We're living in a pretty exciting time when it comes to technology. The line between real life and digital life is blurring. We are constantly using technology to improve the quality of our lives and helping us make more informed decisions about whatever we need, right there and then. There is now more computing power in the palm of our hands than there used to be in a whole office building 15 years ago. It creeps up on us, and I think sometimes it really needs to be pointed out to appreciate it.
The latest
smartphones on the market, be it an Android powered phone, an Iphone, a Blackberry or a Windows Mobile, as different as they are when it comes to style, design and feeling, they all have one thing in common. You have to hold them in your hand, and look down at them. At this point i guess that there are a lot of you thinking "well, duhh!", and I don't blame you for it. But I honestly think that in today's day and age, that is a really unpractical way of doing things. Let me elaborate.
 |
Layar, its like having a personal guide! This might be
how we look at our surroundings in the future. |
As smartphones get more popular, so do that apps that come along with it. The first thing people ask me when they get a smartphone is if there are any apps they should download and try. And the best way to show off a smartphone, is by using the apps! Its useless having a fancy phone if you can't do anything with it. In all honesty, most apps are pretty useless, but there are some really good ones that can make a difference. Applications like
Layar are brilliant when exploring a new city and you need to find out where everything is without buying a map or stopping every few minutes for to ask for directions. Just punching in what you're looking for, be it specific like "museum of fine arts" or a general search "restaurants", and holding up the phone to the horizon, will trigger the GPS on your phone so that it finds out where you are and shows you the way to your options! I've used it abroad (not much use in Malta unfortunately), and its amazing. Does exactly what you want it to do with pinpoint precision. The only problem is, that you constantly walk around holding your phone up in front of you, looking at it's screen, rather than what's in front of you.
 |
The only reason to look down,
is to check your shoelaces |
This tends to lead to embarrassing moments as you step into a huge pile of shit, walk into a knee hight bollard, kick some little puppy in the jaw etc etc. So do we really need to trade our dignity for this functionality? Luckily, some mad scientists have already picked up on this, and are working on it. Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome the first
Head Mounted Display for the average consumer. Now I can imagine how the more fashion concious of readers would cringe at wearing something like that, but bear with me, this technology is still in it's infancy, and has a long way to go to becoming an integral part of our life, but once it's there, there is no going back. These tiny projectors mount up on any pair of glasses, and project information directly into your field of vision creating a perfect
augmented reality. No more looking down, no more holding the phone in your hands, no more stubbing your big toe in a step. This is definitely the future. With these little gems, you would theoretically be able to walk upright, staring directly at what you want to look at, and getting all the information there and then. The possibilities of this device is truly unlimited. Be it for the average Joe walking around a city seeing the sites, be it a professional architect looking at a building, relaying the information back to the office by means of a tiny camera mounted on the glasses, and instantly getting information back from the rest of the team. All without pulling out any laptops or any other bulky device.
I think that as the technology is refined, it will get smaller, and probably hook up to your smartphone wirelessly. I also envisage that the display will become an integral part of having glasses, dropping the projector completely. Today transparent flexible displays are already being tested in various scenarios, so I wouldn't be surprised to see this a reality within 5 years. The only technology that really needs to step as I see it falling behind, is battery technology, but thats an article for another day.
Thanks for reading!
