http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/04/13/ ... -computers

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by Justin Rubio

April 13, 2012

Between new job postings and a visit from Apple's CEO, Valve has had a busy day and it's obvious that the company is planning for the future, and according to a member of Valve's research and development team, the future is wearable computing.

Michael Abrash posted a lengthy, official blog entry that covers the events in his career that lead up to his current role with the company. When speaking about his present situation, Abrash clearly states that he leading a research expedition into the world of wearable computers, a technology that he describes as "mobile computing where both computer-generated graphics and the real world are seamlessly overlaid in your view."

There are still many steps that need to successfully be taken until "Steam Goggles" become a reality, but Abrash thinks that the technology can have a proper introduction in as little as 3-5 years. At this stage, he stresses that this is just R&D, that there is no actual product and that it definitely won't be revealed at this year's E3.

This isn't the first time that the company has expressed interest in wearable computing either,Valve's Gabe Newell spoke about similar technology with Penny Arcade earlier this year.
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Seems like another entry into hmds. This is really becoming mainstream. I'd go so far as to say that eventually the market will be saturated.

Great news. I hope they share what they are working on.

Gabe notes that in "20 years" this will be the standard but he's way off there. This will be the standard in less than 5. Its going to grow so fast that everything in its wake will seem absolutely prehistoric.

I think 3 to 5 years is actually an over-estimate in terms of when these devices will start to compete on the open market. From all the industry babble, public & otherwise, I've been reading/hearing, augmented reality is being fiercely developed by all major players (Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, Apple). The first one out of the gate with a competent form factor, interface and display output will be miles ahead of the competition. And although Apple has been reasonably silent, after doing some patent surfing and rumor mill mining, their next "big thing" will very likely be an AR display device. In fact, I think Steve was well ahead of the curve on that one but was waiting to play out the whole tablet thing.

This entire industry is going to explode in 2 years. Say goodbye to smartphones, tablets and even your desktop monitor. I've been preaching this to everyone I know for the last 4 years, that very soon the entire tech industry will change due to a paradigm shift into AR/VR hardware. There is MASSIVE money in this and these companies know it.

And damn...that's great news isn't it?!