Wearable Technology Innovations at Augmented World Expo

The future of wearable glasses involves AI, haptics, and smaller, versatile building blocks, despite ongoing experimentation and the absence of a perfect product.

### The Future of Wearable AR Technology at the Augmented World Expo
* 👓  At the Augmented World Expo, companies like Apple and Meta are showcasing the **most versatile building blocks for AR technology**, such as the **Apple Vision Pro** and **Meta Quest 3**, which are currently **large in size**.
* 🔍  Companies like Lumis are focusing on developing **small and high-quality lenses for projecting displays**, while Avant is working on building **light engines to shrink down the projection systems for AR glasses**.
* 🖐️  To address the issue of hand gesture tracking without the need for power-hungry sensors, Ultraleap has demonstrated **low-power cameras** built into a modified version of the Meta Rayband glasses.
* ⌚  Wearables like smartwatches are also being explored as connected interfaces for AR technology, with companies like **Double Point and Tap XR** developing **gesture-based control solutions**.
* 🧠  AI plays a crucial role in AR glasses, with the potential to **identify objects, provide assistance, and offer various services**. However, delivering these AI services requires **powerful processors beyond the capabilities of the glasses themselves**.
* 📱  Companies like Meta and XRE are addressing the processor challenge by pairing AR glasses with smartphones or developing standalone devices like XRE's **The Beam Pro**.
* 🤚  Haptic gloves are emerging as a **key component of AR experiences**, with companies like Tactile creating new sensations that aim to **evoke emotions or connect to emotional experiences**.
* 🛣️  The future of wearable AR technology is still uncertain, with various experimental components being developed to find the **right combination**. While the perfect wearable AR glasses are yet to be realized, they are expected to be **AI-powered, work with hand gestures, and serve as displays, headphones, and glasses**.

ah, I'm riding around a racetrack. Well, I'm here at the Augmented World Expo in Long Beach. You can see the Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest 3 all over the show floor for things like haptics and art experiences, riding horses around, and mixed reality on the show floor, or for things like drawing and art with things like Logitech's mixed reality pen. That's because they're the most versatile building blocks that are available right now, but they're big. Then the next step is to make these things smaller, and there are companies showing how that can be done. First of all, the lenses. I met with a company called Lumis talking about how small and good the lenses can be for projecting displays, and they looked really good. The question is, who's going to adopt them? There are also companies like Avant that are building light engines, ways to shrink down the ways that you project onto those glasses. There are also companies trying to track how to do hand gestures because a lot of those expensive mixed

reality headsets. Well, they have their own built-in power-hungry sensors, right on here. Company Ultraleap is showing how you can have low-power cameras built into a hacked version of Meta Rayband glasses to do things like micro gestures on the go. And eventually, Meta Raybands may get cameras like that or other future smart glasses. Also, there's your watch. There are so many ways that your watch could work as a connected interface, and I've been waiting for that double point is one company I saw here that's using gestures to control your TV or smart lights. And eventually, yes, work with glasses as well. And they're using a modified software package on Samsung watches. There's also Tap XR that's doing its own custom-built wearable that has a camera and some sensory capabilities to do that type of stuff. So I saw companies kind of offloading that, and it doesn't feel like we're far away from having that then work with the glasses. But again, it gets to what's the software AI is all over.

the place right now, and you can see companies pivoting. Of course, they would because it's a big hype-filled thing, but there are also useful things that AI can do on glasses. You could identify things by asking about them. You could have it eventually begin to recognize things and assist you. Met is experimenting with this already, and the limit to that though is that you're going to have to figure out how to deliver those services over into some processor that you're carrying with you. These glasses are not enough. Metas Ray-Bands pair with your phone. XRE connect with your phone. XRE actually built its own little device that looks like a phone called The Beam Pro. This $200 basically almost phone that's an Android-powered thing. It's trying to be the phone concept for a world where phones don't perfectly work with AR glasses yet, and XRE's product has the ability to, you know, become a touchpad or launch apps in mixed reality and cast them up and make them more compatible instead of just mirroring your display. It also has an

extra p through USBC port for charging while also wearing the glasses. It takes spatial photos with more widely spaced cameras. Some of these ideas are probably going to come to phones, but the phone compatibility for these is already really inconsistent. And then you've got the wild cards like haptic gloves. There are giant ones like haptics, there are mid-range ones like sense glove that pull back on your fingers, and also vibrate, and also have something that squeezes your hand. And then there's bhaptics, which basically has a whole bunch of vibrating Motors all over your body, on vests, and wrist pieces, and gloves. And a lot of this may sound really gimmicky, but I also saw a really moving art piece called I will defy you that moved me to tears and used haptics to express the emotions of somebody who had survived an attempted electroshock gender conversion therapy experience. I'm feeling moved even talking about it. Those vibrations gave me a sense of connection. Taptic is trying out New

Sensations that will eventually kind of create sensations of emotion, or connect to things that we tag to emotion. I don't think we have a clear understanding of where all these pieces will come next, and so I'm not ready to dismiss any one of them yet. If you walk around L show like awe, it's all experimental. All of these pieces are trying to find one bit here, one bit here. Some of it's practical, some of it's wild, and the big companies like Apple and Meta are not that present here. So these companies are trying to find a way to explore the future, and I think the future is a moving point. We don't have a product that's perfect yet. We don't have the iPhone of your perfect wearable glasses yet. I think they're going to be something like this. I think they're going to work with your hands. I think they're going to be AI-powered, and I think they're going to work as displays sometimes, or also be headphones, and also be glasses. Probably will take a couple of years to get there. You seeing just

the beginning steps of that here. But it feels a lot more possible now than it did before. I just don't know when I'm going to be able to buy the perfect one yet.

Beyond Meta and Apple Vision Pro, I Saw the Future of AR Glasses

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Mixed reality technology, including Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest 3, is currently dominant at the Augmented World Expo, with a focus on versatility and immersive experiences.

Companies like Lumis and Avant are working on shrinking down lenses and light engines for the next generation of mixed reality glasses.

Ultraleap is demonstrating the use of low-power cameras for hand gestures, while Tap XR is developing custom-built wearables with sensory capabilities.

The future integration of mixed reality technology with smart glasses and watches, as well as the role of AI, is a key focus of the event.

The Role of AI in Smart Glasses and the Evolution of Haptic Technology

AI is making its way into smart glasses, allowing for the identification and recognition of objects, with companies like Met and XRE leading the way.

XRE has developed The Beam Pro, an Android-powered device to enhance the functionality of AR glasses and address the current inconsistency in phone compatibility.

Haptic technology, including gloves and vests with vibrating motors, is not only offering a unique and immersive experience but also being used to express emotions, as seen in the art piece "I Will Defy You.

Big companies like Apple and Meta are not heavily involved in the experimental exploration of wearable technology.

The future of wearable technology is envisioned to be AI-powered, hand-controlled, and multifunctional, serving as displays, headphones, and glasses.

However, the perfect product is yet to be developed, and it may take a few years to reach that point.

Buying the perfect home feels more achievable now, despite uncertainties about the timing.