A lot of Augmented Reality based glasses are specifically designed to overlay digital objects and information on top of the real world. However, sidestepping that theory, Bose, the headphone maker has unveiled AR glasses that makes use of sound over vision. Bose's AR glasses have no screen and no camera.
The prototype device, made from a 3D printer and packed with smarts and high-quality audio, made its debut at SXSW in Austin, Texas. The glasses look like almost every other sunglasses. But its's ability to hear is its USP. The glasses have speakers built into the arms, essentially turning the glasses into headphones. The speakers built into the end of the stems blast sound right into the ear without needing any kind of earphones. You can hear the music, but other's can't unless they literally press up against them.
The #bosear demo is actually one of the coolest new technologies I've tried at #sxsw this year. Can't wait for the dev kit! @bose pic.twitter.com/9HwoaD8hw2
— Jonathan Gottfried (@jonmarkgo) March 11, 2018
The Bose AR prototype does not come with an integrated camera, but rather features wafer-thin acoustics package that can be built into headphones, eyewear, helmets among other things. The Bose AR glasses will be able to translate a sign, explain the story behind a painting and use it for music or controlling music playback using head gestures.
Bose says its AR glasses use onboard motion sensors that can detect precisely which direction you're facing, working with GPS coordinates from a paired smartphone to essentially "see" where the glasses are facing. Additionally, the AR glasses recognizes head-based gestures. For instance, if you got an incoming call, you can nod your head to answer or shake it to reject the call.
There are no details on the pricing of the AR glasses, but a tweaked version of the of the Bose AR glasses will be released this summer in limited quantities.