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sassy specs of the time to come could swap out visual photographic camera for sonar , which uses phone to give chase the motility of its wearer , fit in to a new study . The sonar - based technical school could improve accuracy and privacy , as well as make them tacky to produce .
Scientists at Cornell University have created a technology , dubbed " PoseSonic " . That combines micro sonar powered by CHIRP applied science — a miniaturized rendering of the same engineering used to map sea or track submarines — with hokey intelligence ( AI ) to build an accurate echo visibility figure of the wearer . The micro sonar capture sound waves that are too subdued for human listening . The tech ’s creators published their research 27 . Sept in the journalACM Digital Library .
Future generations of augmented reality glasses could be much less privacy-invasive and cheaper to build if these scientists have their way.
" We think our technology offers tremendous potential as the future sensing solution for wearables , peculiarly when vesture are used in casual preferences , " said study co - authorCheng Zhang , an assistant professor at Cornell , and director of its Smart Computer Interfaces for Future Interactions ( SciFi ) science laboratory . " It has unparalleled advantages over the current camera - based perception solution , " Zhang told Live Science in an electronic mail .
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Augmented reality(AR ) saucy glasses currently on the grocery store , such as Ray - Ban Stories by Meta , use cameras to track the wearer , alongside wireless technologies like Bluetooth , Wi - Fi and GPS . But uninterrupted picture run out the battery quickly and may pose a privacy risk of exposure . Acoustic - free-base tracking , however , is cheaper , more efficient , unobtrusive and privacy - witting , Zhang said .
PoseSonic uses microphone and Speaker fitted alongside a microprocessor , Bluetooth faculty , battery and sensors . investigator create a work prototype for less than $ 40 — and this cost can probably be cut down further if manufactured at scale . The ill - fatten up Google Glass , by contrast , cost $ 152 to make , accord to IEEE , but this was ten years ago .
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PoseSonic ’s speakers bound wakeless waves that are inaudible to humans off the body and back to the microphone , which facilitate the microprocessor bring forth a visibility image . This is fed into an AI model that estimates the 3D positions of nine body joints , including the shoulders , elbows , wrists , hops and the nose . The algorithm is trained using video material body for reference , which mean unlike other similar wearable systems , it can work on any substance abuser without first being trained on them specifically .
Because the sound equipment expend less mightiness than tv camera , PoseSonic can head for the hills on saucy deoxyephedrine for more than 20 hours continuously , Zhang say , and a future version of the technology could be integrated into an AR - enabled wearable twist without being uncomfortable or too bulky .
Sonar is also good for privacy than using cameras , according to the researchers , as the algorithm processes only the wakeless waves it bring forth itself to build the 3D image , instead of using other sounds or capturing image . This datum can be processed topically on the wearer ’s smartphone , rather than sent to a public cloud server , which means it cuts the changes of data getting intercepted .
Zhang suggest two scenarios where acoustic tracking in smart glasses could be of practical use , including recognizing upper torso movement in sidereal day - to - Clarence Day life , such as feeding , drinking or smoking , and pass over the wearer ’s movements while work out . Future generations of this technology could help users monitor their behavior and allow for more detailed feedback beyond just the act of tone or the small calorie consumed — extending to an assessment of how the organic structure moves during physical natural action .
