Analysis of Wearable Augmented Reality as an Emerging Technlogy

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1 Introduction
Wearable Augmented Reality (WAR) devices are defined as networked, multimedia computers that can be worn as glasses. They utilize “heads-up displays, sensors and earphones to provide an improved interface for these features by overlaying graphics, text, and sound on the physical world” [8]. WAR is a rapidly growing technology that has garnered attention from multinational corporations [2] to tinkerers who build Kickstarter projects [3] in their basement. In fact, the 2013 Emerging Technologies Hype Cycle released by Gartner in August 2013 mentions “Augmenting Humans with Technology” as one of six highlighted technologies [1]. Gartner speculates that narrowing the gap between humans and devices will result in productivity gains due to the workforce having quicker access to information.
Currently, Google’s Glass product is the only WAR device that has been publically announced. But con- sidering recent WAR patent applications from Microsoft [23] and Samsung [24] we can see that competition is heating up in this new space. These companies all have enormous research and development budgets which they are using to develop WAR devices to augment their present services. There also are more independant developers which utilize crowd funding to develop their product. Oculus Rift [25] and castAr [26] are great examples of these companies. While these devices do fall into the category of WAR, they currently are mainly targeted at video game users.
If WAR devices become widepread, their use will create a shift in information consumption, mirroring the same sort of shift created by smartphones. Thanks to smartphones, humans now have access to more information at a given time. They can schedule meetings more efficiently, query a...

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...s at their disposal in public has raised some eyebrows. In March a Seattle dive bar banned the use of WAR devices in their establishment [22].
When considering the positives and the negatives, we would like to conclude that the gains outweigh the ethical concerns and that this technology will probably be an important part of if not all, but some of our lives. We would like to advise NTV to invest in this product. This investment should cover companies that are performing rigorous research and development which they plan on patenting, as these patent portfolios will become very important in the future. They should also invest in companies that are building basic functionality apps for WAR devices, and companies that are developing necessary hardware for WAR devices as these companies will probably be bought in the future by larger corporations like Google or Samsung.

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