Technology Issues

Abstract

In this section, some of the key technical issues in building an augmented reality device are discussed. The number of sensors, and the technology associated with them, combined with the need to operate at low power and be lightweight, is an on-going challenge for the device builders. Augmented reality systems (headsets, helmets, HUDs, etc.) must interact with our eyes and brain, and the eye-brain connection is a very powerful, amazingly complex and capable system. Knowing where you are is one of the most critical functions in augmented reality. How can a system identify things and deliver potentially mission critical information in a timely manner if it doesn’t know where you are? But how does it know where you are? The concept of voice control, like augmented and virtual reality, are terms that have been in our vocabulary for so long, many think they know what they are and how they work. The use of hand gestures as a means of communicating and controlling the information provided by augmented reality systems provides an attractive alternative to cumbersome interface devices for human-computer interaction (HCI); hand gestures can help in achieving the ease and naturalness. Eye tracking is the process of measuring either the point of gaze (where one is looking) or the motion of an eye relative to the head. Eye-tracking is an old concept developed in the 1800s made using direct observations. If ever the statement, “one size does not fit all,” was appropriate, it would be in the case of a user interface.