Wearable Tech And Augmented Reality

Technology you will wear.  Google’s glasses.  Apple’s iWatch.  And “augmented reality” on its way.

It’s the technology age.  We know it.  Big deal.  What’s new?  Well, what about digital technology you will wear?  On your face.  Around your eyes.  On your wrist.  All over.

Google’s coming out with its glasses – “Google Glass.”  Apple’s revving its “iWatch.”  Skiers are already getting text messages on their goggles.  Daters are getting a compatibility heads-up from a band on their arm.

Put it all together and we’re headed into what’s being called “augmented reality.”

This hour, On Point:  technology you will wear, and the coming “AR.”
-Tom Ashbrook

Omar Gallaga, technology culture writer for the Austin American-Statesman. (@omarg)

Amber Case, director of the Portland R&D Center for the tech firm Esri. (@caseorganic)

Ben Chigier, retired software engineer and entrepreneur. He and his daughter each own a pair of "augmented" ski goggles.

The Telegraph "The details of the device are sketchy, but it is claimed its features could include a curved touchscreen made from a new type of flexible glass, an array of sensors to monitor exercise patterns and heart rate, 'wave and pay' function, access to maps, voice control and wireless integration with the iPhone. That could allow the wearer to take calls and read messages without having to delve into their pocket or bag, or mean the iphone would know when it was in its owner’s hand an unlock automatically."

Forbes "Featherlight, Brin’s grey Glass, featured a metal wire supported by two nose pads that ran around his face just above the bridge of his nose. The device, which had two different sized arms, also sported a single rectangle of glass in front of the right eye. That piece of material provided a transparent screen by which the apparatus could project everything from messages to photos to maps for the user."

The Atlantic "But when you really start to think about it, the dream of augmented reality recedes. Who is going to make all this geotagged content? And how are people going to use it? What genres and forms are going to be natural to read out there in the world rather than (as we imagine readers) curled up on the couch?"