The project WatchThru combines smart watch and augmented reality
Last year there were many projects related to virtual reality, but many large companies is more positive with respect to augmented reality. The most promising development in this area is Microsoft HoloLens, and the first more or less mass product, called Google Glass, which had not arrived in wide sale. A team of researchers from Bremen University, Google and the University of Hasselt found another way to use this technology in smartwatches. They created a prototype called WatchThru equipped with an additional transparent display.
Researchers have proposed several variants of application development. First – aid to navigation. Arrow on a transparent screen can indicate the direction to the desired location during the movement for the building of the University. The second example is more complex and involves the display of virtual information over real objects. For this purpose various sensors are utilized for tracking hours and the user’s head. For example, if you place a watch on your card, they will show which contacts are connected.
Unfortunately, the usability of these watches in comparison with smart glasses or helmet augmented reality is highly questionable, since the user need to keep the front of the hand and the image on the screen is very small.
