CONTRIBUTOR
Virtual and augmented reality are key components of the ongoing digital transformation that is happening in businesses worldwide, and those clunky-looking headsets are the entranceways into that burgeoning world.
The IT marketplace for the last several years has been littered with VR headsets from the likes of Apple, Meta, Sony, Microsoft and Google, and are being used in consumer and business sectors that are increasingly adopting VR technologies for everything from gaming and entertainment to healthcare and manufacturing.
The market got a new entrant earlier this month when Apple made its highly anticipated Vision Pro mixed-reality headset available. Apple introduced the device last year, with Apple executives saying it marked the beginning of the “spatial computing era.”
And as with the introduction of such technologies, other tech vendors are looking for ways their technologies can work with the headset. One such company is Wearable Devices, which last month released its long-awaited Mundra Band, an AI-based band used with Apple’s iWatch that lets users control their various Apple devices – such as the iPhone and iPad – through hand and finger gestures.
Wearable Devices executives are investigating ways Mundra may be able to work with Vision Pro for both businesses and individuals.
A Crowded Market
VR headsets, like Meta’s Quest lineup, Sony’s PlayStation VR2, and HTC’s Vive Pro 2, are how users get into these highly immersive environments and a lot of money is being put into developing them and being dished out to buy them. Analysts at Market.us are predicting that the global VR headset will jump from $10.1 billion in 2022 to more than $121.9 billion by 2032.
It’s not surprising. There is much more VR content available, which has driven the demand for VR headsets, according to Market.us, and headset technology has gotten better. Essentially, they’re more powerful, comfortable, and affordable, not to mention lighter, more affordable – to buy and to make – and more accessible.
“VR is not limited to gaming; it has found applications in various industries, including healthcare, education, architecture, and automotive,” the analysts wrote. “Businesses are leveraging VR for training, design, and marketing.”
Here Comes Vision Pro
Apple’s is hoping to push the market forward with Vision Pro. Powered by Apple’s new visionOS, the $3,499 device includes a 3D user interface and input system that users control with their eyes, hands and voice. Through a new App Store, Vision Pro users can access more than a million apps that are compatible across iOS and iPadOS
“Intuitive gestures allow users to interact with apps by simply looking at them, tapping their fingers to select, flicking their wrist to scroll, or using a virtual keyboard or dictation to type,” Apple boasted in its announcement of Vision Pro’s availability date. “With Siri, users can quickly open or close apps, play media, and more.”
Early reviews for the headset have been mixed, which is expected given that it’s the first version of a complex device. Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman wrote that the Vision Pro performed well with such tasks as sending emails, video streaming, built-in speakers, and compute power, though he added that the headset itself is too heavy and cumbersome, the battery life is too short, and software too buggy.
“All told, the future potential of the Vision Pro is certainly visible, though a little blurry,” he wrote. “The fundamentals are all largely in place. But it’s going to take some hardware upgrades, a slew of software updates, and far better support from app developers and content makers.”
Wearable Devices Takes a Look
Wearable Devices wants to help with this. The 10-year-old company has been working on its Mudra Band, which replaces the band found on an Apple iWatch and allows users to connect through the band to all of their Apple devices – that also includes Mac systems and AppleTV – and control them using hand and finger movements.
The connection to the silicon-bodied Mudra Band is made via Bluetooth Low Energy and uses surface nerve conductance (SNC) sensors to detect and interpret the neural signals from the hand and finger gestures to create the commands that control the Apple devices. Also part of the company’s Air-Touch functionality is the IMU (inertial measurement unit), which collects data from the hand movements.
Users select which Apple device they want to control by tapping the screen of their iWatch, which is running the Mudra app.
The Mudra Band – Israel-based Wearable Devices also offers a development kit – drew a lot of attention when it was first introduced in beta form at CES in 2021 and, after two years of testing by early adopters, rolled out at CES 2024. It’s designed for both B2B and B2C uses.
Product Synergy and Mixed Reality
Company executives now say that they’re investigating how Mudra Band can be used with Vision Pro.
“Apple Vision Pro utilizes input from multiple cameras, and we believe that our pressure detection technology can enhance and improve the offerings of Apple Vision Pro to its users,” Wearable Devices CEO Asher Dahan said in a statement. “This integration has the potential to introduce new features across a variety of uses and applications.”
The challenge with a mixed-reality environment like the Vision Pro is creating seamless interactions between the physical and digital worlds, something that the Mundra Band could address using intuitive real object interaction technology, according to the company.
Mundra has the ability to detect pressure at the fingertips, indicating when a real object is being pressed or manipulated, they said. Meanwhile, the hand-tracking capabilities in Vision Pro can identify the specific action and object that’s involved. The combination of both enables users to interact with real objects as easily as they can with virtual ones, according to the executives.
“Our aim is to examine and develop a seamless compatibility that will offer Apple Vision Pro users a novel way to interact with their device, enhancing both functionality and user experience,” Dahan said.
