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BMW 3 Series gets 'full-color' heads-up display
If you've been hankering for some HUD action in your next auto, you'll have one more choice come next spring: the all-new 2012 BMW 3 Series. The launch will mark the first time a heads-up display has made it into Bavaria's volume seller, after debuting as an optional extra eons ago on its 5 Series. Since then, HUDs of limited hues have permeated München's high-end, splaying speed and navigation directions in the line of sight of road-going elites everywhere. However, this iteration is "full-color," which besides pleasing ROY G. BIV fans, makes it "more intuitive," as the company reasons it'll aid drivers in recognizing crucial alerts faster. That, or we're really just a generation away from über cool AR wizardry and movies on our windscreens. Of course, no word on when the 3's brethren will get the technicolor treatment, but we're betting it won't be long, given that's the dash of a 6 Series you see above. PR, per usual, is after the break.
iHUD Remote app brings glass cockpit to any pilot
The big bash for aviation fans, EAA AirVenture, has just started in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Among the static and flying displays of airplanes of all sizes, attendees can expect to see a lot of iPhones and iPads -- in the cockpits of many aircraft. Virginia-based Hunter Research and Utah-based Aerovisions International will be demonstrating a preview of iHUD Remote for iOS, an app that works with onboard sensors to creates a glass cockpit display on an iOS device. What's a glass cockpit? Well, if you've peeked inside the cockpit of any modern aircraft you know how they're dominated by a set of large screens displaying the aircraft attitude, navigation and status information. Light aircraft have had to stay with old-technology electromechanical gauges due to the high cost of the new systems. What iHUD Remote does is display attitude and heading information wirelessly beamed from hardware created by Levil Aviation. Levil's AHRS (attitude and heading reference system) weighs as little as 5 ounces and uses an ad-hoc Wi-Fi network to send engine, attitude, heading, and pressure information to the iOS device, where it is displayed with a simulated horizon and vehicle reference symbol. Speed, altitude, and vertical velocity ribbons are also displayed along with a rotating compass card, a slip/skid ball, and an accelerometer. For devices with a rear camera, there's an augmented reality view that creates a true "heads up display." The iHUD system is not intended as a primary cockpit instrument, as it lacks FAA certification, but can be used as an educational tool for pilots and even an auxiliary or backup system. The iHUD app that the system is built upon is available on the App Store for US$5.99. If you're at AirVenture in Oshkosh this week, drop by Hanger B, Booth #2125 to see the system in action at Levil Aviation's venue.
MVS California's Volumetric Head Up Display is a 3D laser show for your car's windshield (video)
Your windshield is good for more than just keeping bugs out of your mouth. It's also a big blank canvas waiting to display helpful info like directions, traffic notifications, and safety information. A number big name manufacturers like GM and Pioneer have offered up heads-up display concepts over the past few years, but what makes MVS California's Volumetric Head Up Display really neat is its impressive implementation of the volumetric aspect, using lasers to project images on the windshield in a such a way that gives the illusion of depth. So, if the system is being used to give driving direction via GPS -- its main application, at present -- it can make a turn arrow appear lined up with an exit half a mile down the road. The prototype showcased at this week's Augmented Reality Event 2011 projected in red only, though the company says it's capable of full color. How long do we have to wait for the future? MVS is hoping to get the thing into cars as a premium option in the next few years for around the same price of current high-end navigation systems. Surprisingly dull video of reality augmenting 3D lasers after the break.
Eye-tracking microdisplay delivers Terminator vision, distracts joggers
The folks at Fraunhofer IPMS have done it! After years of tireless research and promises of Borg-like eyewear, the group has delivered a prototype of the world's first bidirectional, eye-tracking OLED microdisplay (got all that?) at SID 2011. The rig is much like a monocle, except with a transparent OLED display inside, which overlays digital information on top of the reflected light that usually hits your eyeballs. What's more, there are integrated photodetectors inside and special software to monitor the direction of your gaze, allowing you to interact with your newfound augmented reality using only the flick of an eyeball. Fraunhofer foresees joggers taking in movies while out for a run, which sounds more than just a little dangerous. We, on the other hand, envision a world in which the first thing anyone does upon meeting someone new is discreetly check their relationship status on Facebook -- finally fulfilling the social network's full creep potential. One more pic and the poorly translated PR after the break.
Brazilian police live out Robocop fantasies, test glasses that scan for criminals
In advance of the 2016 Olympics 2014 World Cup (and the thousands of visitors it'll draw), military police in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro are testing glasses topped with cameras capable of scanning crowds for criminals. The camera analyzes 46,000 biometric points on up to 400 faces per second -- data that then gets compared with a database of up to 13 million people. If a mug happens to match a wanted person or known troublemaker, a red light will appear on a small screen connected to the glasses. And, in a twist particularly befitting Robocop, the glasses can purportedly be calibrated to zoom in from 12 miles away, though they'll typically be used to manage crowds at a much more personal 50 meters (164 feet). For now, local cops will use them to tame crowds (and likely brawls) at soccer matches and even concerts, but hope to eventually monitor those crowded World Cup stands. As for us, we're all kinds of curious. Where do those tens of millions of faces come from -- Santa's naughty and nice list? What if people wear masks? Or sunglasses at night?
MegaReader brings true multitasking to the iPhone, lets you walk and read at the same time (video)
Galaxy S owners will already be familiar with the awesome power of overlaying text on a live view of their phone's camera feed, but now their iPhone counterparts get to join in the fun as well. MegaReader, an e-reading app that's survived the cutthroat App Store waters long enough to reach version 2.1, has just added a "Heads Up Display" feature to its list of attributes. Its function is to make your iPhone appear transparent, which is achieved by relaying camera images of what's behind the phone to its front. A real life saver, a mere gimmick, or a golden opportunity for a hilarious promo video? Why not all three?
Pioneer teams with Microvision on laser heads-up display, next-gen pico projector tech
Remember when Pioneer's Android minions shot laser beams from their eyes and created an awesome prototype heads-up display? It turns out those lasers came from a Microbision PicoP projector, and that prototype is inching towards reality. You see, Pioneer's partnered with Microvision to build a brand-new laser module for the commercial version -- which is set to debut in 2012 -- using a brand-new display engine and the actual green laser that's been missing from the formula up until now. We can't wait to burn driving directions into our collective retina, so we'll be watching this one closely from now on. PR and video after the break.
Recon-Zeal Transcend goggles now shipping, GPS and head-mounted display included
Don't you just love it when a plan comes together? If you'll recall, we heard that Recon Instruments was fixing to up-end the winter sports goggle market in February of this year, with an optimistic-at-the-time ship date of October 2010. Lo and behold, the outfit has managed to nail its estimate, and the planet's first GPS-enabled goggles are now available to highfalutin' skiers and snowboarders. At least initially, the company will be rolling out a limited set, with two models to choose from: the $499 Transcend SPPX is fitted with an SPPX polarized and photochromic lens, while the $399 Transcend SPX features an SPX polarized lens. Aside from the fact that these probably cost less than those ho hum Oakleys in the ski shop, they're equipped with a Zeal Optics' frame design with a micro LCD display, which appears to hang approximately six feet in front of the user. That head-mounted display provides real-time feedback to the wearer, including speed, latitude / longitude, altitude, vertical distance traveled, total distance traveled, a chrono / stopwatch mode, a run-counter, temperature and time. Yeah, wow. You can bet we'll be trying to snag a set for review when we do our best impression of "hitting the slopes" post-CES. %Gallery-104018%
Apple contemplates head-mounted iPhone display, America cringes
We're pretty sure this isn't an April Fool's joke, and we're pretty sure that it could be. Essentially an iPhone dock that sits on your face like a pair of glasses, "Head-Mounted Display Apparatus for Retaining a Portable Electronic Device with Display" details a headset that contains a stereo display and either a camera or a window for your phone's camera. Also included in the patent application is a microphone, speaker, batteries, and an accelerometer for detecting the user's head movements. Something like this would be great for augmented reality applications -- and something like this would make ever getting a date that much more difficult. We'll let you know if this one ever makes it past the drawing board, folks.
GM shows off sensor-laden windshield, new heads-up display prototype
Heads-up displays are undoubtedly novel, and downright useful in the right circumstances. Trouble is, few of these prototypes ever make it beyond the lab, and we're stuck using these same two eyeballs to experience the world around us. General Motors is evidently tired of the almosts, and it's now working in concert with Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Southern California in order to concoct one of the most advanced HUD systems that we've seen -- particularly in the automotive world. Setting out to create "enhanced vision systems," GM's R&D team has created a windshield packed with visible and Infrared cameras along with internal optics that keep a close eye on the driver's retinas. In the images and video below (hit the 'Read More' link for the real action), you'll see a solution that utilizes lasers in order to highlight road edges, speed limit signs and all sorts of other vital bits of data during a fog-filled commute. Best of all? We're told that some of these technologies "could end up in GM vehicles in the near-term future." Granted, the Volt was supposed to set sail already, but we suppose we'll give 'em the benefit of the doubt. %Gallery-88465%
Zeal Optics bringing GPS, sensor-laden Transcend ski goggles to market
Remember those mind-melting Recon Instruments goggles that we caught wind of late last year? Admit it -- you never, ever expected those things to actually make it to market. Despite your pessimism, it seems as if those very specs are indeed making a beeline to the consumer realm, with Zeal Optics jumping in, working a bit of magic and relabeling 'em Transcend. Deemed the planet's first GPS and sensor-laden ski goggles, these things are purportedly capable of logging speed, altitude, temperature and time details, and the side-mounted toggle switches will enable you to view said data in real time (or not, if you're paying attention to the 50 foot drop ahead of you). Peek the read link for further details on the $350+ wearables (demoed after the break), and get ready to hit the slopes with a whole new mindset this October. [Thanks, Christopher]
Recon Instruments putting heads-up display, extra layer of 'cool' within ski goggles
It's a match made in heaven, really. A GPS-linked heads-up display system, and ski goggles. Together, at long last, forever. Recon Instruments is reportedly developing said technology right now, and if all goes well, a HUD-equipped set of alpine goggles will indeed be on sale to the general populace next fall for between $350 to $450. The device is expected to tap into your cellphone, and if said phone has a GPS chip within, you'll be able to see where you're at, where your fellow snow bunnies are and where you're headed. It'll also provide all sorts of other vital information, such as hang time off of the rail jump, altitude gain / loss, a stopwatch and temperature. There's no word on whether it'll alert you when too much powder starts building on that front-side edge, but here's hoping these things are durable enough to survive the face-plant that'll inevitably ensue when that scenario plays itself out.
Army's Land Warrior program back in action
Back in the wild, cost-be-damned heyday of 2006, the US military was flying high with its "Land Warrior" technology, a multi-part combat system combining wearable GPS sat-nav, weapon-mounted sensors, and a full color heads-up display (viewed via a sinister looking monocle). But like all good military spending parties, this one came to a close just a few months after it was announced with an order to cut $3.3 billion in funding for the Future Combat Systems initiative. Now, however, it seems that the Senate Armed Services Committee has opted to partially reinstate the program (likely to the chagrin of some soldiers, for whom the gear adds 15 lbs of extra load), allowing two additional battalions to be equipped (joining the single battalion currently using the technology), and spending another $30 million on development and improvement. Now, if only the army would reinstate that Skynet program.
GlobalTop intros GPS HUD Speed Meter
It's practically a foregone conclusion that eying your handy GPS unit a bit too much whilst cruising down the freeway can indeed put you and your fellow motorists in peril, and while robotic turn-by-turn voiceovers do quell the staring fits somewhat, we still tend to rely a tad too much on sheer visuals. GlobalTop is hoping to make the roads a safer place to navigate with its forthcoming GPS HUD Speed Meter, which will supposedly makes its debut at CeBIT. This Bluetooth-enabled device purportedly "displays your speed and other navigational info, like direction, onto your car's windshield," and also enables handsfree communications with your BT-equipped cellphone. Moreover, the speed meter can be setup to alert the driver when exceeding a user-set limit, and while you may not be familiar with the brand, it's reportedly a spinoff of f-tech, which bodes fairly well for us actually seeing this thing beyond the Photoshop stage. As expected, there's no pricing or availability deets surfacing just yet, but all that should change come next month.[Via NaviGadget]
