Virtual/Augmented/Mixed Reality News & Discussions

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caltrek
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Re: Virtual/Augmented/Mixed Reality News & Discussions

Post by caltrek »

Google Shows Off AR Glasses that Would Translate the Spoken Word Around You in Real Time
by Jay Peters
May 11, 2022

https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/11/2306 ... anslate-io

Introdcution:
(The Verge) Google wrapped up its I/O presentation with one big surprise: a look at its latest AR glasses. The key feature Google showed off was the ability to see languages translated right in front of your eyes, which seems to me like a very practical application for AR glasses. While a big part of Silicon Valley is heavily invested in making AR glasses a reality thus far no has suggested a truly “killer” app for AR that would let you overlook the wide variety of privacy concerns inherent with the tech. Live translating the spoken word would definitely be a killer feature.

The company didn’t share any details on when they might be available, and only demonstrated them in a recorded video that didn’t actually show the display, or how you would interact with them. But what was shown in the video painted a very cool picture of a potential AR future.

In one demo, a Google product manager tells someone wearing the glasses that, “you should be seeing what I’m saying, just transcribed for you in real time. Kind of like subtitles for the world.” Later, the video shows what you might see if you’re wearing the glasses: with the speaker in front of you, the translated language appears in real-time in your line of sight.

Until these become a real product we can try, we won’t know how well they might work in practice. And it’s unclear if this is Google’s Project Iris product that we reported on in January or something else entirely. But Google’s vision shown at I/O, if it pans out, would be incredibly useful. You can watch the video for yourself right here.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai shared some context about how the company views AR ahead of introducing the video during Wednesday’s I/O keynote — based on what he said, it seems the the company believes that AR can exist in many places that aren’t a smartphone.
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Yuli Ban
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Re: Virtual/Augmented/Mixed Reality News & Discussions

Post by Yuli Ban »

At this week’s Google I/O conference the company teased a bevy of future products that are currently in development. In addition to the upcoming Pixel Watch, Pixel tablet, and new Pixel phones, it also teased a new set of Augmented Reality (AR) glasses. Google has mostly been left out of the wearable/metaverse conversation up until now, but the company is throwing its hat in the ring with a truly innovative concept.

While companies like Meta are firmly in the Virtual Reality camp with its Quest headsets, Google seems to be planting its flag firmly in the world of AR. In a blog post covering everything at the I/O conference, Google’s CEO calls AR “a new frontier of computing.” He says AR has the capability to expand how we use computers and access information into a magical realm where the technology simply disappears. That’s where the company’s prototype glasses come in. In a short video demo (below), Google shows how its glasses can translate spoken language with an AR overlay.
And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future
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Yuli Ban
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Re: Virtual/Augmented/Mixed Reality News & Discussions

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Currently browsing the forum in VR.

Ten years ago, virtual reality wasn't even on my radar. And I'd literally dream and fantasize of using an Oculus Rift back in 2013, 2014, and 2015. I'd dream of browsing this forum and others in virtual reality some day.

That day's finally come!*

*I've actually already done that months ago when I first got my VR headset, but that was using the native Quest browser. This is the Air Link virtual desktop, which has vastly more functionality. I'm also apparently in a giant gray-white void. I should see if there are any extra backgrounds to get.
And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future
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raklian
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Re: Virtual/Augmented/Mixed Reality News & Discussions

Post by raklian »

Yuli Ban wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 6:10 am
*I've actually already done that months ago when I first got my VR headset, but that was using the native Quest browser. This is the Air Link virtual desktop, which has vastly more functionality. I'm also apparently in a giant gray-white void. I should see if there are any extra backgrounds to get.
Fellow VR user, about a 3rd of my posts in this forum were from using the virtual desktop with Quest 2. :P
To know is essentially the same as not knowing. The only thing that occurs is the rearrangement of atoms in your brain.
Nanotechandmorefuture
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Re: Virtual/Augmented/Mixed Reality News & Discussions

Post by Nanotechandmorefuture »

raklian wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 4:17 pm
Yuli Ban wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 6:10 am
*I've actually already done that months ago when I first got my VR headset, but that was using the native Quest browser. This is the Air Link virtual desktop, which has vastly more functionality. I'm also apparently in a giant gray-white void. I should see if there are any extra backgrounds to get.
Fellow VR user, about a 3rd of my posts in this forum were from using the virtual desktop with Quest 2. :P
Yuli Ban wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 6:10 am Currently browsing the forum in VR.

Ten years ago, virtual reality wasn't even on my radar. And I'd literally dream and fantasize of using an Oculus Rift back in 2013, 2014, and 2015. I'd dream of browsing this forum and others in virtual reality some day.

That day's finally come!*

*I've actually already done that months ago when I first got my VR headset, but that was using the native Quest browser. This is the Air Link virtual desktop, which has vastly more functionality. I'm also apparently in a giant gray-white void. I should see if there are any extra backgrounds to get.
That is so damn cool!
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Yuli Ban
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Re: Virtual/Augmented/Mixed Reality News & Discussions

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And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future
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Yuli Ban
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Re: Virtual/Augmented/Mixed Reality News & Discussions

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And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future
weatheriscool
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Re: Virtual/Augmented/Mixed Reality News & Discussions

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Apple Inches Closer to Launching Its Mixed Reality Headset
https://www.extremetech.com/computing/3 ... ty-headset
By Josh Norem on May 23, 2022 at 11:15 am
Apple’s Augmented Reality (AR) slash Virtual Reality (VR) headset has seemingly been delayed more times than we can count. The ambitious program has been in the works for seven years now. Along the way it’s been repeatedly hampered by both hardware and software issues according to reports. That’s not a big surprise as it’s a brand new product for Apple, and it’s an inherently complex undertaking. Apple seems to be out of the woods though, as a new report states the company’s board received an in-person demo of it last week.
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Yuli Ban
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Re: Virtual/Augmented/Mixed Reality News & Discussions

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Some of the flaws of existing VR headsets are pretty clear to me now, but the crazy thing is that I'm not that bothered by them. Sure, in the future, I'll look back on what is now and think "How did I ever cope?" But honestly, the main thing that upsets me about VR browsing is the blurriness of the screen. When the headset is fitted properly, what's directly in front of me is very clear, but my eyes have a tendency to wander (hence why I use virtual reality to browse the internet— even fewer distractions) and the lack of eye tracking makes it very clear that clarity can be an issue. That's what gives me a headache more than anything since I have perfect eyesight otherwise.

But it's honestly only up from here. In particular, I'm very interested in the prospect of mixed reality smart-glasses. Those could be a productivity booster to end 'em all.
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Yuli Ban
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Re: Virtual/Augmented/Mixed Reality News & Discussions

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weatheriscool wrote: Mon May 23, 2022 6:08 pm Apple Inches Closer to Launching Its Mixed Reality Headset
https://www.extremetech.com/computing/3 ... ty-headset
By Josh Norem on May 23, 2022 at 11:15 am
Apple’s Augmented Reality (AR) slash Virtual Reality (VR) headset has seemingly been delayed more times than we can count. The ambitious program has been in the works for seven years now. Along the way it’s been repeatedly hampered by both hardware and software issues according to reports. That’s not a big surprise as it’s a brand new product for Apple, and it’s an inherently complex undertaking. Apple seems to be out of the woods though, as a new report states the company’s board received an in-person demo of it last week.
I heard they showed off their headset to their board of directors. That all but signals they're in the final stretch towards commercialization.

I appreciate all this. I really do. For many reasons.
We've been hearing about a prospective Apple mixed reality headset ever since, I want to say 2014-2015 around the peak of pre-release hype for the Oculus Rift. We know for a fact they've been working on something since roughly 2016 when we heard about patent filings from the year prior. And that's a good thing. It shows they're not releasing whatever they have too soon. It's probably not going to be the absolute best headset out there, because this is Apple we're talking about— they're experts at talking as if they're the bleeding edge when they're ultimately mid-range (but they'll price things at bleeding edge levels, that's for sure). Still, what they will release will be more than competent, almost certainly better than the Quest 2 and HoloLens 2 and able to be used in a practical, everyday way.

Furthermore, if there's anything I can give Apple, it's that they have a tendency to support their products for a damn long time. Often too long. They're the inverse of Google— once they release something, they're almost always committed to it for many years even if it never takes off. Whereas Google will research and develop something for years, release it to much self-created fanfare, and then immediately drop it in a couple years and memory hole its existence if it's not an immediate revolution in consumer technology.


I have a hunch that Apple engineers themselves knew that the 2010s were too soon for VR to be a reliably successful technology. It was almost but not quite primetime. There were still too many bugs to quash, too many wrinkles to iron out, that technology of the time wasn't able to enable us to accomplish, at least affordably. At the same time, we did need that first big wave of consumer VR tech to advance the field and sow a massive market. They just didn't want to be dragged into the quagmire of early adoptor struggles; they'd rather do the Apple thing of letting everyone else figure out the technology, then when they recognize that the tech is finally there, swoop in with their own product and pretend they invented the whole industry.

To anyone whose head wasn't in the clouds deluding themselves over VR being an immediate world-changing success (and that definitely didn't include me; I was a believer of it too), it ought to have been clear even as far back as 2013 that we needed another decade to refine the tech into truly usable and practical levels and that the next generation of technology circa around 2022-2024 was going to be the one that would give us the full bore of VR success, at smartphone or smartwatch levels. No sooner than that. And the dream was that someone like Apple would be the one to do it because their brand name and general long-adopting stance towards tech products would throw mixed reality into the exosphere.
Seems like this is all coming true after all.

I'm normally more cynical, especially towards Apple, but I'm so supportive of AR/VR/XR as a technology that I'll let this one slide if it turns out that 2022-2023 is recognized as "The Year Mixed Reality Broke."
And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future
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