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Computer Monitor In Eyeglasses
ozancakmakci writes "We have all seen science fiction ideals of computer displays concealed in eyeglasses. One of the earlier spectacle-based designs was created by David Bettinger and disclosed in US Patent 4,806,011. Advances in fabrication technologies are now allowing complicated surface profiles to be manufactured. Exploitation of a complicated surface profile leads to low element count designs. Researchers at the University of Central Florida, CREOL/College of Optics & Photonics have designed and fabricated a computer monitor in eyeglasses that uses sophisticated surface profiles to achieve a compact design. The current specifications include an 8mm exit pupil, 20-degree field of view, 15mm eye clearance, and a resolution of 1.5 arcminutes. Follow the link for two pictures of this latest prototype." Read on for some of the challenges in designing a workable eyeglasses-based display.
Regardless of market potential, there are several optical engineering challenges that need to be overcome before displays in eyeglasses become pervasive. From an optical engineering point of view, the design space is large enough and designers have to make choices. A good example of such a choice is choosing just the right field of view while maintaining high image quality and a large exit pupil. Exit pupil of an optical system is analogous to the windows at your home, the larger the windows, the easier it is to see the outside world. It has been challenging to design and fabricate a large field of view and a large exit pupil for an eyeglass based display.
Since the submitter is the author of the article, I find it a bit upsetting that he does not show more links to information on his 'invention' or background written by others. Now it looks a bit like a bad egotrip.
This space is intentionally staring blankly at you
No need to focus close. The physical distance doesn't matter. The optics can be designed to allow the user to focus at infinity.
Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
I don't think "utility" is the right word. The utility is clear, if the challenges can be surmounted. Of course, eye strain is a concern for any display technology.
I can even live with 640x480 resolution - just use a motion detector to scroll the view across a virtual desktop when I move my head.
But can it see through womens clothes? THAT is what I want to know!
If you mod me down, I *will* introduce you to my sister!
...at least in prototype form? http://www.media.mit.edu/wearables/lizzy/index.htm l
The article doesn't articulate how the new technology is different from previous projector-based systems.
I don't think "utility" is the right word. The utility is clear, if the challenges can be surmounted. Of course, eye strain is a concern for any display technology.
I can even live with 640x480 resolution - just use a motion detector to scroll the view across a virtual desktop when I move my head.
An even better idea: how about one that scrolls along with the motion of the eye? It'd be even less necessary motion, and possibly far more natural than moving one's head around.While watching a movie or something seems to be the most obvious use of this type of system, I think the most interesting uses would be those that involve leaving most of the screen clear at any given time. A HUD for a soldier, sure... or a little digital clock and mini forcast (like forcast fox) whenever you look up and to the right or something for a civilian. You could even use it to add a 3D picture of something to every day life, if you added a camera or a motion sensor... I just can't wait until someone makes a popup virus for one of these... hijack wireless or bluetooth connected to the device and an ad appears 10 feet in front of you every 5 minutes... that would be interesting, especially if such a device were required for some tracking system :P
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These glasses would be quite useful for sky divers, they could see their altitude and current speed in their glasses as opposed to asking a mathematician after they land. Every time I've been sky diving the mathematician in the booth at the landing site charged nearly $100 just to tell me how fast I was going. Then once I brought along a calculator and started calculating my velocity right there. Then the mathematician got really pissed off and tried to take the calculator away from me. Then the other sky divers grabbed him and wrapped him up in a chute and rolled him into a near by river. I did all the calculations for the other sky divers for free.
The trouble was after that the mathematician went and told the National Mathematicians Union about what I did. So the Union went to the Sky Divers Collective and told them if they kept up this 'bastard math' as they called it, they'd completely blacklist the entire skydiving community. This was a tough call on the part of the Collective, since they had something of a symbiotic relationship with the Mathematicians Union. Instead of trying to call the Union's bluff the Sky Divers Collective just blacklisted ME from ever sky diving again. I think that was a real kick in the teeth, since the conditions of the blacklist meant I wasn't even allowed to use a chute to save my own life.
These computer monitor glasses would be a well deserved kick in the teeth for the National Mathematicians Union which I think has gotten a little too big for its britches. I imagine they'll probably be the biggest opponants of the computer glasses.
I don't own a snook, and if I did I wouldn't leave it cocked.
That is false.
What WILL deteriorate your eyesight is always looking at something at a fixed distance, be it a book, monitor, etc. all day long without taking breaks, day after day, for many months. So, whether you're a software geek, an accountant, an attorney, or ($FOO) just look away from your work every little while. What I do a few times a day to exercise my eyes is look through the blinds by my desk, focus on the blinds, then focus on objects behind the blinds, and repeat a bunch of times.
You can avoid weakening the muscles in your eyes by shifting focus to something distant. Look out the window across the street for example. Ever hear of the 'see clearly method?' I imagine they take this simple exercise (focus on something really, really close, then focus on something really distant. Repeat, rinse, wipe hands on pants) and turn it into an expensive "self help" video, but really, all that method is (probably) about is forcing your eyes to focus at the extremes to give the muscles a workout.
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Except your eye naturally "shifts" position every few milliseconds I believe. It's a way for you to continually see since your eyes tend to "disappear" anything that is completely motionless.
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Head mounted displays have *not* been fiction. Steve Mann has been building these things for decades. A number of commercial solutions, based on several generations of products exist. I count a total of 17 basic wearable display product lines at Tekgear, a distributor who focuses on wearable computing hardware. This sort of thing is so common that an Open Source toolkit has been developed to deal with the real problems with these displays -- not the graphics display, but the user input. The ArToolkit is an object-recognition system which allows easy, keyboard-less interaction with a computer mediated augmented reality display. It's rather far along.
they could adjust focus of the display from near to far on a cycle, and get rid of the need to take a break visually...
every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
Here's how you'll look wearing them.
Its a good thing, then, that the "Computer Monitor in Eyeglasses" is in eyeglasses.
duh.
blog
I have bad eyesight as well, but I can actually use my Icuiti M920 head mounted display without them because it has a diopter adjustment. Looking at the pictures in the article, I can see the creator used an Icuiti DV920 to build off of, which also has this ability.
Of course he may have hacked that part off, or the amount it can be adjusted to may be insufficient for you.
May the Maths Be with you!
Thad Starner and his team that was researching Wearable computing at MIT had them a LOOOONG time ago. Thad is currently sporing some today that are near impossible to detect.
Nothing new here but someone patenting something that has so much prior art that taking the patent down will be incredibly easy.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.