Lenovo's AR wearable picks up where Google Glass left off
LAS VEGAS -- Google Glass may have crashed and burned — and set face-worn wearables back by a few years — but that doesn't mean the dream of turning into the Borg is dead just yet.
Rather than foist its augmented reality wearable onto regular consumers, Lenovo is wisely positioning its "New Glass C200" Google Glass clone as a tool to aid businesses. The company announced the product at CES Tuesday.
Forgettable name and hacked together design aside, the C200 doesn't sound half bad...if you're into using augmented reality.
Lenovo says the C200 fuses augmented reality and AI to help users perform tasks more efficiently by layering useful, real-time information on top of the real world.
According to Lenovo, the wearable can help you "gather information in your field of view, provide step-by-step directions and instructions for repair, identify disabled equipment and troubleshoot issues with a remote colleague, all while your hands are free."
The C200 isn't quite Microsoft HoloLens — it's more like Moverio's smart glasses, right down to being powered by a smartphone-like unit.
In addition to overlaying information on top of your field of view, the C200 is capable of recognizing roughly 20 different types of objects, including building schematics, using its built-in image recognition software called "Lenovo NBD Martin".
Martin can intelligently look at an image, tell what objects are in it, and then provide annotation tools to mark it up in augmented reality.
The C200's also got built-in LTE wireless connectivity for fully mobile independence when users are out in the field and recognizes voice commands and hand gestures.
Lenovo says it plans to launch the C200 by June. Pricing has yet to be announced.
Topics Augmented Reality CES Lenovo
Raymond Wong is Mashable's Senior Tech Correspondent. He reviews gadgets and tech toys and analyzes the tech industry. Raymond's also a bit of a camera geek, gamer, and fine chocolate lover. Before arriving at Mashable, he was the Deputy Editor of NBC Universal's tech publication DVICE. His writing has appeared on G4TV, BGR, Yahoo and Ubergizmo, to name a few. You can follow Raymond on Twitter @raywongy or Instagram @sourlemons.
