Sony has already announced its interest in virtual reality, with its Project Morpheus VR headset, and now, the company is getting into the augmented reality game, with its prototype SmartEyeglass. Similar to the Google Glass eyewear, Sony is working on a smartphone-powered solution that superimposes information such as text, symbols, and images, onto the user’s field of view.
First showcasing the SmartEyeglass as a prototype at IFA, the company on Friday released the SDK developer preview for app makers to create content for the new platform when it releases sometime next year. Sony says it plans to offer SmartEyeglass for sale to developers by the end of FY2014, “with the intention of further promoting the development of applications and accelerating the commercialization of the product for consumer use.”
Sony announced the SmartEyeglass eyewear’s SDK Developer Preview for app developers via a blog post on Friday, saying, “The software development kit will enable developers to build apps for the SmartEyeglass platform, ensuring the foundations are set for a varied, exciting ecosystem of experiences to support the product at launch,” added the Japanese firm.
SmartEyeglass Project Head, Hiroshi Mukawa, added, “releasing the SDK early means that both our industry’s most established and up-and-coming developers will help shape what SmartEyeglass is capable of. ”
Showcased in IFA Berlin earlier this month, the Sony SmartEyeglass is transparent lens eyewear that connects with the users’ Android devices and uses the apps available to deliver the desired results in front of the users’ eyes.
