Scientists are working to perfect a new type of holographic display technology that can be incorporated into eyeglasses to superimpose video images on a user’s real-world view. The technology eventually could be incorporated into regular eyeglasses.
Virtual reality systems are used with VR apps to create an immersive experience while blocking out the real world. Augmented reality typically adds digital elements to a live view, often by using the camera on a user’s digital device.
Some big players are getting into augmented reality and some are using holography to create apparently three-dimensional images over a real-world view that can be viewed and manipulated in a mixed reality format. But the new augmented-reality glasses design uses a different type of holographic display technology that is “written” into the glass itself.
It’s a similar form factor, not much larger, and you put it on and then you don’t need the screen anymore. Your glass itself becomes the screen, so you don’t have to look at your computer over here or down at your cellphone — it’s all in that glass, all that information is there. The technology essentially takes data from a light-generating processor (light engines) and bends it to form a dynamic hologram.
While augmented-reality technology has seen some early consumer applications, such as games, companies are finding keen interest in the military and commercial sectors.