Spring 2023 GRASP Seminar: Henry Fuchs, UNC Chapel Hill, “Augmented Reality Glasses: a 50-year Adventure”

This is an in-person only event with attendance in Raisler Lounge (Towne 225). The presenter will be in-person as well.

ABSTRACT

Many of us foresee of a future in which AR eyeglasses are worn all day, replacing of our current prescription eyewear. That future may not arrive for a while and predicting its benefits and problems may be as premature as early predictions about the use of mobile phones or about “a helicopter in every garage.” Nevertheless, a few sample applications seem both obvious and promising, 1) continuous physiological monitoring for sudden and long-term health changes, and 2) virtually embodied avatars for guidance in navigation, exercise, and training. I will also talk about the rocky history of head-worn AR systems, which in contrast to the amazing, continuous advances in Integrated Circuit fabrication technology, has gone through multiple bust and boom cycles. I will talk about a few of the historic obstacles and how some were overcome and others side-stepped. I will summarize a few of the remaining problems, possible paths to their solution, and describe several of our projects in these areas.