If computing futurologists are to be believed then the next big thing will be wearable computing. Apple are rumoured to be working on an iWatch (though won't confirm or deny anything) and Google are already developing a head mounted computer called Glass which will be released to selected early adopters soon.
Glass uses augmented reality to overlay its UI on what you can see, and uses voice control to allow you to take a photograph or record a video of what you can see for example. You can also apparently conduct Google searches or use social media this way. How this works in practice is always key, especially in noisy environments (or you have to Google something embarrassing) but it certainly looks very interesting and futuristic (natch).
Augmented vision and voice control are nothing new of course, they have been used in military technology (such as fighter planes) for years and are a sci-fi staple. This is only the beginning, eventually the technology will shrink so to become almost invisible. Thought control instead of having to speak commands will also be welcome.
2 comments:
There's some great speculative stuff in Peter F Hamilton's "Night's Dawn" trilogy about augmented reality via neural implants ("Neural Nanonics"). I must say, when I read those novels, every time I learned more about Neural Nanonics I thought "Want!".
Yes that would be interesting, though of course it would make telling reality from virtual reality difficult (if thats important!)
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