Facebook is really very serious about augmented reality. Last year, the company showed off honestly ambitious framework for the future of AR, and now the social media giant has has released some advanced devices It’s designed to help people communicate with the AR world.
The biggest challenge of the Facebook Reality Labs research team is finding ways to communicate with augmented reality like we do with a computer. We have a number of headsets and glasses, but no AR equivalent to a mouse and keyboard.
Instead of trying to make existing devices work in AR, Facebook wants to create new types of human-computer interfaces (HCIs) that are easy to use, reliable, and still offer some privacy. Facebook said it consider AI as a critical part of the formula to give you the right tools or commands, depending on the situation, which will help reduce friction or possible confusion of users.
And while this technology is far from polished, Facebook already has some ideas on how AR-based HCI devices might work in the future. Instead of relying entirely on voice commands, Facebook views wristbands as a great solution and offers a familiar and comfortable design that is not entirely different from a standard wristwatch, but with new technology that can support different input methods.
Facebook says that, using electromyography, it can use sensors to convert electrical signals sent from your brain to your hands into digital commands. Facebook claims EMG sensors are sensitive enough to detect movements of just one millimeter, and future devices may even detect someone’s intentions without any actual physical movement. In essence, Facebook is looking for direct control of AR devices, but without the need for physical implants.
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Furthermore, with precise EMG sensors, Facebook can also support new gesture controls, such as pinching your thumb and forefinger together to create a “click”. This way, people doing what they do on a regular computer can translate into a new set of AR-based gestures that Facebook hopes to one day expand to all sorts of controls and gestures. Facebook even hopes to introduce it again type using AI to make writing essays or emails faster and more accurate.
Facebook said it know that all these technologies will have to evolve with each other, because simply clicking on an AR object will not be enough if the rest of the AR interface is constantly getting in the way. And Facebook again thinks that AI can help by knowing intelligently when you want to switch virtual workspaces or concentrate on a specific tool, or to get additional input from EMG sensors or even eye-tracking sensors.
Aleven if touch screens and virtual screens are useful, there is simply no substitute for actual physical stimulus. Other than touching something with your fingers, Facebook just showed off two different prototypes that deliver haptics in interesting ways.
With its prototype “Bellowband”, Facebook uses a series of eight pneumatic pumps attached to a wrist-mounted device that blow air and create different pressure and vibration patterns. Win combination with its Tasbi prototype (Tactile and Squeeze Bracelet Interface), Facebook was able to create a device that presses your wrist to better mimic the feeling of moving or touching real objects.
The biggest problem, of course, is that Facebook’s privacy record is … we all know it’s not great. The company said Protecting people’s data in AR is critical, though Facebook director of science Reality Labs Sean Keller added ‘Ununderstanding and resolving the full range of ethical issues requires involvement at the societal level. In short, Facebook needs feedback on how to improve privacy and security in AR (surprise, surprise) and encourages its researchers to publish relevant work in peers.revise magazines.
Admittedly, although it all sounds pretty far –given the speed with which VR has been adopted by certain sectors such as engineering and design, it is not so strange to imagine that AR will see a similar explosive growth in the next 10 to 15 years. And as in other industries, if you are the first business to define and control a market, the chances are high that profits will follow. YYou can rest assured that Facebook is going to do its best to outperform its competitors – but it sounds like Microsoft, Apple, and the rest all have the same idea. Let the games begin.