Augmented reality

Microsoft HoloLens, Round 2: Why Can’t I See More Of This Amazing Shit?

Last night, I donned a Microsoft HoloLens for the second time. It was incredible. I could see objects made of light appear in the real world—and this time, I could freely walk around them without a tether. I even built my own holographic app. It felt so easy. Now let me tell you why I’m…

These 5 GIFs Are Your Best Glimpse Yet At Microsoft’s HoloLens

Microsoft won’t let us take any pictures of its amazing HoloLens headset. Damn them. Here’s the next best thing, though: five animated GIFs. If you want to know what holographic hardware looks like—inside and out—this is the best you’ll get. Here are some early prototypes: How it fits on your head: The “floating audio” speaker…

Microsoft HoloLens Hands-On: Incredible, Amazing, Prototype-y as Hell

I just put Microsoft’s new holographic glasses on my face. It’s one of the most amazing and tantalizing experiences I’ve ever had with a piece of technology. This piece was originally published on 1/21/15, but we thought you might like to know what Hololens is all about—since Microsoft just re-introduced it at theBuild dev conference.…

Somebody Found the Most Appropriate Use For the Nintendo Virtual Boy

Remember the Virtual Boy, Nintendo’s early, failed foray into virtual reality gaming? Twenty years after its release, somebody’s finally figured out the best use for the unwieldily console: Giving all of your friends a handlebar moustache. According to Hackaday, coder and designer Joe Grand bought a broken Virtual Boy several years back at Portland Retro…

Watch more cute monster animation drawings get inserted into daily life

I just love the fake cartoon reality that augmented reality artist Marty Cooper creates within our world because his character drawings pack so much personality that I just want them to be real. Here he is with part three in his Aug(de)mented Reality series, which splices crazy cute monster drawings into normal situations of real…

Magic Leap Claims This Kickass Reality-Bending Raygun Game Is Real

Remember Magic Leap, the elusive Google-funded company promising to make virtual objects look like they exist in the real world? The one whose technology we’ve never actually seen? The secretive startup just released this incredible video filled with robots, retro rayguns, and a holodeck-like user interface. Oh, and the company claims this is a real…

Mirrors Are Going Extinct

I’m willing to bet that in the near future, we will live in a world without mirrors. Yes, it sounds absurd. But hear me out. When I change lanes, I no longer use my right-hand mirror to check if I’m about to smash into a passing vehicle. Most of the time, I don’t look out…

Someone Built AdBlock For the Real World 

AdBlock’s been around the internet for ages, but it only extends to the edges of your browser window. What if a device existed that could block logos and brand names from the world around you? That’s the idea behind BrandKiller, a project developed by four Philadelphia developers named Jonathan Dubin, Reed Rosenbluth, Tom Catullo, and…

​Can Microsoft Make Faceputers Happen?

The next frontier of computing seems, fairly inevitably, the space directly in front of our eye holes. Nevermind that Google Glass washed out (for now), or that Oculus Rift is still a niche within a niche. Our wrists are being colonized. Our faces are next. And Microsoft, of all the players, might be the conquistador.…

I Fought a Dragon In a Head-Mounted Holodeck

VR is coming, for real this time, and everyone wants a piece of the pie. Me, I want to put every dumb-looking headset I see onto my face. Today it was the Sulon Cortex, a big ol’ camera-toting headset that claims it’ll turn your living room into the holodeck. It can’t quite pull it off,…

These Augmented Reality Glasses Are James Bond-Worthy

Ever heard of Ralph Osterhout? He’s known as the real-life “Q.” He created underwater vehicles featured in two James Bond movies. He’s the guy who shrunk down night vision goggles to a size soldiers could afford to wear. He invented some of the most popular toys of the ’90s, including the Yak Bak, the TalkBoy…

How Neal Stephenson Is Helping To Make Snow Crash‘s Metaverse A Reality

Magic Leap’s mysterious augmented reality tech promises to “bring magic back into the world.” And now Neal Stephenson, who imagined the virtual Metaverse in his 1992 novel Snow Crash, has joined the company. He tells io9 why this technology may “demand a new way of thinking.” Top image via Magic Leap website Magic Leap had…

Google’s Reality-Bending Tablet Turned My Target Into an Icy Playground

Imagine you’re part of a big brand like Target. How do you convince customers you’re cool? If you’re not waiting around for one of your employees to become a viral teen hearthrob, how about thrusting them into a virtual reality world? In the latest example of VR advertising, Google and Target have teamed up to…

How Magic Leap Is Secretly Creating a New Alternate Reality

Don’t you hate it when someone claims to have a magical new technology, but won’t tell you how it works? When I saw that a super stealthy startup called Magic Leap had raised $542 million to make animals appear out of thin air, I resolved to find out exactly what was going on. Here’s what…

Is Google Glass Dying?

Google Glass was supposed to be the eyewear of the future, but that future sounds pretty grim—at least if you read Reuters’ latest report on the cyborg-like eyewear. While Reuters doesn’t seem to have any evidence that the Glass project has been shelved—a notion which Google denies, naturally—Reuters does paint a surpisingly compelling picture of…

Funny monster animations get inserted into everyday situations

Our favorite augmented reality artist, Marty Cooper, is back with more hilarious doodle fun in Aug(De)Mented Reality 2. You know the drill, he takes seemingly normal situations and inserts his adorable monsters into them. Those creatures can take eating pizza and watching cars drive by look absurd. SPLOID is delicious brain candy. Follow us on…

Mirror Prank Shocks People With Horrifying Demonic Reflections

October 31 has come and gone and it’s now time to start thinking about turkey and stuffing and shopping, but not before mentioning this wonderful Halloween prank by Pepsi that had moviegoers seeing more than just their faces reflected in these special haunted bathroom mirrors. Using a hidden camera, sophisticated real-time face tracking software, and…

Looksery Changes Your Face In Real Time For Flattering Video Selfies

My eyes are brown. My face is round. But I don’t have to show you that. Looksery can give me beautiful baby blues and a chiseled jaw with just a few taps. The iOS (and soon, Android) app creates a basic 3D depth map of your face using nothing more than your smartphone’s front-facing camera,…

Pantomime Could Be Your iPad Window Into Virtual Worlds

Remember the amazing app that made your iPad practically invisible? The man who made it is back, and now he intends to tackle virtual reality with a new company — and app — called Pantomime. Just like Invisibility, you start out by taking a picture of your tabletop, and the iPad mimics that surface as…

Do you play Ingress, the Google augmented reality game where factions compete for control of hidden portals around the world? Soon, you’ll be able to build your own missions—while taking fellow players on a tour of your neighborhood. [Ingress]