A brief history of Apple iPad models 2010-2019 (Gallery)
Apple's iPad exploded into the consumer tech market in April of 2010, months ahead of the first Android-powered tablet, and since then the company has sold some 400 million units. ...
A look at some of the most promising and novel tech projects to come out of crowdfunding websites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo.
The Meta glasses will be a wearable 3D display and computer that can be controlled using gestures or voice.
The glasses, being developed by startup Meta, will pair a 3D headset with a depth-tracking camera that can place objects in 3D space, allowing it to track hand movements in a manner similar to Microsoft's Kinect sensor.
Meta is designed to provide an augmented reality or head-up display, meaning users looking through the glasses see virtual objects on the display, giving the effect of overlaying digital objects and information onto the real world.
Unlike Google's augmented reality headset Glass , Meta will offer a 3D image. Being 3D capable will allow the Meta to be used for playing 3D games, or for overlaying 3D virtual objects in the user's view, which the headset's creators anticipate could have applications in the fields of architecture, engineering, medicine, film and other industries.
The Meta headset is available to order as part of a developer's kit for $750, which is due to ship in January next year. The headset that ships with the developer's kit has a resolution of 960x540 per TFT LCD screen and needs to be tethered to a Windows computer to function. Sensor and camera-wise it includes a 720p RGB camera and 320x240 infra-red depth imaging, as well as an accelerometer, gyroscope and compass to track movement to nine degrees of freedom. Meta plans for the consumer version of the display, due to be released at a later date, to work as a standalone device.
The developer's kit also ships with various software: including a chess game, 3D sculpting software and MetaCraft, a Minecraft simulator, and a Unity 3D game engine framework for managing gestures and tracking control.
According to an interview with Meta's founders the company plans to model itself after Apple, selling its own hardware and operating system, and working with app developers to build out an ecosystem.
The Kickstarter project raised more than $190,000, almost double its $100,000 goal.
Caption by: Nick Heath
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