What would the world be with out its maker neighborhood? Whereas the giants of the tech business have begun taking part in round with all kinds of AR and VR tech, one fanatic has already constructed a functioning prototype of their very own imaginative and prescient of an AR future.
Miroslav Kotalík has been displaying off his newest creation on Twitter—a set of AR glasses powered by a Raspberry Pi (by way of Tom’s {Hardware}). What’s actually spectacular right here is the dedication to the “build-it-from-scratch” ethos, as whereas the frames are 3D printed—as you would possibly count on from a maker neighborhood construct—Kotalík has gone one step additional and found out a approach to forged the lenses from scratch, too.
How I constructed Zero, a budget, self contained pair of AR goggles working internet apps. What I’ve realized and the place I am heading:A thread 🧵 (0/10)#ar #vr #xr pic.twitter.com/rSSIbOVYLaOctober 18, 2024
The undertaking is named Zero, and started with a collection of checks utilizing telescope optics. After determining a projection system, Kotalík experimented with 3D printing for the lenses, though rapidly realised that unavoidable air gaps made the outcomes lower than excellent. As an alternative, he pivoted to casting, creating 3D printed moulds that had been then full of clear resin and cured, sanded and polished to create a useable lens.
Two tiny SPI shows had been then fitted in entrance of a housing, and a driver was created permitting for low-latency 60 fps picture replica by way of the Raspberry Pi. A body was then 3D printed, with nearly all of the elements being pushed to the edges of the glasses, earlier than the outcomes went by way of a collection of iterations to regulate distance and change the optical element to a single lens.
Lastly, a backend was designed to combine sensors and to run apps. Kotalík says constructing apps for the system is “tremendous simple”, and solely requires writing them as an HTML, CSS, or JavaScript web page and placing them within the right folder to run.
The tip outcomes appear to be one thing of a cross between a modern pair of hipster glasses, and a Bladerunner-style goggle setup. Whereas Kotalík appears proud of the outcomes, he additionally admits that the prototype is “clearly very removed from a client system”, and has massive plans for the longer term.
This consists of the mixing of a digicam, GPS, and sim slot, including a variety of additional performance to the goggles. The thought right here appears to be to create one thing that is rather more slimmed-down, moveable, and useable than another choices within the works from firms like Meta, which confirmed off its personal AI-powered “neural AI glasses” earlier this 12 months.
Kotalík has additionally created a video displaying him carrying the glasses in public, together with some barely blurry footage of what they appear to be for the wearer in utilization.
Whereas carrying a hoodie hides lots of the side-sections to create a extra seamless outcome, it is spectacular that the glasses mix in to his general getup sufficient that you just may not look twice in the event you had been to move somebody carrying them on the road.
The general AR impact seems to be hazy within the footage, however it may be troublesome to seize this form of show on a standard digicam—and as a primary iteration of the prototype, I reckon it is a superb demonstration of the place Kotalík’s bold product is heading.
I would nonetheless moderately put on a pair of those over the Meta choices, which to me look uncomfortably near the form of factor Michael Caine was attaching to his face within the 70s. Extra energy to your elbow, that is what I say, and this undertaking stands out as a superb instance of maker ingenuity tackling the chopping fringe of know-how, and arising with correctly useable outcomes.