Atheer Labs demos 3-D virtual object-manipulation goggles

(Phys.org) —Atheer Labs has announced the development of a new type of technology that allows for creating and manipulating virtual three-dimensional objects via goggles or by other types of devices. Calling it a Mobile 3D Platform, the technology is meant to function on a variety of different types of devices running different types of operating systems, such as Android or other open source systems.

Devices running the system are capable of creating and displaying virtual 3D objects which the viewer sees by looking through a transparent screen. The company demonstrated its new technology at this year's Wall Street Journal's D: All Things Digital conference. Using it, a person is able to pop bubbles that appear in the air in front of them, for example, by simply reaching out and "poking" them with a fingertip. Another application allows users to slice virtual fruit with their finger.

To create such effects, the system combines augmented reality with sensors similar to those in a Kinect device, incorporating a gyroscope, accelerometer and Wi-Fi antenna. That means the virtual objects that are created can come from the Internet. Representatives for the company at the conference said the goal is create a transformative device that will allow people to access data and information in an entirely new way. Natural gestures, they contend, are the means by which truly immersive devices should operate. To that end, devices running the new system are controlled by voice commands and hand gestures.

The new technology, in essence, takes what Google and others are trying to achieve with project Glass and other similar devices and adds both a 3D element and the ability to manipulate them. Virtual objects can be created that appear to exist in the real world. A person could read a newspaper, company reps noted, using goggles outfitted with their new technology that have moving pictures similar to those seen in the Harry Potter movies. Animated objects could literally leap off the page, grabbing the reader's attention.

Atheer Labs is also demonstrating restraint with the new technology; users are allowed to choose which sort of information reaches their device and an option is included that disallows the device from working in an area where such devices have been banned. They added also that the new technology is still under development and thus no time frame for delivering a product has been set.

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