Enhancing Our View of the World

Click here to listen to this feature

We all know people who seem to be able to look at the world through "rose coloured glasses."  We know others who have enough trouble coping with reality.  But computer scientists are working on the next step - glasses that augment reality.

Technological advances are enabling the development of devices, worn like spectacles, that present a combination of virtual and real information.  They alter the user's view, by overlaying real graphics and text with computer-generated images.  When these devices are positioned just in front of the eye, a physically small screen creates a virtually large image.  The result is that the user's view of the world and the computer image become one.

These developments will soon lead to ways of enhancing reality which will go beyond computer games and entertainment.  They will provide surgeons and soldiers with an ability to focus on physical objects while combining them with graphical aids which will help them interpret what they see.  Although no video camera is a match for the human eye, these devices will enable users to do things that are impossible for the unaided eye.

There is little doubt that computers will become increasingly incorporated into our daily lives.  Whether at work or play, images will be summoned to pop into view, so that a pervasive mixture of reality and virtuality can influence artists and creative thinkers in new ways.

So next time you hear about rose coloured glasses, remember - "you ain't seen nothin' yet!"