Skip to main contentA TechFestNW panel on augmented reality Friday afternoon examined how, some day, we might all be wearing better-looking versions of Google Glass.
The term "augmented reality" was originally coined in the early 1990s, when Boeing scientists were trying to help Boeing workers build better airplanes by projecting where wiring was supposed to be installed in their wings. Head tracking issues, though, meant that Boeing's paractice never took off, said Rachel Metz, MIT Technology Review's senior editor for mobile and moderator of the panel. However, the idea of augmented reality—superimposing computer-generated images on a person's view of the real world—has persisted.
Raven Zachary, co-founder of Object Theory, which designs applications for Microsoft's Hololens augmented reality system, said developers have to balance competing demands.
"Having portability and something you can put onto your head, that means trading off performance for mobility," Zachary said.
"It's going to feel like technology may even feel a step behind what you're used to with the power of a smartphone in your pocket or the power behind your PC," added. "But we're going to get there, and I think pricepoint's key now."
Metz said that price, design, and the user interface will all be issues that need resolving as AR moves forward.
Milos Jovanovic, founder of SpaceView, which maps rooms in 3D for design and sales purposes, said that the scope or intent behind AR projects could be what determines their success.
"With new technology, it's really important for us to identify specific problems and solve those problems very, very well, versus trying to do everything poorly," Jovanovic said.
"[AR] makes the average Joe a professional," said Ryan Fink, founder of On The Go Platforms in Portland, which works to create wearable gesture interfaces.
"One of the experiences I had with the Microsoft Hololens is—I've never changed a lighting fixture or anything… but I was wearing Hololens and I Skyped with someone, and they were able to circle the tools that I was looking at and kind of guide me through on what to do.
"Bringing that kind of expert opinion to any field, you automatically get experts that are just off the street," Fink said.
The panelists agreed that AR's success doesn't hinge on any one feature or capability.
Fink said that for AR to be effective, it will have to focus less on projecting objects and images in front of users, and more on helping users interact with the world around them.
"You really need to augment physical objects," Fink said. "So, I'm looking at a sign and it's augmented. I'm looking at a bike that I'm working on and the fuel tank's augmented and I'm able to interact with it."
WWeek 2015