[FoRK] [Tech] Goggles, or Projectors?

[Gordon Mohr]

"Goggles".

I'm sure some compact, powerful, dynamic projectors will be available 
and useful, and embedded in handheld input devices. Perhaps 
addressable-display surfaces (walls, tables, ceilings, floors, etc.) 
will become ubiquitous.

But "goggles" uniquely offer the possibility for customized and private 
views.

Plus, if sufficiently advanced, they can do everything any projector or 
surface could do. Why spend $N to make one surface into a display, when 
you could spend (perhaps) $(10*N) to make *every* surface a display?

I wouldn't expect augmented-display "goggles" to be much more difficult 
to wear than sunglasses. Does this promo image from Microvision, a 
current maker of both wearable displays and tiny laser projectors, look 
either uncomfortable or interpersonally isolating?

  http://www.microvision.com/wearable_displays/mobile.html

- Gordon

Jef Allbright wrote:
> A few weeks ago I read Charlie Stross's latest book, _Halting State_.
> In my opinion the story itself wasn't as stimulating as some of his
> previous work, but the mention of "Python 3000" hooked me into buying
> it, and I found that my investment of money and time spent reading was
> rewarding with a thoughtful projection of technology and society circa
> 2018.
> 
> A common feature of that world was the wear of goggles for augmented
> reality by nearly everyone nearly all the time.  Now, I would be among
> the first to augment my geek self with such goggles as soon as
> price/performance comes into range, but I wonder whether that picture
> will actually emerge.
> 
> [By the way, has anyone else noticed how hard it is to type "goggles"
> without getting "googles"?]
> 
> Rather than wearing goggles, I wonder whether we may find much broader
> preference for very small video projectors displaying high-resolution
> images on any suitable surface and maybe compact scrollable screens as
> the target for a scanning laser built into the front edge of portable
> keyboards?
> 
> With reasonably advanced optics, sensors and computation, requirements
> for planarity, incidence angle and even stability of the display
> surface could be relaxed using dynamic compensation in the scanner.
> 
> Given the inherent discomfort of goggles, and worse, the interpersonal
> isolation entailed by covering the eyes and part of the face, I
> suspect the personal scanning laser projector may predominate.
> 
> Comments?
> 
> BTW, with suitably detailed public discussion of such technological
> concepts, do we reduce the possibility of such technology being
> restricted with narrowly controlled IP rights?
> 
> - Jef
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