In this journal article published by ACM in the proceedings of the 2014 Automotive User Interface Conference, Honda Research Institute shares results of a short study to dettermine if and how Augmented Reality can reduce the ambiguity of instructions by directly pointing out intersections and turn locations in context of what the driver sees. The Personal Navi interface significantly reduced the time necessary for participants to understand where to turn.

Register on the site to access the journal article for more details on the study methodology and results.

Mantis Vision develops innovative 3D capture technologies for OEMs and provides the depth sensor used in the Google Tango tablet so it’s not surprising that it has developed its own solution. Powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, the Aquila 8″ tablet’s WUXGA screen is clear and, weighing under 400gms, the unit is light. Like the Tango tablets, Mantis Vision’s Aquila is designed for Augmented Reality developers who want to get started with RGBD mobile devices. Read the press release  and learn more about the Aquila tablet and the MV4D SDK on the company’s web site.

This infographic from PGi, a global leader in collaboration software and services, shows that excitement is building for the potential power that VR and 3D technology represents, particularly in the way work gets done. VR might just be the future of business collaboration, with the potential to increase workplace productivity. Check out the Infographic for yourself.

Sony has launched the SDK “Developer Preview” – the software development kit for our transparent binocular SmartWear prototype. The software development kit permits developers to build apps for the SmartEyeglass platform, ensuring the foundations are set for a varied, exciting ecosystem of experiences to support the product at launch. Learn more in this blog post on the Sony Mobile site.

One thousand five hundred developers had preordered SpaceGlasses earlier in 2014, and this week the kits finally arrived in their hands. The glasses have an infrared camera at the top, a color camera, and two stereo microphones. It has an Integrated Motion Unit (IMU), which uses a gyroscope, accelerometer, and compass to know which way your head is facing.

The glasses also have a see-through display, which allow you to see more of the real world behind the projected display within the glasses. For more information, visit the company’s web site.

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — September 18, 2014 — Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM), through its subsidiary, Qualcomm Connected Experiences, Inc., today announced the Qualcomm® Vuforia™ mobile vision platform will empower developers to build augmented reality (AR) applications for a new generation of digital eyewear.  The new Vuforia Software Development Kit (SDK) for Digital Eyewear will deliver a major advance in user experience – allowing interactive 3D content to be visually aligned with the underlying world.  This capability will enable new applications in hybrid VR/AR gaming, shopping, and education, as well as across a wide range of enterprise and industrial uses.

The Vuforia platform provides advanced computer vision functionality for recognizing images and objects in the user’s field of view.  It also leverages Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ processors to minimize the motion-to-photon latency that is so essential in delivering an authentic AR effect.  Snapdragon processors are products of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated.  The Vuforia SDK for Digital Eyewear also includes an easy-to-use calibration method that enables Vuforia applications to dynamically adapt to a wearer’s facial geometry, thereby providing an optimal experience.

The Vuforia SDK for Digital Eyewear was designed to converge with recent innovations in digital eyewear devices, including the ODG R-7 and the Epson Moverio BT-200.  Announced today by ODG, the R-7 represents the state-of-the-art in digital eyewear with a fully integrated one-piece design, a stereoscopic see-through display system, wireless connectivity and the revolutionary computing power of the Snapdragon 805 processor.  The R-7 offers users and developers unparalleled performance and versatility, and is initially targeted at government and industrial applications.

The Epson Moverio BT-200 smart glasses has an integrated see-through display system and utilizes a two-piece design.  The smart glasses component includes sensors and the display system. The Android-powered control unit contains all other electronics and provides a touch pad for user interaction.  The Moverio BT-200 is available now and is ideal for both consumer and enterprise augmented reality applications, including: environmental games, training solutions, museum experiences, and more.

Vuforia is also the first vision platform to enable a new class of hybrid VR/AR experiences on the Samsung Gear VR Innovator Edition powered by Oculus.  With Vuforia SDK for Digital Eyewear, developers will be able to extend the capability of Gear VR further to incorporate AR experiences within VR applications, as well as create immersive AR applications for gaming, education, and shopping.

“The promise of digital eyewear is to create a heads-up display for our daily lives.  While the realization of this promise remains in the future, Vuforia is taking a big step in the right direction by enabling a first generation of applications for consumer and enterprise use,” said Jay Wright, vice president of product management for Qualcomm Connected Experiences, Inc. “Developers will now have the tools required to build experiences that will drive the adoption of the digital eyewear category.  We look forward to seeing what developers make possible.”

The Vuforia SDK for Digital Eyewear will be available this Fall as a beta for a select group of developers. To apply for the beta, please visit:https://developer.vuforia.com/support/contact/beta. For videos related to Vuforia for Digital Eyewear, please visit: https://www.youtube.com/user/vuforia.

Vuforia is a mobile vision platform that enables apps to see and connect the physical world with digital experiences that demand attention, drive engagement, and deliver value.  The platform leverages Qualcomm’s mobile technology leadership and provides best-in-class augmented reality experiences. Vuforia is supported by a global ecosystem of more than 100,000 registered developers in 130 countries and has powered more than 10,000 apps for iOS and Android phones and tablets.  Additional information is available at www.vuforia.com.

About Qualcomm Incorporated

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) is a world leader in 3G, 4G and next-generation wireless technologies. Qualcomm Incorporated includes Qualcomm’s licensing business, QTL, and the vast majority of its patent portfolio. Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, operates, along with its subsidiaries, substantially all of Qualcomm’s engineering, research and development functions, and substantially all of its products and services businesses, including its semiconductor business, QCT. For more than 25 years, Qualcomm ideas and inventions have driven the evolution of digital communications, linking people everywhere more closely to information, entertainment and each other. For more information, visit Qualcomm’s website,OnQ blog, Twitter and Facebook pages.

Read this post for a summary of Dr. Peter’s ISMAR 2014 keynote speech.

VIENNA, 11 September 2014 – UNIDO is partnering with EON Reality Inc., a leading company in virtual reality-based knowledge transfer for industry, education, and educational entertainment. UNIDO sees augmented and virtual reality-based knowledge transfer solutions as affordable and effective tools for reducing poverty, increasing production capacity, and developing industrial skills in developing countries.

EON’s and UNIDO’s first joint pilot project is an Augmented Reality application, called LKDF Interact, which covers diesel engine operation for the Volvo Selam Vocational Training Centre in Ethiopia. The Volvo Selam centre is one of the partners of the Learning and Knowledge Development Facility (LKDF) project, which aims to support the establishment and upgrading of local industrial training academies in close partnership with the private sector. The concept behind LKDF Interact can be replicated in other UNIDO projects that focus on industrial skills development, especially projects in the heavy duty vehicle industry field.

“It is my firm belief that technology and innovation, and their successful transfer, are fundamental pillars of inclusive and sustainable industrial development. UNIDO has consistently been promoting awareness of new technologies, mechanisms to facilitate their transfer, and matchmaking between technology providers and those looking for new technologies. Without technology and innovation, industrialization will not happen, and without industrialization, development will not happen. Virtual reality technology is the next generation of expertise which will be extremely useful for educators and will allow students to gain a deeper understanding on the topic at hand. The important factor is that the technology has become affordable for the developing world,” said Philippe Scholtes, Managing Director of UNIDO.

This is the first step in the collaboration between UNIDO’s LKDF and EON Reality’s Learn for Life Program, which brings augmented and virtual reality-based knowledge transfer to communities that need it the most. EON is currently engaged in several similar projects and is actively vetting locations to set up joint Interactive Digital Centres (IDCs) in Africa. These centres will support improved regional knowledge transfer through augmented and virtual reality, as well as enabling the local population to develop the VR/AR content their communities need.

“The ability to quickly train workers and educate students is key to help grow thriving communities worldwide,” said Mikael Jacobsson, Vice President of Business Development Europe and Africa at EON Reality. “With augmented and virtual reality’s superior knowledge transfer, we feel that applications, like the one developed for Ethiopia, will be crucial in furthering industrialization worldwide and bringing prosperity.”

The LKDF Interact application can be downloaded here

About the Learning and Knowledge Development Facility (LKDF)
LKDF provides a means to systematically learn from public/private development partnerships that target vocational training centers and skills development. The initiative is funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and implemented by UNIDO. Current partners include Volvo, Scania, Festo, and training centres in Ethiopia, Iraq and Uruguay. It aims to develop a framework for such partnerships and to promote this type of collaboration. A key objective of LKDF is to disseminate the gathered knowledge for the greater public good.

For more information on LKDF Interact, please contact:
John Mani, 
Agro-Industries Technology Unit, UNIDO
email

For more information on the LKD Facility, please contact:
Virpi Stucki, 
Industrial development officer, Agro-Industries Technology Unit, UNIDO
email

Rochester, NY (PRWEB) September 15, 2014 – Rochester Optical announced a new collaboration today with Epson America, Inc. as a recommended prescription solution provider for the Moverio BT-200 smart glasses. Rochester Optical has designed a Smart Frame for the BT-200 to carry patent-pending Smart GOLD Lenses specifically optimized for this device.

With the adoption of smart glasses technology comes new optical challenges that previously eye care providers have not needed to contend with. Rochester Optical has a Smart GOLD lens design optimized specifically for the Moverio, and the individual viewing needs associated with this device.

“Rochester Optical continues to impress us by offering innovative prescription eyewear solutions to the smart glasses industry,” said Eric Mizufuka, product manager, New Ventures for Epson America.

The Moverio BT-200 from Epson has multiple applications from personal entertainment to enterprise logistics, training, field work and more, all of which require visual acuity.

“Our R&D Team continues to create innovative lens designs that serve the increasing demands for clear vision with the latest wearable technology,” said Patrick Ho, CEO of Rochester Optical.

The Moverio BT-200, complete with Smart Frames and Smart GOLD Lenses from Rochester Optical, will be featured at Vision Expo West, September 18-20, 2014 in Las Vegas, NV. Rochester Optical’s presence atVision Expo West will highlight the revolution in the optical industry towards adoption of smart glasses like those of EPSON where prescription solutions are needed.

About Rochester Optical

Rochester Optical is an independently owned and operated manufacturer and wholesaler of quality eyewear, with a full service optical lab. For over 80 years, RO has proudly served our men and women in uniform. Since 2010, Rochester Optical has invested in R&D for development of the latest technology in the optical field. RO is proud to introduce Smart Solutions, the Smart GOLD prescription lenses and Smart Frames for smart glasses providing visual acuity and comfort to smart glasses wearers.

There are many benefits to Augmented Reality-assisted navigation based on geospatial data and sensors of user location. Apple has filed two applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, titled “Federated mobile device positioning” and “Registration between actual mobile device position and environmental model,” both describing an advanced Augmented Reality solution based on camera, onboard sensors and communications suite to offer a real-time world view overlaid with rich location data. Details of the patents and analysis are published in this article published on AppleInsider.