Augmented reality is likely to become more pervasive as time goes by.
This will have massive implications for the future of marketing and advertising.
The technology can disrupt the existing framework of the advertising insutry by providing a more direct link between products and consumers.
Then again, this might providing great opportunities for advertisers that embrace this emerging platform.
Improvements in the underlying technology and in people’s acceptance should accelerate its adoption.
It is important to understand what products are available today and how fast their performance is advancing.
Nreal Light Augmented Reality glasses are one such product.
The people at Adam Savage’s Tested have kindly reviewed them.
These glasses weigh 88 grams. Slightly more than a normal pair of glasses.
The consumer kit has a cable connecting the glasses to your smartphone. In this configuration the smartphone acts as the computing unit.
The smartphone also provides power to the glasses and it acts as the controller.
For those of us wearing prescription glasses, prescription lenses are provided featuring a magnet that allows the user to clip them onto the frame.
In this way the user does not have to wear two frames.
Good:
- amount of image squeezed in little space
- first AR glasses that look like glasses
- vividness of the image colours
Not quite there yet:
- Computing needs an additional device (e.g. smartphone)
- SLAM (Simultaneous Localization And Mapping)
- Realistically limited to indoor environment
- Pricing not consumer-friendly
“These are the first AR glasses that actually look like glasses” – Jeremy Williams
Tested reviewers: Norman Chan & Jeremy Williams