The present invention relates to an image capturing and displaying apparatus and an image capturing and displaying method that are configured to capture an image of a subject in a user's visual direction as the direction of a subject and display a captured image in front of his or her eyes while he or she puts on the apparatus that is for example an eye-glass type mounting unit or a headgear type mounting unit.

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I'd like to see someone try augmented reality using glasses, even if just as a peripheral. Maybe 5 years would be too soon for that, but all the technology is falling into place. You'd need lightweight glasses with a camera incorporated into them. The glasses would let you see the world around you still, but it could draw graphics on top. So something like those IR eyetoy demos or that french AR demo, but taken to the next level - instead of this reality being on your TV screen, it would be literally in what you see through these glasses, changing how you see the world. Early examples would merely add things into the world, but maybe a more sophisticated end-game could even manipulate what you see of the real world (mapping in what you see in realtime to a virtual model and then modifying it depending on what's happening in the game). If you threw in the processing power and graphics fidelity that could be available in 5 years - if you could somehow link that to the glasses - it could be very very compelling indeed. It could be a very cool next step in the mixing of the real and the virtual that people like KK go on about

The tech is already there (at least in terms of hardware). When I think of this, I think of the 3D infrared eyetoy demos, but in thinking about those I always thought that 'just' having that on the TV you're viewing was somewhat limiting, whereas if it could be done directly in what you see it would be far more immersive. Of course, not every game would fit with this necessarily, but as I say, even as a peripheral I think it could be very very cool indeed.

But it would need to be refined hugely to a point where anyone would be happy using it and wouldn't look silly, and maybe 5 years is too soon to expect that.

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gofreak said:

In far future, perfect embodiments, you could think of it as being like virtual reality, but instead..mixing the virtual and the real worlds. So, for example, maybe you could play a horror game in your own house at nighttime..think of walking around your own house in the dark, with the glasses augmenting your visual perception. So for example, you see apparations pass the door in your own house, blood crawling down the walls, meet rendered characters in 'the real world', and so forth. Or think of an alien invasion game where you walk outside, look up, and UFOs are flying out of the sky, explosions on the horizon, or something

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gofreak said:

Well, from an evolution of eyetoy (or playstation eye ) POV, it would mean that instead of interacting with things in the real world from the point of view of a fixed camera position, on your TV screen, it would literally be augmenting things right in front of your eyes, from your point of view. So a first embodiment might simply be mapping simple eyetoy stuff to it..

In far future, perfect embodiments, you could think of it as being like virtual reality, but instead..mixing the virtual and the real worlds. So, for example, maybe you could play a horror game in your own house at nighttime..think of walking around your own house in the dark, with the glasses augmenting your visual perception. So for example, you see apparations pass the door in your own house, blood crawling down the walls, meet rendered characters in 'the real world', and so forth. Or think of an alien invasion game where you walk outside, look up, and UFOs are flying out of the sky, explosions on the horizon, or something

In the ultimate embodiment, a mix of photorealistic rendering and high quality physical simulation and robust mapping (mapping the real world into a computer model) could lead to a virtual reality that leverages your own reality for a more compelling experience. Remember, you're seeing through the glasses to the real world itself, the computer is just rendering things on top to make it look different, or add things etc.

If you don't want to play with your own reality, you could also just kick back and use the glasses as a display device for 'ordinary' games, or have it render the game on a floating display in front of you, like a hologram or something

Like I say, though, some of that would be the product of a perfect, ultimate embodiment..

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pswii60 said:

I don't sound like the sound of that horror game. Blood running down my own walls :/ Scary shit.

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kaching said:

Begging to be hacked.

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