Augmented reality / Mixed reality
The virtual reality has not finished starting in 2017 in the way that some expected. She is far from dead, and Oculus expects more and more people to start using it with her wireless kit that will cost $ 200. But, with everything, its isolation, the lack of eye tracking and the tendency to make certain users dizzy, the list of problems is extensive. The mixed reality is much more interesting in that it incorporates virtual objects and experiences in the virtual world, solving a large part of the problems of virtual reality and offering different possibilities. 2017 brought us interesting news in that field.
The most modest development comes from the hand of Apple, who introduced augmented reality in their new iPhones and with an AR kit for developers. The functions of the iPhone with augmented reality are not going to go much beyond what we see in Pokémon Go, at least for the moment. But Apple is adding functions little by little that probably improve this section a lot. For now, the most we can hope for are some rudimentary decoration applications and small but useful tools like the AR measuring tape. But remember, the first million iPhone apps were just fart simulators. There are also some who say that Apple plans to present AR glasses in 2019.
Meanwhile, Microsoft has continued working under the shadow in its HoloLens helmet of mixed reality. The developers have been testing the first prototypes for a long time and from time to time we have great demos that were inspired by Super Mario, the Lemmings and Portal. Microsoft also took some small steps with a line of inexpensive VR glasses, but quite impressive in collaboration with other companies that simulate how mixed reality could work.
And finally, Magic Leap showed their mixed reality glasses that have both been delayed and promised to reach the developers in 2018. They are not as bulky as we feared and, it seems, virtual objects seem to give a sense of permanence and presence. view.
The mixed reality wants you to make holes in the walls of your living room with a laser gun, have a pet dog that constantly walks around your house, build virtual sculptures on the coffee table, fill your surroundings with all the monitors that You can ask, and walk down the street in the real world with avatars of people sitting in their living rooms.
Do not get too excited: mixed reality has a long way to go, so do not expect to walk down the street with the iron giant in the near future. And let's face it, the world promised by Ready Player Onesuena pretty horrible, so the longer we have to think about this topic, the better.