Virtual & Augmented Reality: Consumer Electronics Show 2018

Despite being relatively new to the market, both the Augmented Reality (AR) & the Virtual Reality (VR) divisions combined consumed more than 45,000 net square feet of exhibitor space at this year’s CES show and for good reason.

What is the difference between Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality?
Augmented reality is the blending of virtual reality with real life. With AR, users continue to be in touch with the real world while interacting with virtual objects around them. However, with Virtual reality, a user is isolated from the real world and completely immersed within a fabricated world. With VR, the goal is for the user to find it difficult to tell the difference between what is real and what is not.

What were the top, award-winning AR & VR products showcased at this year’s show?
VR Simulators: Intel Corp is working with sports channels, such as ESPN, and they plan to install VR cameras upon all of the playing fields. Soon, from home, a consumer will have the ability to use a simulator and magically transport themselves into their favorite live game. With the use of a VR simulator, consumers will soon have the choice to place themselves upon the field of a live game and “virtually” witness their favorite athletes running past them. They also plan to do this with this year’s Winter Olympics.

The Pico “Eagle” Home Theater Interactive Headset: Featuring Kopin’s new High-Brightness OLED microdisplay, this is a lightweight mobile headset featuring over-ear, noise-cancelling headphones and a removable high-definition OLED display band. It provides the equivalent of an 80-in. screen viewed from 10 feet. The advantage of the system is that it lets users maintain situational awareness of their surroundings.

HTC Vive Pro VR Headset: Considering the fact that this product won over 22 awards from this year’s CES show, this is arguably the poster child of virtual reality. The resolution has been increased from 2150 x 1200 on the original model to 2880 x 1600 on the Pro. The face cushion has been redesigned and the nose pad now blocks even more light, which deepens your sense of presence while using VIVE Pro.

Vuzix Blade Augmented Reality Smart Glasses: Vuzix impressed in Vegas with the Blade, a pair of attractive AR glasses which project a user interface onto the right-hand lens. They look more conventional than the dorky-looking Google Glass, and include a touchpad on the side for navigating around the software. Truly revolutionary, Vuzix Blade™ AR smart glasses are a perfect companion to a smartphone, allowing users to keep their phone in their pockets for almost everything.

ThirdEye X1 Smart Glasses: ThirdEye chose to use this year’s CES show to debut its new X1 smart glasses. The glasses come packed with the latest sensors, chips and powerful design optics which allow users to experience a HD Augmented Reality display that is the equivalent to a 90”screen at 10 feet. Also, the display has 720p resolution with a 40-deg. field of view, a 13-Mpixel camera that can record 4k2k at 30 frames/s, 1080p at 60 frames/s, and 720p at 120 frames/s.

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