Around the Net
Will Consumers Wear Computers?
- The Wall Street Journal, Tuesday, May 22, 2012 1:33 PM
There’s no telling whether consumers will take to face computers, but that can’t stop gadget makers from pushing such devices. “The rise of Internet-connected smartphones and advances in ‘heads-up’ displays are accelerating the development of all sorts of wearable augmented-reality devices,” reports The Wall Street Journal. “Such gadgets have long faced skepticism because they were uncomfortable to wear, ugly, and expensive, reserved only for corporations and military agencies.”
Indeed, the best example the WSJ can find of face-computer adoption is Austrian eyeglasses designer Michael Pachleitner Group, which is giving its warehouse workers the new technology. Sure, each device costs $13,000, but, according to WSJ, the case offers a glimpse at the future of "augmented reality." As for broad consumer adoption, Google -- along with a set of smaller companies, including Lumus, Vuzix, Laster Technologies and Recon Instruments -- are pushing their own wearable gadgets.
“Some computer scientists increasingly envision a world in which people wear glasses-like devices with a built-in camera and use apps that can recognize objects and faces -- using technology called ‘computer vision’ -- and automatically retrieve information about those objects from the Web or other sources,” WSJ writes.
