AsciiGoggles

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  • VR goggles turn the real world into ASCII art

    by 
    Joshua Topolsky
    Joshua Topolsky
    09.07.2007

    Sure, ASCII art is cool for making lewd gestures and the unicorn that you use for your e-mail signature, but couldn't we be doing more with it? Well, some Russian artists / DIY'ers certainly think so, and as a result they've created an immersive system which allows you to view the world through the lens of real-time ASCII art (amongst other effects). The designers of this VR headset / live video-effects-unit were hoping to modify "real" reality for the user, thus creating a "virtual reality" experience via video effects (similar to Photoshop filters) in a binocular viewer. The creators used a pair of goggles with a camera attached, a proprietary "black box" consisting of a CPU, battery, and radio transmitter, and custom-coded video processing modes (we assume, considering the box has no "operating system"). The result? Well, besides ASCII -- which looks a bit like the Matrix numbers -- you can do an effect akin to the Predator's POV... though we're pretty sure it won't make you invisible, or a lethal, alien killer. Check the video after the break to see the psychedelic magic unfold.[Via Slashdot]