Virtual & Augmented Reality and 3D News - Page 1

Apple is expected to release its next truly revolutionary product with its upcoming AR glasses, but now we're hearing that the price could be $2500+ and that it "may be the next revolutionary consumer electronics product after the iPhone".

In a new post by industry insider Ming-Chi Kuo, we get an idea of what to expect in terms of new products in 2023 which obviously we know will be the AR/MR headsets. Kuo has expectations of Apple shipping less than 1.5 million units of its AR/MR headset, but said it's expected that Apple will release its new AR/MR headset "as soon as January 2023".

Apple is expected to price its AR/MR headset at $2000 to $2500 or more, which Kuo says will "affect shipments" but notes that the high price will "verify the existence of market demand, rather than price/shipment. If the market demand is verified to exist, under the improvement of production, technology and cost, the price will be gradually reduced in the future, which will facilitate the rapid growth of shipments".

Surgeons have successfully used virtual reality to separate the brains of conjoined twins after a lengthy 27-hour operation.

The two 3-year-old Brazilian conjoined twins Bernardo and Arthur Lima were born fused at the head and brain. The pair recently underwent a 27-hour operation that included nearly 100 medical staff and Great Ormond Street Hospital paediatric surgeon Noor ul Owase Jeelani.

According to Jeelani, teams of surgeons in both London and Rio spent several months using virtual reality projections of the twins skull and brain. These projections were based on CT and MRI data and allowed for surgeons to practice in a "virtual reality room" where they could perform the practice surgery together. The British neurosurgeon described the virtual reality technology as "space age," and that there is extreme benefit for surgeons to be able to "see the anatomy and do the surgery before you actually put the children at any risk."

Apple has just filed a patent for what looks like some interesting VR gloves that would let you use your hands and fingers to do things like move a cursor, scroll, open a document, select things, and so much more.

The upcoming Apple AR glasses would let you use the VR-style gloves with skin-to-skin contact, meaning full-on finger and hand gestures. Apple should be using a camera or radio frequency-based system on the headset, so that it can track the finger movement of the user, using these new gloves.

Apple's new patent would see two Apple Watch-like products that would be capable of detecting skin-to-skin contact, where the one of the wearables can sense, while the other handles gestures. Apple's patent also details a ring that would be in place of the watch, and would work with the VR gloves for particular actions.

Google has revealed that a few dozen "Googlers" and trusted testers will be using the company's new augmented reality glasses in the real-world.

Augmented reality (AR) is imposed computer-generated images onto the real-world, and is undoubtedly going to cause a tectonic shift in the technology industry once the development reaches a point where the mainstream adopts it. Google has now taken to its blog to reveal that a few select individuals will be wearing an "early AR prototype" in the real-world as the company wants to see how the device handles real-world scenarios such as a busy intersection while trying to provide navigation information to the user.

Google writes that the prototype glasses have only been tested within Google's labs and features an in-lens display, microphones, cameras, and more. Notably, Google states these prototypes will have "strict limitations" and won't support photography or videography. However, the glasses will be capable of using image data "to enable experiences like translating the menu in front of you or showing you directions to a nearby coffee shop."

Samsung Display is courting both Apple and Meta for next-gen Micro-OLED panels for their future AR and VR headsets, according to the latest from The Elec.

The company hasn't been making Micro-OLED panels so far because profits aren't great, but with the future augmented and virtual reality headsets relying on Micro-OLED panels, Samsung Display is stepping up to the plate. However, Sony will be the "first supplier" of Micro-OLED panels for Apple's "first MR device" reports The Elec.

The Elec reports: "Samsung Display had received requests from its customers to develop a MicroOLED panel, something which it had been avoiding so far due to expected low profitability. Up to now, Samsung Display had a few research staff working on MicroOLED and didn't pay much attention to it".

Apple's first-generation AR/MR headset is still a while away, and the second-generation AR/MR headset is even further away... but now analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is coming out with some shipping estimates that Apple "may reach" 10 million units "as soon as 2025 or 2026".

The key optical component of the Apple AR/MR headset are the high ASP Pancake lens, which the analyst says "directly affecting the visual experience and form factor design". But it will be the second-generation Apple AR/MR headset that "may have more high-end and more-affordable models".

Apple's second-gen AR/MR headset will reportedly launch in the first half of 2025, with component suppliers to begin shipping in the second half of 2024 says Kuo. The first-gen Apple AR/MR headset will use Pancake lens supplied by Genuis (the main supplier) and Young Optics (the second supplier). Kuo says that GIS is the "Pancake lens lamination supplier" while the "above suppliers are expected to be in the second-generation supply chain'.

Mojo Vision has developed and recently tested its prototype smart contact lens called the Mojo Lens.

Mojo Vision CEO Drew Perkins completed the company's smart contact lens's first ever on-eye demonstration on June 23rd, 2022, which provided a fully featured augmented reality (AR) experience. The lens creates an AR user interface (UI) that can provide information throughout the day and utilizes eye-tracking. Perkins used the lens' compass feature, viewed images, and read the text provided by an on-screen teleprompter.

"When I ask people when they think they'll see smart contact lenses being worn, I hear answers ranging from 10 years from now, 20 years, all the way to it'll never happen. Turns out, the future is a lot closer than most people think. In fact, the future is already here. I've seen it. I've worn it. It works," wrote Perkins.

Apple's upcoming AR/MR (augmented reality + mixed reality) headset will debut in 2023 with the base Apple M2 processor and 16GB of RAM according to the very, very latest leaks.

In a new post by Mark Gurman at Bloomberg, we're being told that the new Apple M2 processor inside of the first-gen Apple AR/MR headset. Rumor has it Apple's new headset will offer both augmented and virtual reality content -- hence mixed reality -- with the Apple M2 along with 16GB of RAM.

Gurman explained "Outside of the Mac and iPad Pro, there's another place I expect the M2 to appear: Apple's mixed-reality headset. I'm told the latest internal incarnations of the device run the base M2 chip along with 16 gigabytes of RAM. And speaking of WWDC, there were plenty of software-related hints there about the headset's operating system, realityOS, and its features".

We all know Apple is working on a new AR/MR headset of some kind, but now Apple CEO Tim Cook has a little more to say about the fruity giant's first foray into a headset.

In a recent interview with China Daily, Apple CEO Tim Cook talked about the future of AR and that Apple is excited about augmented reality (AR), not only that but that the "critical thing" to any technology including AR, is "putting humanity at the center of it".

Tim Cook explained: "I am incredibly excited about AR as you might know, and the critical thing to any technology including AR is putting humanity at the center of it. And that is what we focus on every day. Right now, as an example, we have over 14,000 ARKit apps in the App Store, which provide AR experiences for millions of people around the world".

Mark Zuckerberg the "human" only just turned himself back on after showing off Meta's prototype Butterscotch and Starburst headsets teased. Now... well, barely 24 hours later analyst Ming-Chi Kuo tweets that Meta's metaverse hardware and headset business is on fire.

Kuo tweeted: "Meta's metaverse hardware/headset business slows down".

1. Meta cuts shipment forecasts by 40% for 2022 (from 10-11 mn to 7-8 mn units).
2. Meta holds off on all new headset/AR/MR hardware projects after 2024.

We also only just heard from the same analyst providing updates and predictions for a "higher-end Meta Quest 2 Pro" headset. The upgraded Meta Quest 2 Pro headset would use newer mini-LED display technology and 2P Panake for "marked visual improvements", VR + AR support driven through 16 cameras (10 on the headset, 3 in each controller: left and right hands).