ODG to Release New Google Glass Competitor


OdgSmartGlasses2You won't believe the next Google Glass competitor. This one's from the very low-key Ralph Osterhout. He's the guy who created underwater vehicles for James Bond films, has been building heavy duty smart glasses for military for years, and invented some of the most popular toys from the '90s, like the Yak Bak, TalkBoy F/X+, and Power Penz. Now, the Osterhout Design Group (ODG), who actually released two pairs of augmented reality glasses in 2014, has a new and improved headset, said to be announced and named at CES next week.

ODG designed the new headset to be very consumer-friendly, and physically suited to fans of the very popular Wayfarer sunglasses style. They will weigh a very light 125 grams, and “do everything its military-grade specs can do”, including the ability to record video, play HD video, and display visuals for those who love to play in a different world. Unlike the military version, these will, of course, neglect the awkward bulky, heavy appearance (Forbes).

OdgSmartGlasses1They will work with the company's own series of input devices, and anything that runs on Bluetooth, as well as an upcoming series of software run on Android. Internally, they will run on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor, and come packed with Wi-Fi, 128GB of storage, a global navigation satellite system, and array of sensors sensors (gyroscopes, accelerometers, and more). There is also a 720p camera mounted in the middle of the glasses, which can shoot at 100fps.

These glasses are the result of 6 years of feedback, and because the notion of wearing glasses like these has yet to grow out of its primitive stage, ODG wanted to prove that there's something better out there than Google Glass. The experience is similar to that of any computer or tablet, but in front of your eyes. It can be compared to having your own private 3D movie theater, as you can watch 3D video and have it feel like its on a 65-inch TV, 8 feet in front of your face (Gizmodo). It's also easy to still interact with your surroundings, and most reports have stated a less disorienting ease-of-use than the Oculus Rift. This could be thanks to the no-lag experience associated with that Snapdragon processor.

OdgSmartGlassesNone of this comes cheap, but we do know ODG's device should be less than $1,000 (remember this could mean $999). This is an improvement to the company's last set, which were priced around $5,000. Since it has taken a while to catch on, we still don't know if augmented reality glasses will be a hit. ODG COO Pete Jameson doesn't think people will be wearing these 24 hours a day, but that people will absolutely buy them “for a specific task, for a specific amount of time”. Hopefully after those 6 years, and 60 million dollars developing the glasses, we'll see a few on some faces.

Topics: Technology News CES - Consumer Electronics Show Gadgets & Peripherals Inventions & Innovations Smartphones & Mobile Devices

Join the conversation!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.