a trigger so the software can recognize a physical product and call up the related digital content. To that end, PTC announced a new Vuforia feature called “VuMark,” essentially a new type of bar code for devices. A VuMark can be designed to incorporate a company logo, while also encoding data like a product serial number or URL.
Despite Google Glass’s struggles, PTC executives remain bullish about smart eyewear—technology that likely must come into its own in order for augmented reality to fulfill its potential.
“The Google Glass idea was brilliant. It just doesn’t work,” Heppelmann said, citing poor battery life and overheating issues.
He sang the praises of other smart glasses, particularly those made by ODG, which were used in the event’s demos. While Google Glass only provided a “tiny display in the corner of the eye in a fixed position,” Wright said, ODG’s R-7 smart glasses display 3D content that “appears aligned” with the person’s real-world surroundings.
“In the next 12 to 18 months, we’re going to see an explosion of breakthrough wearable devices such as glasses, goggles, and even helmets” from companies like ODG, Oculus, Epson, Microsoft, and others, Heppelmann said. “I think that the devices are rapidly improving and we’re all going to forget what Google Glass was when we see all these new ones.”
