Google Announces Project Glass, Wants to Bring Augmented Reality and Wearable Computing to the Masses [video]

Augmented reality just got a huge boost today thanks to Google who announced an experimental project that they’re calling ‘Glass’. Project Glass has apparently been in the works at Google[x] (Google’s experimental project group) for some time now. The project consists of a lightweight head mounted display which appears to be based on projection technology similar to that of Lumous’ Optical Engine Modules. But the hardware is only half the project, the other half is the software (Google hasn’t named it yet, but let’s call it Glass OS for now) which will power the HMD. I have to imagine that the Glass OS will be Android based, or even more likely, the HMD will link to an Android-powered phone and Glass OS will merely be an extension of the phone.

With Project Glass Google envisions an augmented reality setup that would allow you to check the weather, see your email, SMS, and other notifications, check your calendar, etc. all from a simple and intuitive interface that stays out of the way when you don’t need it. Google threw together a proof-of-concept video for Project Glass which you can see right here:

ST1080 Head Mounted Display Starts Pre-orders on March 1st, $100 Discount for Early Adopters

We’ve been following the ST1080 head mounted display from Silicon Micro Display for the last few months. The company is finally getting ready to put their first product out on the market after some delays, and have announced that pre-orders for the 1080p head mounted display will begin on March 1st. In addition to the pre-order date, the company has announced a $100 discount for the first 21 days of pre-ordering.

Lots of ST1080 Info out of CES, Retail Launch Info Due by End of Month

Silicon Micro Display has been touting their ST1080 HMD for a few months now. Back in December they announced that the retail price would be $799 — pricey, but comparative to Sony’s HMZ-T1. Pre-orders were supposed to start in January, but on January 1st, the company sent a message via email saying that they would be postponing pre-orders:

…due to on-going supplier delays around the holidays, we were not able to get demo units into the hands of technology reviewers in December. This means that there are no third-party reviews to help you make your purchase decision. With the 2012 CES in about a week, we’ve decided to postpone taking orders until after the CES when there will be plenty of reviews. This gives you more information upon which to make your purchase decision and it will provide us with much-needed time to strengthen our inventory position.

We feel that postponing the start of pre-orders is preferrable to taking your pre-orders and delaying the shipment. When we are ready to take your orders, we want you to be confident that your product will arrive within a reasonable amount of time.

While not the best news for anyone who was interested in ordering, I think this is a smart move. Sony underestimated demand for the HMZ-T1, and even after taking pre-orders, they were unable to meet the demand. This made for plenty of uptset early adopters.

ST1080 and ST1080 DDK Head Mounted Display Pricing Announced

I’ve been tracking Silicon Micro Display’s ST1080 head mounted display ever since they announced it back in early November. We’ve already seen most of the specs, but one thing that was missing was the price. I was excited by the prospect of the ST1080 because Silicon Micro Display had claimed that “companies like MyVu, Vuzix, and eMagin have sold HMDs to the consumer market, but gained little traction due to high cost…”, then went ahead to say that the company would be addressing that issue with the ST1080. Did they manage to reel the ST1080 in at a reasonable price? Find out right after the fold.

ST1080 HMD Development Kit on Sale and Retail Model Available for Pre-order in December

In addition to a retail model of the ST1080, Silicon Micro Display will be launching a less glamorous version of the ST1080 targeted toward developers. They are calling it the ST1080 DDK (display development kit). As with the ST1080 production unit the price is not yet announced but the company has confirmed that the DDK will go on sale in December. Alongside it, the production model will become available for pre-sale.

Silicon Micro Display CEO Paul Jin has confirmed that pricing will be announced for the production ST1080 on December 1st, and we’re expecting to see the DDK go on sale the same day. Presumably, the DDK will be less expensive than the production model because it appears to be quite a bit less glamorous and might use older prototype components. The thumbnail above is the only photo of the DDK that I’ve been able to track down so far, though the DDK might end up looking different than this.