Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook said he wants to bring Facebook to the Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) world. Now, through a new patent, we might just see how he intends to do that. Thanks to a filing by members of Oculus’s advanced research division, we can see what Facebook AR will be like for the layperson.
The patent application is for a “waveguide display with two-dimensional scanner” that “may augment views of a physical, real-world environment with computer-generated elements.” Basically what this means is that the glasses will use the same technology that Microsoft is using in its HoloLens to project images and light into the user’s eyes. The same document also Pasi Saarikko as one of the applicants. Saarikko was on the Microsoft HoloLens team before joining the Oculus team.
On top of superimposing videos and images over the real world, the glasses can play back audio when connected to a pair of speakers or headphones. One design element of the AR glasses is that they look like, well, regular glasses. This has the consequences of it looking like something you would wear every day, but at the same time, Facebook needs to hustle to develop miniaturised components to fit into the slim frame. What this will do to the expected price of the glasses, no one knows yet.
Zuckerberg’s vision of everyone sharing their personal moments through connected AR glasses may be come true pretty soon, and it will look like something you can pull out from your shirt pocket.
(Source: Engadget , Business Insider )
