Drag those windows from your screen and into the air in front of you. Use a simple glance to switch lights, open doors or surf the web. Virtual devices, virtual objects will surround us, anywhere. Only one piece of real hardware will do it all, replace anything. From application concepts to technical design to even a fiction chapter carrying us into the future, "this book is a blueprint for an entire technology". The new edition has been greatly extended, with many new ideas and materials. From the foreword by Oliver Bimber, professor of augmented reality: "I was captivated by the last edition of 'The End of Hardware' on a round-trip flight to Los Angeles. This book is not only an in-depth introduction to the concept of head-attached displays for augmented reality (AR), but also a great source of inspiration for many professionals - at least it is for me. Being a technical guy, I particularly enjoyed reading the technical design chapter which, in this new edition of the book, has been greatly extended with many details on holography, light fields and MEMS. Despite a technological focus, the book is written in a popular-scientific style - and therefore allows easy access to the material - even for non-experts. If I were to characterize this book in a single word, that word would be 'inspiring'. I can only hope that one day, someone will pick up and realize these ideas. For although, this might not be the 'End of Hardware' - it could well be the beginning of many new and exciting interfaces to the digital world in which we all live in."
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About the Author
Rolf R. Hainich is an experienced researcher with a focus on Augmented Reality and related fields. His career covers academic and industrial R&D (real time computer networks and processing, media technology, optics, sensors). He was chief consultant in public R&D funding programs, engaged in venture capital, supervised several high tech companies. Beginning in the early 90's, he developed his ideas on augmented reality with emphasis on virtual devices, wrote papers and studies (e.g. "Integrative 3D Visualization", 1994, already outlining the full spectrum of AR), helped to start projects in related fields. 2006, he published the 1st edition of "The End of Hardware", centered about the ubiquitous application of near-eye displays, required technologies, possible solutions.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
end of hardware book review,
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This review is from: The End of Hardware: A Novel Approach to Augmented Reality (Paperback)
This was an eye opening book. Essentially it talks about the not so distant future of human / computer interfaces. If you can imagine a hardware delivery system that doesn't feel like a computer but is so natural to use it is just with you. This book describes the coming time when these kind of displays and technology will make life with machines much more natural. Essentially doing away with the klunky interfaces of today into a much more wearable computer technology that becomes part of who we are.
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Highly recommended,
This review is from: The End of Hardware: A Novel Approach to Augmented Reality (Paperback)
Augmented reality could be many things today. This book is based on the original idea - portable, ubiquitous computing with but a single user interface, minimized to the absolutely necessary adaptation to the human senses - and it's probably the most complete book ever written about it.
Does it really make sense that we're filling our rooms with more and more electronic gimmicks and gadgets, including boulders like TVs and PCs, obsolete and junked every 2 years ? - Read this book, and you'll definitely know it doesn't. The author gives a thrilling survey of new ideas and solutions, all written in a very concrete and readable style, richly illustrated, understandable to almost anyone - which is mandatory, as it really concerns anyone. It's about the future of information technology, from right now on through the next decades at least, about what to expect and for what to prepare. This doesn't get speculative at all, the author frankly explains and calculates realistic options technology will offer, explains all these new applications that will change our lives. After an extensive introduction comes a fiction part, illustrating the impact on everyone's everyday life, then a design part handling all aspects of implementation including many new approaches, and finally there's a part about the future of media, especially regarding all the new capabilities calling for three dimensional productions. Some holographic techniques are introduced, for example, that I've never heard about anywhere else. Don't expect extensive mathematics or even program code however. This is not a textbook (which wouldn't make sense anyway, because it touches so many different disciplines). There are more issues of course, concerning such a technology that doesn't stop at the user interface at all. Ubiquitous computing raises essential questions. The author shows that computers will more and more become sort of mind extensions, so computer privacy is already getting exceedingly important. Bottom line: This book is groundbreaking, very relevant, and a must for anyone interested or involved in modern technology.
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simply essential to read!,
By Klaus Suedmann "Klaus" (Germany) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The End of Hardware: A Novel Approach to Augmented Reality (Paperback)
This is not one of the usual popular science books - this is the blueprint for an entire technology.
The author manages to address both interested 'laymen' and technology experts. The design part makes up half of the book and may be more demanding to read, but even here he explains everything as simply as possible, with many pictures and without requiring any math. This book doesn't just bother a lot with the state of the art, it goes straight ahead to new shores and explores the tools to get on. Several ideas are most probably entirely new. So the expert will profit a lot from this lecture as well. One core thematic are displays, a problem simply taken as incurable by many other publications in this field. Without the clear proof that those ultra light, ultra versatile display glasses are actually feasible, the approach wouldn't work, so here it comes. An entire bunch of other technologies belonging to the complete thematic are discussed as well. Many more aspects of the case are addressed, everyday applications are treated extensively, the impact on media, security aspects, anything. A complete table of contents and the introduction can be found at the book's site theendofhardware.com. One may object if everything discussed here will really emerge this way, but as to feasibility and applicability, the author delivers good and comprehensive arguments, emphasizes ergonomical aspects, unaffectedly predicts that certain classical hardware like keyboards will seamlessly coexist with the new technology. The really exceptional content and the way it is written - plain, straightforward, with lots of illustrations and explanations and quite some humor - are making this book a prime recommendation. Klaus
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