Virtual & Augmented Reality and 3D News - Page 18

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".

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).

Meta only just unveiled some new prototype VR headsets it is working on right now, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg teasing the new Butterscotch and Starburst prototype headsets... but now, now we're hearing rumors of the beefed-up Meta Quest 2 Pro.

The new rumors on Meta's upgraded Quest 2 Pro are coming from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has provided some "updates & predictions for higher-end Meta Quest 2 Pro". These include "reiterating" adoption of mini-LED display technology, with 2P Pancake for "market visual improvements". We're expecting to see a 2.48-inch mini-LED display inside of the Meta Quest 2 Pro, with 2160 x 2160 resolution per eye.

We're expecting both VR and AR with "video see-thru support" which will be driven by the massive CIA-happy-about-this-news 16 cameras on the Meta Quest 2 Pro headset. 10 cameras would be on the headset, with 3 each on the controllers for 6 cameras in your hands: 16 cameras in total. The analyst expects Meta to price the upgraded Quest 2 Pro at $799 or higher, with predictions that Qualcomm will provide its Snapdragon XR2 for the headset.

Meta has displayed some new prototype VR headsets that the social networking + virtual reality giant says will drive the future of VR, displaying worlds that will be "indistinguishable from reality"... oh, and they're prototyping the new "Starburst" VR headset that is 200x brighter.

The new VR headsets are being worked on at Meta's Reality Labs Research division, with the team saying that they're using a "visual Turing test" that is a bar that needs to be met, in order to convince your visual system that what you're seeing in the virtual world, is real. The Turing test is used to see if an AI is capable of thinking like a human being.

This isn't just a simple case of higher resolution display + higher refresh rate... there's much more going on inside of these new prototype VR headsets than you'd think... especially when you compare it up to the Meta Quest 2 headset.

Apple will change the world with its first-gen AR/MR (augmented or mixed reality) headset, with all signs pointing to the second-gen MR headset boasting a possible 4000 PPI display.

In a new report from Patently Apple, Sony will be providing Apple with its Micro-OLED displays for their first-gen MR headset, meanwhile, LG Display will provide higher-resolution Micro-OLED panels for the second-gen Apple MR headset. Patently Apple added: "We learned this week that LG will be using ultra high-resolution fine metal mask (FMM) from AP Systems".

"It was rumored in September 2021 that Apple requested FMM sample from AP Systems (APS Holdings) for use with the mixed reality headset. Apple had requested a resolution of 3000ppi (pixels per inch). Apple tested the FMM sample to see if it could be applied to production, then form a more concrete plant for the VR device's development".