Move over HoloLens, $30 homebrew cardboard AR is here

Mixed reality VR systems like Microsoft’s HoloLens and Google’s Project Tango are incredibly complicated, but maybe they’ve been approaching it from the wrong direction. A British outfit has improvised a very low cost alternative to costly nerd goggles, using cardboard. The Zapbox could open up many new uses cases for AR, such …

[JimmyPage]

Since we're talking V/A-R here ...

does anyone know if the googles would help someone whose vision impaired and struggles to read normally ?

Is it possible they could somehow project lettering the eye could read ?

You can tell I never liked optics at school ....

[Yet Another Anonymous coward]

Re: Since we're talking V/A-R here ...

Yes, because you don't need to do the hard part of VR = working out the 3d location in the world.

Juts finding text in a video stream and overlaying laerger/clearer/translated version is trivial.

IIRC there are a bunch of apps that do this for eg foreign (especially Chinese/Japanese) street signs

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, I like it, exactly because of its low tech approach. It's pragmatic and ingenious as opposed to "give us more money" efforts that appear to be mainly aimed at a future of flogging ever more expensive kit. I mean, £30k?

It gets my vote. And money.

[Yet Another Anonymous coward]

It does require that you put AR tags all over the scene.

So it works for classrooms/gamesbut is a bit limited in the real world

It's like a self driving electric car that needs a metal slot down middle of the road to do the power and guidance

[Andrew Orlowski]

Limited but not useless

It depends what you want to do. For outdoor stuff like geocaching and Pokemon Go-style games it's fine. You can do a lot with not much.

[mosw]

"It's like a self driving electric car that needs a metal slot down middle of the road to do the power and guidance"

We used to call those trains or trolleys and they have proven to be quite useful. Although I do agree that the AR tags limit the applications for this technology.

[asdf]

that guy

Won't argue in this specific case but I guess I am showing my age in the only way I give money to any company is if I am buying a product or service or I get ownership in the company in the form of shares or bonds (and even then all index funds for me). Just like the gig/sharing economy crowdfunding seems to be mostly millennials fscking themselves over without realizing it. Pebble funding multiple different products (gee red flag) totally with crowdfunding and failing miserably is a perfect example.

[Grifter]

It might just be a little too low-tech, castAR should be out soon and seems a bit more capable (search youtube for castAR for examples).

[Haku]

Oooh! Let me get my 90's mixtape, it's time to hack the Gibson!

Er, does anyone have a walkman I can borrow? I left the batteries in mine and they leaked, corroding the contacts.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Oooh! Let me get my 90's mixtape, it's time to hack the Gibson!

You have the upfront utter temerity to comment on HERE and not know how to fix corroded battery contacts?

Away with thee, knave.........

[Yet Another Anonymous coward]

Re: Oooh! Let me get my 90's mixtape, it's time to hack the Gibson!

The good old days, when batteries merely leaked acid

[John Brown (no body)]

What's the lag like?

On my phone (Galaxy S5), the camera in it's normal "here's what you are going to take a picture of" mode, there's noticeable lag as the camera is moved around. I should imagine it's a bit less of an issue with a handheld, but that's a real deal breaker for many with head-mounted v/ar.