CES 2012 Week
Sony's 3D head-mounted display, the HMZ-T1, may have lit up the CES floor last year, but in 2012 there's a new kid on the block: SmartGoggles.
Sensics' Natalia, the company's first expedition using its SmartGoggles technology, is a fully-immersive pair of 3D goggles.
SmartGoggles, Sensics Natalia
Natalia …
In the 80's they looked a bit meh, nothing has changed. Fuck it, Sony did this crap in the 80's iirc. If you want to do this, get a couple of LCD's, put them in some sunglasses, get a wire to connect to some cheap headphones and a wifi device and your done.
Then try and explain why people should buy it and run into a brick wall.
...anyone who has a dissenting opinion not only has limited bladder control, but is also not a human being. That's a first for these forums.
If you don't see any practical uses for a relatively powerful mobile computer with AR and touchless UI capability, that's your problem. But that's no wonder, with your type of rhetoric you probably *prefer* experiencing AR with your hand permanently outstretched halfway to a "Sieg Heil" salute.
Yes, it's not completely revolutionary, since similar devices have already been made, and yes, it's not the end-all in its category - indeed, its display resolution seems to be too small for the purpose which *I* would by it for, namely a virtual multi-monitor setup.
But it's certainly a step in the right direction, and is certainly more innovative than an additional speaker grille.
Have a beer, maybe it will make you less misanthropic.
Someone who assumed you would take the oh-so-subtle hint that dehumanizing people because they're different in some way from yourself is morally wrong?
Forgive me for invoking Godwin, but the AR gesture reference was just too good to pass up. I could also compare your language to the one used by sympathizers of Pol Pot, Stalin, etc. etc. if that makes feel any better - it's nothing specific to Nazis.
Anyway, care to discuss the actual article? Do you disagree that the device may have practical uses? I'm asking, because I'm hardly interested in a flame war over teh Internets.
He was saying other AR devices require you holding your device out at arms-length in a gesture similar to those used by German Nazi's.
He didn't even come close to calling you a Nazi. I, however, come very close to calling you a moron!
Somebody says something you don't like, and you put him right up there with history's greatest murderers? One wonders in which blog war you got your sense of perspective shot off, that you think there's any comparison between killing millions of people in real life and bandying words about on the Internet.
As for the device itself? Virtual reality has been trying to justify its existence since it's been around at all, and outside a few incredibly narrow and specialized niches it has utterly failed to do so. Thanks to Sensics, we now have this almost entirely useless technology packed down into a Cyberman-hat form factor which would be a big hit at Worldcon, but which -- as with so many things that are big hits at Worldcon -- no self-respecting person would be caught dead wearing in public. Yeah, I'll admit I am having a hard time seeing the practicality here.
Well, frankly, you put yourself in this position. You said that those who don't agree with you aren't human. The only thing I did was to point out who also used such epithets - and this is not a case of "Hitler ate sugar" - this exact rhetoric has justified mass murders. To use a metaphor, you came up to me as a complete stranger and kicked me in the balls - in response, I merely told you that you behave like a sociopath.
I know (or rather, I hope!) that you wish no death upon dissenters, but, to put it bluntly - please, f*cking think before you speak.
I don't want to discuss this issue further, if you do, that's your right, but expect no reply from me.
Regarding the uses of the device, two preliminary counterpoints. 1. It's AR, not simple VR. 2. Well of course it's not fashionable*. But, would you be caught dead wearing a hard hat in public, unless dressing up as a member of the Village People for Halloween? I think not. My point is - it's not a fashion accessory, it's a utility device. Just like a hard hat protects your cranium against a close encounter of the first kind with a MASHY I-BEAM, the device allows you to visualize anything in front you.
In 3D.
And you can operate the view with hands.
And those hands don't have to be bare.
And you can hold something in them, without fear of scratching your display.
And you can use a standard input device in the same time.
And the view can be laid over what you actually see (with schematics, sensor data, etc.).
And the view can be bidirectionally refreshed and updated in real time.
And you can send other data as well.
And it runs on a system that virtually any code monkey can learn to write for.
Still not practical enough for you?
*and keep in mind fashions change - right now having low-riding pants that say "F ME" on one's arse, with three pieces of string covering the latter plainly visible is a-OK. Not less than 40 years ago a woman wearing that would be lynched.
I should point out that "gargoyles" is a reference to the Neal Stephenson book Snow Crash (possibly earlier?) where people wearing this sort of getup were given the name.
Quote from the book:
"Gargoyles represent the embarrassing side of the Central Intelligence Corporation. Instead of using laptops, they wear their computers on their bodies, broken up into separate modules that hang on the waist, on the back, on the headset. They serve as human surveillance devices, recording everything that happens around them. Nothing looks stupider; there getups are the modern-day equivalent of the slide-rule scabbard or the calculater pouch on the belt, marking the user as belonging to a class that is at once above and far below human society. They are a boon to Hiro because they embody the worst stereotype of the CIC stringer. They draw all of the attention. The payoff for this self-imposed ostracism is that you can be in the Metaverse all the time, and gather intelligence all the time."
What would be really awesome is if we could use these to experience a changed reality. For example, one reason special relativity is hard to grasp is that we can't actually perceive it. So how about using these to let us walk about in a world in which the speed-of-light is reduced to 30mph...
Ideally, I want to walk around in the real-world, and have the computer calculate the effects for me...
Anyone who has read "Mr. Tompkins in Paperback" will know what I mean
this is going to sound realy random, but bare with me...
in the milenium edition of pcgamer (or was it pc zone, i forget), they did a futuretech speculation article set up as a mock news report. One of the articles was how a gadget such as this erased homeless people from the users vision, optionally replacing them with cartoon characters.
Those of you familiar with dennou coil can see it's awesome future just a little bit closer...
Considering that the first (or possibly second) effect of a world where c = 30mph would be that you'd be rendered blind because no photons would be reaching your retinas -- and that the second (or possibly first) effect would be that you'd drop dead in your tracks as a result of your body being built on a physics which no longer works -- why do you need silly nonsense goggles at all? Just hit yourself hard on the back of the head with half a brick, you'll get the same result and save yourself six grand. (Well, your executors, but still.)
for reading PC Gamer (or PC Zone, I don't actually care) and taking it seriously as anything but a list of which games will be coming out approximately when.
Aaron Em - A couple of people make references above to reading material and the information held within, which you haven't read, and neither have I. "Mr Tompkins in Paperback"? WTF is that? I'm not even going to deem it worthy of a quick check on Wiki, but I will berate the commentor.
Richard Neill - hang your head in shame. Perhaps you should just do me and Aaron a favour and burn that book so that we don't have to.
Aaron - I agree with you - if you go to the expense of buying a gaming magazine, why would you go to the effort of reading any of the editorials, or comments or anything not specifically related with a game review? How many trees have been devastated due to this nonsense that is worthless and should be removed from all gaming magazines forthwith.
How dare these people reference things you and I haven't read and therefore don't understand. Don't they realise the internet revolves around people like you I, and rules regarding our lowest common denominator status need to be adherred to? Every conversation, every thread and every comment on the internet must be specific to our beliefs, or at least all conversations / threads / comments must be only based upon those things of which we have an understanding and therefore relevant opinion.
I've read plenty of PC Gamer -- subscribed to it, in fact, back in my misspent youth. How do you think I know it's not to be taken seriously? And I don't need to read 'Mr Tompkins in Paperback', whatever that may be, in order to amuse myself by noodling around the consequences of a physics in which c = 30mph.
Has some progressive blog or other recently done a rabble-rouser on how awful Reg comments are, or something? Seems like all of a sudden there's a lot of schoolmarm hegemonists around here demanding that everyone on the Internet be nice to each other.
You jump on this topic ('first post'), declare that it is shit and anyone interested in it is sub-human and cannot control their bladders, and then spam the other people commenting on it (20% of the posts are from you, on something you find shit).
Now you are asking where the childishness is coming from? Look within.
"Unlike other headsets, Natalia incorporates a camera system to track the wearer's hand movements, allowing the a user to drive the interface with gestures and movement alone."
So watching VR porn is probably not recommended, then...
"So watching VR porn is probably not recommended, then..."
Oh I don't know.... This thing tracks hand movements right? So it can use that to monitor the users level of arousal and make the 3D Virtual Strumpet respond accordingly.
Putting it crudely the faster the right hand moves the more enthusiastically the pixellated floozie (or whatever) writhes and moans, until eventually, assuming you've got the calibration right, reaching a simulated climax simultaneously with the... [pauses to consider words] ...user.
Paris 'cos she'd see the IT angle of this one right away :-)
And it's 3D so I'd assuming that the front has more than one camera, and therefore depth perception is the same as Kinect's.
I don't think this kind of thing will take off other than niche markets, as it's waytoo big, but as other posters have alluded to, porn could take these in a totally different and lucrative direction! Combine it with a full body pressure suit kinda things and you're off! :)
In normal use, get a version of Layar onto it, and imagine a size reduced to normal spectacle levels then who wouldn't have one?
Register
CES 2012 Week Sony's 3D head-mounted display, the HMZ-T1, may have lit up the CES floor last year, but in 2012 there's a new kid on the block: SmartGoggles. Sensics' Natalia, the company's first expedition using its SmartGoggles technology, is a fully-immersive pair of 3D goggles. SmartGoggles, Sensics Natalia Natalia …
What an appealing piece of haberdashery
The "gargoyles" among us will no doubt piss themselves in glee -- actual humans may find themselves not so completely enthralled.
But it runs on Ice Cream and they need a story
In the 80's they looked a bit meh, nothing has changed. Fuck it, Sony did this crap in the 80's iirc. If you want to do this, get a couple of LCD's, put them in some sunglasses, get a wire to connect to some cheap headphones and a wifi device and your done.
Then try and explain why people should buy it and run into a brick wall.
Wow...
...anyone who has a dissenting opinion not only has limited bladder control, but is also not a human being. That's a first for these forums.
If you don't see any practical uses for a relatively powerful mobile computer with AR and touchless UI capability, that's your problem. But that's no wonder, with your type of rhetoric you probably *prefer* experiencing AR with your hand permanently outstretched halfway to a "Sieg Heil" salute.
Yes, it's not completely revolutionary, since similar devices have already been made, and yes, it's not the end-all in its category - indeed, its display resolution seems to be too small for the purpose which *I* would by it for, namely a virtual multi-monitor setup.
But it's certainly a step in the right direction, and is certainly more innovative than an additional speaker grille.
Have a beer, maybe it will make you less misanthropic.
So you call me a Nazi and then expect me to take your shit?
Who the hell are you?
Someone who assumed you would take the oh-so-subtle hint that dehumanizing people because they're different in some way from yourself is morally wrong?
Forgive me for invoking Godwin, but the AR gesture reference was just too good to pass up. I could also compare your language to the one used by sympathizers of Pol Pot, Stalin, etc. etc. if that makes feel any better - it's nothing specific to Nazis.
Anyway, care to discuss the actual article? Do you disagree that the device may have practical uses? I'm asking, because I'm hardly interested in a flame war over teh Internets.
@Aaron Em
He was saying other AR devices require you holding your device out at arms-length in a gesture similar to those used by German Nazi's. He didn't even come close to calling you a Nazi. I, however, come very close to calling you a moron!I dunno, man
Somebody says something you don't like, and you put him right up there with history's greatest murderers? One wonders in which blog war you got your sense of perspective shot off, that you think there's any comparison between killing millions of people in real life and bandying words about on the Internet. As for the device itself? Virtual reality has been trying to justify its existence since it's been around at all, and outside a few incredibly narrow and specialized niches it has utterly failed to do so. Thanks to Sensics, we now have this almost entirely useless technology packed down into a Cyberman-hat form factor which would be a big hit at Worldcon, but which -- as with so many things that are big hits at Worldcon -- no self-respecting person would be caught dead wearing in public. Yeah, I'll admit I am having a hard time seeing the practicality here.@Aaron
Well, frankly, you put yourself in this position. You said that those who don't agree with you aren't human. The only thing I did was to point out who also used such epithets - and this is not a case of "Hitler ate sugar" - this exact rhetoric has justified mass murders. To use a metaphor, you came up to me as a complete stranger and kicked me in the balls - in response, I merely told you that you behave like a sociopath.
I know (or rather, I hope!) that you wish no death upon dissenters, but, to put it bluntly - please, f*cking think before you speak.
I don't want to discuss this issue further, if you do, that's your right, but expect no reply from me.
Regarding the uses of the device, two preliminary counterpoints. 1. It's AR, not simple VR. 2. Well of course it's not fashionable*. But, would you be caught dead wearing a hard hat in public, unless dressing up as a member of the Village People for Halloween? I think not. My point is - it's not a fashion accessory, it's a utility device. Just like a hard hat protects your cranium against a close encounter of the first kind with a MASHY I-BEAM, the device allows you to visualize anything in front you.
In 3D.
And you can operate the view with hands.
And those hands don't have to be bare.
And you can hold something in them, without fear of scratching your display.
And you can use a standard input device in the same time.
And the view can be laid over what you actually see (with schematics, sensor data, etc.).
And the view can be bidirectionally refreshed and updated in real time.
And you can send other data as well.
And it runs on a system that virtually any code monkey can learn to write for.
Still not practical enough for you?
*and keep in mind fashions change - right now having low-riding pants that say "F ME" on one's arse, with three pieces of string covering the latter plainly visible is a-OK. Not less than 40 years ago a woman wearing that would be lynched.
for the sake of completeness...
I should point out that "gargoyles" is a reference to the Neal Stephenson book Snow Crash (possibly earlier?) where people wearing this sort of getup were given the name.
Quote from the book:
"Gargoyles represent the embarrassing side of the Central Intelligence Corporation. Instead of using laptops, they wear their computers on their bodies, broken up into separate modules that hang on the waist, on the back, on the headset. They serve as human surveillance devices, recording everything that happens around them. Nothing looks stupider; there getups are the modern-day equivalent of the slide-rule scabbard or the calculater pouch on the belt, marking the user as belonging to a class that is at once above and far below human society. They are a boon to Hiro because they embody the worst stereotype of the CIC stringer. They draw all of the attention. The payoff for this self-imposed ostracism is that you can be in the Metaverse all the time, and gather intelligence all the time."
First thing I thought...
...was WOW, cool.
Second thing was "I wonder how long it will be before they get sued by Cupertino lawyers for violating one of their patents?"
First thing I thought...
Dick
Soon enough no doubt!
No that comes second when the techology needs a kick up the arse!
There's only one area of the entertainment industry that really knows how to boost tech take-up like no other!
First thing I thought
was "Why did they bother to include that totally rubbish video?"
vr won't really be accepted...
...until haptics are part of the enviroment.
I've been dipping in and out of VR for nearly 20 years and it's never been a great experience and occasionaly a queasy one.
Relativistic Goggles
What would be really awesome is if we could use these to experience a changed reality. For example, one reason special relativity is hard to grasp is that we can't actually perceive it. So how about using these to let us walk about in a world in which the speed-of-light is reduced to 30mph...
Ideally, I want to walk around in the real-world, and have the computer calculate the effects for me...
Anyone who has read "Mr. Tompkins in Paperback" will know what I mean
this is going to sound realy random, but bare with me...
in the milenium edition of pcgamer (or was it pc zone, i forget), they did a futuretech speculation article set up as a mock news report. One of the articles was how a gadget such as this erased homeless people from the users vision, optionally replacing them with cartoon characters.
Those of you familiar with dennou coil can see it's awesome future just a little bit closer...
Great idea
Considering that the first (or possibly second) effect of a world where c = 30mph would be that you'd be rendered blind because no photons would be reaching your retinas -- and that the second (or possibly first) effect would be that you'd drop dead in your tracks as a result of your body being built on a physics which no longer works -- why do you need silly nonsense goggles at all? Just hit yourself hard on the back of the head with half a brick, you'll get the same result and save yourself six grand. (Well, your executors, but still.)
This, kids, is what you get
for reading PC Gamer (or PC Zone, I don't actually care) and taking it seriously as anything but a list of which games will be coming out approximately when.
Aaron Em - A couple of people make references above to reading material and the information held within, which you haven't read, and neither have I. "Mr Tompkins in Paperback"? WTF is that? I'm not even going to deem it worthy of a quick check on Wiki, but I will berate the commentor.
Richard Neill - hang your head in shame. Perhaps you should just do me and Aaron a favour and burn that book so that we don't have to.
Aaron - I agree with you - if you go to the expense of buying a gaming magazine, why would you go to the effort of reading any of the editorials, or comments or anything not specifically related with a game review? How many trees have been devastated due to this nonsense that is worthless and should be removed from all gaming magazines forthwith.
How dare these people reference things you and I haven't read and therefore don't understand. Don't they realise the internet revolves around people like you I, and rules regarding our lowest common denominator status need to be adherred to? Every conversation, every thread and every comment on the internet must be specific to our beliefs, or at least all conversations / threads / comments must be only based upon those things of which we have an understanding and therefore relevant opinion.
Where is this childishness coming from lately?
I've read plenty of PC Gamer -- subscribed to it, in fact, back in my misspent youth. How do you think I know it's not to be taken seriously? And I don't need to read 'Mr Tompkins in Paperback', whatever that may be, in order to amuse myself by noodling around the consequences of a physics in which c = 30mph.
Has some progressive blog or other recently done a rabble-rouser on how awful Reg comments are, or something? Seems like all of a sudden there's a lot of schoolmarm hegemonists around here demanding that everyone on the Internet be nice to each other.
Re: Where is this childishness coming from
You jump on this topic ('first post'), declare that it is shit and anyone interested in it is sub-human and cannot control their bladders, and then spam the other people commenting on it (20% of the posts are from you, on something you find shit). Now you are asking where the childishness is coming from? Look within.Oh, this could be dangerous...
"Unlike other headsets, Natalia incorporates a camera system to track the wearer's hand movements, allowing the a user to drive the interface with gestures and movement alone."
So watching VR porn is probably not recommended, then...
"So watching VR porn is probably not recommended, then..."
Oh I don't know.... This thing tracks hand movements right? So it can use that to monitor the users level of arousal and make the 3D Virtual Strumpet respond accordingly.
Putting it crudely the faster the right hand moves the more enthusiastically the pixellated floozie (or whatever) writhes and moans, until eventually, assuming you've got the calibration right, reaching a simulated climax simultaneously with the... [pauses to consider words] ...user.
Paris 'cos she'd see the IT angle of this one right away :-)
@Jonathon Green
But on the BUS?
Shoots
...and of course, the fruits of your labour could 'interact' with the pixelated strumpet. The mind boggles!
If these come styled like a storm trooper helmet then its a must have :)
But is it...
Better Than Life?
I bet it still suffers from the same limitation as the Wii
Does it know how high (from the real world floor) your gestures are being made at?
ie can it tell the difference between a crouching hit and a standing one?
If not, epic fail - no 1:1 sword fighting game (The holy grail of motion controlled games IMHO) using this system then.