UPDATED 21:35 EST / JANUARY 03 2017

EMERGING TECH

ODG launches virtual and augmented reality glasses powered by new Snapdragon chip

Osterhout Design Group Inc. Tuesday jumped into the suddenly crowded smart glasses market, revealing its “mixed-reality” visors at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Both sets of glasses, called the R-8 and R-9, are the first wearables powered by Qualcomm Inc.’s Snapdragon 835 processor. They can deliver both augmented and virtual reality overlays.

Pitched at a wide range of consumers, these are “glasses for the masses,” as ODG founder and Chief Executive Officer Ralph Osterhout described them to TechCrunch. The difference between the two sets of glasses comes down to product specifications, with the R-9 the more powerful of the pair.

Both glasses run ODG’s Android Nougat 7.0-based Reticle operating system. They offer six-degree-of-freedom tracking, with the R-8 offering a 40-degree field of vision and 720p resolution and the R-9 a 50-degree field and 1080p resolution with a 13-megapixel front-facing camera that can record 4K video. The R-9 also includes an extension port that allows users to attach specialized sensor modules such as low-light vision or improved environmental scanning.

Unlike other smart glasses in the market, the R-8 and R-9 are fully functioning computers. That means they do not need to be tethered to a mobile phone, allowing users to take photos, stream live video and even check email, ODG Vice President Nima Shams said following the launch. “This is the most powerful mobile device in the world,” Shams claimed. “It’s the only 835 device that exists right now.”

Both sets of glasses are claimed to provide five to six hours of battery life when watching movies and longer when browsing the web. With Bluetooth support, users can run regular applications via a connected keyboard.

While the specs are great and the glasses are being pitched at consumers, they do not come cheap. The R-8 is set to retail for “under $1,000,” but not likely much under that, while the more powerful R-9 has a heady list price of $1,799.

Image courtesy of ODG

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