The HoloLens can make classrooms more interactive by bringing in Holographic Diagrams.
Entering leaders in the field
These are not the only companies working on AR Glasses. Apple has been rumored to be working on AR Glasses for a long time. Their glasses are expected to come out in 2025 or 2026. It will have features like automatically adjusting the lens for people with prescriptions. There are rumors Apple might replace the iPhone with this, but that’s still just speculation. Meta is also working on AR Glasses. In fact, Facebook renamed itself to Meta to set up their future AR world. Some of the features on Meta applications, like Whatsapp, Instagram, and Facebook, are leading up to the Metaverse, as they call it––features like Avatars.
We don’t see many people using these glasses because this technology is still new. There are some major issues with these glasses, like the fact that they are so bulky or that we can’t use them for too long. But there is still promise that this technology will expand to become something we can’t live without.
By: Sara Simon