Communications of the ACM
A Smartphone in Your Glasses
EPFL professor Christophe Moser with a pair of augmented reality glasses.
Credit: Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne
Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) researchers are developing a prototype of a pair of augmented glasses that allow the wearer to read messages, look at an itinerary, and receive a variety of information directly on the lenses.
The early applications for the new device could include games, global positioning systems, teaching enhancement, and support for the deaf.
One major problem has been finding a way to allow the user to simultaneously view the information displayed on the lenses and to see his or her surroundings. The researchers solved this problem by developing a specially designed contact lens with a micro-lens in its center that allows the eye to focus on the images. "For the majority of users, it would be possible to make glasses that don't require the use of contact lenses, but the high definition would be somewhat reduced," says EPFL professor Christophe Moser.
Collaboration between the EPFL Laboratory of Photonic Devices and EPFL startup Lemoptix is focusing on the development of a high-definition micro-projector that will integrate discreetly into the right arm of the glasses. Images and data will be sent from this projector to the specially treated glasses lens via holography.
From École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
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