I began researching further into specific brands of Smart Glasses, I chose to research ORA and Vue because they are both entirely different models, not only do they look completely different, they also have a lot of different features and specifications.
ORA Smart Glasses
ORA-1 are a new pair of smart glasses that have recently been introduced. They are supposedly more advanced than Google Glass and a fraction of the price.
After reading about the product on the Kickstarter website I discovered that the software that they use for ORA-1 is Android KitKat 4.4. This mobile operating system, developed by Google, is imperative in order for the glasses to work as smart glasses. It enables the glasses to connect to a mobile device and display data from that device. However, ORA-1 does not work with Android software alone, it needs an Augmented Reality component. This is provided by Wikitude.
After researching further into what Wikitude offers, it appears that Wikitude is a company that develops AR programmes for Apps and so it seems that in order for the smart glasses to work in an AR mode, they need to be connected to an application.
Amongst my research on this company, I discovered a price list. These prices are for the cost of the Augmented Reality programming that this company has developed. I think that their prices are realitively expensive and I am pretty certain that the type of programming that I would need for the smart glasses that I am proposing would cost much less as it will not need to incorporate all of the features that this programme does, for example, Wikitude SDK combines 3D tracking technology, image recognition and tracking as well as geo-location AR for apps.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lh7SDw2fYLk
Below is an image of what is actually inside ORA-1. It is a Patented Retinal Display. This projection technology “allows see-through vision while displaying a super bright virtual image simultaneously. It has a high see-through ratio, wide viewing angle, is light weight, and shatter proof. Furthermore, it is the most cost effective and scalable approach available as all key components are based on molded plastic”. Although this piece of technology appears to be essential in order to create these AR Smart Glasses, it is not something that I would consider for the glasses that I am proposing as I want the glasses to look natural. I would ideally like the lenses to look like normal lenses, so this is something that would have to be taken into consideration when designing the contents of the product. How is the AR lens going to be made? And where will it come from?
https://www.wikitude.com/store/
Vue Smart Glasses
