These mini computers are worn on the face and help interact with virtual images in the real world
In the future, an anatomy class may no longer have a scalpel — students will explore the organs of the human body in 3D images, using their hands to enlarge what they are seeing and clicking on an icon to get more information. And games can get scarier, with zombies coming out from behind your couch.
These are some of the promises of augmented reality, the technology that allows us to view virtual images and interact with them. But for all this to materialize before our eyes, we need the help of an electronic device.
The most common thing today is to use a smartphone. But soon more people will have access to augmented reality headsets — a mix of glasses and a computer that allows us to see virtual images being superimposed on a real environment.
This type of headset is like a mini computer. Equipped with a camera, display and motion sensors, it allows you to view virtual elements, such as numbers, graphics and 3D images, against a real backdrop, or the environment where we are. Sensors track the movement of our hands and eyes so we can interact with these images in a realistic way.
In general, they work like this: the camera captures images of the environment where we are and identifies where to superimpose the images using markers or trackers such as infrared, laser, GPS or sensors. When this point is determined, the virtual image is superimposed on the real environment, and we can view it on the headset's display, which also allows us to truly see the physical space around us.
Some headsets are very light. O Google Glass Enterprise Edition 2, for example, uses an eyeglass frame to support a small screen and a camera on top of the right lens. It is on this screen that the images appear — generally instructions and information that have been used by professionals in areas such as logistics and the automobile industry.
At DHL, for example, employees use these glasses like this: when removing order packages from the logistics warehouse, they receive instructions via glasses, right in their line of sight. This means your hands are no longer busy holding down the paper to locate the packages (not even with the handheld scanner, as this function has also migrated to special glasses).
At the GE factory, the glasses use augmented reality to show instructions for the tasks that factory employees must perform. The content of the brand's manuals appears on the small screen, so workers have both hands free while working. They can even watch videos to learn more about what to do. With this, they are assembling 16% airplane turbines faster than without the augmented reality headset.
Other headsets are beefier, like the HoloLens, from Microsoft, which allows you to view larger images and interact with them. Its screen is larger, covering the entire surface of the lens, which looks like the eye protection of a helmet, and it is equipped with sensors, a microphone and the battery that makes it all work.
This one, yes, looks more like a computer to be worn on the head. As the device also tracks the movement of the hands, the user can touch the displayed holograms and change their location, as if they were real objects. The focus of vision is also tracked to adapt the holograms to the users' gaze. And, with spatial mapping, it is possible to place the virtual object where we want it in the real environment.
The headset is already being used, for example, by Toyota, in training professionals who work on the assembly line. Using HoloLens, they access 3D content and interact with projections of parts and tools. In some universities, headsets are used to allow students to learn by viewing 3D images — from anatomy to geography classes.
Meta (Facebook's new name) is already testing technologies to transform its Oculus for augmented reality, both for games and for social and corporate interactions. Now, the next one to enter this market should be Apple. It is speculated that the brand will launch robust augmented reality glasses in the near future. It will be?
