Cast AR hands-on with Jeri Ellsworth at Maker Faire 2013

<div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;" trbidi="on"><div class="image-container" dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Cast AR handson with Jeri Ellsworth at Maker Faire 2013" data-src-height="411" data-src-width="619" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/05/castarhandsonlead01.jpg" /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">When Valve's first hardware hire, Jeri Ellsworth, tweeted back in February that she was fired from the company, we were disappointed but also intrigued by what she meant by "time for new exciting projects." Well we finally saw what she's been up to here at at Maker Faire 2013. It's called Cast AR, and it's a pair of 3D augmented-reality glasses that she and former Valve programmer Rick Johnson were working on at Valve before they left.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">The model we saw is still in the early prototype stages, but the concepts are already in place. Perched atop a pair of active shutter glasses are a couple of miniature LCD projectors, which bounce images from a connected computer onto a special reflective surface at a 120Hz refresh rate. A camera module sits on the eyewear's bridge and monitors an array of infrared LEDs embedded in the reflective surface. This allows for quick and accurate head tracking. Join us after the break for our impressions and stay tuned for a video interview with Jeri Ellsworth.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> <img alt="Gallery Image" height="425" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/05/castarhandson02.jpg" width="640" /><img alt="Gallery Image" height="425" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/05/castarhandson03.jpg" width="640" /><img alt="Gallery Image" height="425" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/05/castarhandson04.jpg" width="640" /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">Unlike VR goggles like the Oculus Rift, putting on the Cast AR doesn't cocoon you in another world. Even though we were immersed in a full 3D environment, we could still see our surroundings and what was in front of us. We interacted with a variety of environments, from a flying tour over a digital landscape to shooting up zombies with hooked up Xbox controllers. We also waved a LED-equipped wand around to throw a wrecking ball into a Jenga-style tower. Even as we bobbed and weaved, not once did we feel nauseous or disoriented.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">Under their new company called Technical Illusions, Ellsworth plans to bring Cast AR from prototype to finished product. Ellsworth told us they plan on creating a Kickstarter later this year to help fund the project, and they've already created a mock-up of what they hope the final item will look like. She hopes to sell the whole kit -- the glasses, the wand accessory and the required reflective surface -- for under $200.</div></div>

Cast AR hands-on with Jeri Ellsworth at Maker Faire 2013

When Valve's first hardware hire, Jeri Ellsworth, tweeted back in February that she was fired from the company, we were disappointed bu...

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Regal outfits almost 6,000 theaters with Sony closed-captioning glasses

<div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;" trbidi="on"><div class="copy post-body" dir="ltr" itemprop="text" style="text-align: left;"> <div class="image-container" style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Regal outfitting nearly 6,000 movie theaters with Sony closedcaptioning glasses" data-src-height="311" data-src-width="620" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/05/sony-closed-caption-glasses.jpg" /></div>Sony's subtitle glasses have been a long time coming. The US rollout began more than a year ago, but the gradual launch has left hard-of-hearing Americans with few modern closed captioning options at the movies. They'll have a much easier time of it as of this month, as Regal will be providing the glasses to nearly 6,000 theaters before May is over. While the wide-scale deployment is coming later than the original first quarter target, it should be a welcome upgrade for viewers who've had to either deal with clunkier subtitle systems or stay at home. The Sony solution still won't be ubiquitous, especially when it sells for $1,750 per pair, but there's now a better chance that at least one captioning-friendly theater will be within reach.<br /> </div></div>

Regal outfits almost 6,000 theaters with Sony closed-captioning glasses

Sony's subtitle glasses have been a long time coming. The US rollout began more than a year ago, but the gradual launch has left hard-...

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Vuzix's Wrap 1200AR glasses do 3D

<div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;" trbidi="on"><hr dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" /> <div class="image-container" dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;"> <img alt="Vuzix Wrap 1200AR glasses" data-src-height="222" data-src-width="500" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/02/vuzix-wrap1200ar.jpg" /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> We saw Vuzix shift to a more Google Glass-esque set of smart glasses at CES in January, but it looks like it's not about to abandon the more traditional wrap-around headsets it's been churning out year after year. The company's latest is the Wrap 1200AR, which is a lot like its Wrap 1200VR headset, but with a focus on <em>augmented</em> reality instead of <em>virtual</em> reality. That means you'll get two (VGA) cameras mounted on the front to capture stereoscopic video of your surroundings, along with a pair of displays (<span>852 x 480 each) to view that video -- augmented or otherwise -- in 3D.</span><span> As with the Wrap 1200VR, the glasses also come equipped with head-tracking technology, but they don't come cheap. These will set you back a hefty $1,499, and are available to order now. </span></div></div>

Vuzix's Wrap 1200AR glasses do 3D

We saw Vuzix shift to a more Google Glass-esque set of smart glasses at CES in January, but it looks...

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