Stanford University researchers use AI holographic tech to develop slick AR glasses that can project full-color, 3D images

SciTech Daily reported that researchers at Stanford University have made strides in spatial computing with the development of an augmented reality headset. The headset is a prototype that can project full-color, 3D dynamic images onto lenses that look like regular glasses.

Unlike the bulkier reality systems of yesteryear, the new model provides a 3D immersive experience in a design that the wearer can use all day. While the glasses are only a prototype, researchers said that the advanced technology could be used in gaming, entertainment, training, and even education in the future.

“One could imagine a surgeon wearing such glasses to plan a delicate or complex surgery or airplane mechanic using them to learn to work on the latest jet engine."

Gordon Wetzstein, an associate professor of electrical engineering, said, "Our headset appears to the outside world just like an everyday pair of glasses, but what the wearer sees through the lenses is an enriched world overlaid with vibrant, full-color 3D computed imagery."

Wetzstein and a group of engineers introduced their work in a research paper that was published in the journal Nature.

Part of the paper's abstract stated:

Emerging spatial computing systems seamlessly superimpose digital information on the physical environment observed by a user, enabling transformative experiences across various domains, such as entertainment, education, communication and training.

Manu Gopakumar, a doctoral student in Wetzstein's Computational Imaging lab and coauthor of the paper, said, "One could imagine a surgeon wearing such glasses to plan a delicate or complex surgery or airplane mechanic using them to learn to work on the latest jet engine."

Until now, devices have offered subpar 3D visual experiences and clunky headsets. But part of the researchers' goal with the new device was to develop a headset that provided slick 3D imaging without sacrificing physical comfort.

Another coauthor of the paper, Suyeon Choi, said that "beyond bulkiness, these limitations can also lead to unsatisfactory perceptual realism and, often, visual discomfort."

Stanford University reported the researchers have managed to take advantage of "technical barriers through a combination of AI-enhanced holographic imaging and new nanophotonic device approaches."

The report also mentioned that displaying augmented reality usually requires using a complex optical system. In such a system, the user would not see reality through the lenses of the headset. Instead, there would be cameras mounted on the outside of the headset that would capture the world in real-time, combining those images with computed imagery.

“The user sees a digitized approximation of the real world with computed imagery overlaid. It’s sort of augmented virtual reality, not true augmented reality,” Gun-Yeal Lee, a postdoctoral student and coauthor of the paper, said.

As the technology is still in the prototype stage, it is unclear if or when this technology could be available to the general public.

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