These Augmented Reality Glasses Put Your Fingertips to Work

By Nick Venable | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

This month has seen the emergence of the Oculus Rift as the Next Big Thing in virtual reality, and that buzz will only build once they start sending out the 10,000 dev kits to developers in March. It doesn’t take Google Glass to see this well-deserved monopoly taking force, but the whole helmeted immersion thing isn’t going to win everyone over. A new candidate may surpass Google’s hype-without-results. And yes, I saw Sergey Brin showing them off last week. Still not that impressed, so make way for the little guy!

Meta

At the New York Augmented Reality Meetup Group (ARNY), startup company Meta unveiled their possible game-changer, an AR glasses/camera combo that allows hands-on access to a virtual world. Or, to hear them tell it, the product, referred to as Meta, is a “two part wearable computer that allows users to play with virtual objects in a 3D space using nature’s perfect controllers — their hands.” And yes, I’m sure you can play Angry Birds on it, so quit that infernal worrying.

The set is comprised of a set of Epson Moverio personal display glasses connected to a finger-tracking camera that allows users to interact with the high-definition information virtually projected onto whatever the user is looking at. It isn’t meant for outdoor use, and I’m assuming it wouldn’t do much good if you were looking at a TV, or even an ant farm. But a wall probably does you just fine.

The video below isn’t mindblowing or anything, showing off some weird bubble Reddit searching, a table-top keyboard, and a scary blowjob from a Cerberus, or something like that. This is a new product, remember, and it will soon be starting up a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for a second, more advanced prototype. But even if it all turns out to be a lot of smoke with little fire, at least you’ll still be able to read Cyanide and Happiness without anyone knowing why you’re laughing in glorious disgust.

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