We've heard about Virtual Reality. We've heard about Augmented Reality.
But now, Intel has come up with a device to combine both - Glasses for "Merged Reality", as they call it.
Their vision is to mix the real world with virtual reality, and create an entirely new user experience.
The new product "Project Alloy" comes without wires, without additional controllers or a tracking-camera - it's supposed to feel much more natural than 'traditional' VR Glasses like the HTC Vive or Oculus Rift.
It's an all-in-one device that doesn't need to be connected to any PC or other phone!
Project alloy tracks the room and your hand motions, allowing you to move freely in any space and even interact with your surroundings.
The RealSense cameras can sense depth and track the user's hands, so that no additional controllers are needed.
An integrated camera lets you see the room around you (unlike other VR glasses where you're in a totally different world), but virtual objects as well!
"Merged reality delivers virtual-world experiences more dynamically and naturally than ever before – and makes experiences impossible in the real world now possible."-Brian Krzanich, Intel CEO
Ideally, users should be able to experience a totally new reality with Alloy - but combined with their actual surroundings.
As an example, Krzanich explained that you could play Tennis in your living room - with a real tennis racket, totally wireless and without any other controllers or tracking devices.
While this is a great futuristic vision, the technology is not quite there yet.
Alloy supports the Windows Holographic system, and is therefore more a "brother" than a rival to the Microsoft HoloLens.
Project Alloy is said to be released in 2017 as an open source platform.
Personal Opinion
After trying several different Virtual Reality devices, I can definitely say that VR is a very interesting technology - but there's still lots of room for improvement.
I like the idea of having a wireless device, because I experienced myself how distracting it can be to be limited to a certain range and be stuck to a cable.
Also, I think that it's a great innovation to combine VR with the real world, and have glasses that also let you see your surroundings.
From the reviews that I've read, the Alloy isn't perfect yet - the range in which the device tracks your hands is limited, and it doesn't always work as effortlessly as it should.
But I'm sure that Intel will improve these issues with the upcoming Alloy 2!
I'll be interested to see where this new technology of "Merged Reality" takes us - in my opinion, there's quite a big potential if you execute it in the right ways!
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