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Fundamental operating principle of Eye Tap: Rays of light which would have otherwise entered the eye are instead reflected by the diverter. The diverter is typically a double-sided mirror or a beam splitter. These rays of light are collected by a sensor, typically a CCD camera. This camera data is processed, and the aremac redisplays the image as rays of light. These rays reflect again off the diverter, and are then collinear with the rays of light from the scene. The user perceives the virtual light. This virtual light can be either the same image, or a computer mediated version of the real world scene, since the virtual light is altered under computer control.
An Eye Tap is somewhat like a head-up display ( HUD). A HUD is any transparent
display that presents data without requiring the user to look away from their viewpoint. The important difference is that the scene available to the eye is also available to the computer that projects the head-up display. This enables the Eye Tap to modify the computer generated scene in response to the natural scene. Based on this fact Eye Tap finds use in various fields. · One use, for instance, for the Eye Tap would be in the construction area as it would allow the user to reference the blueprints, especially in a 3D manner. · Even in the business world, the Eye Tap has great potential, being capable of delivering to the user constant up to date information on the stock market, the user ' s corporation, and meeting statuses. · On a more day-to-day basis some of Steve Mann ' s first uses for the technology was using it to keep track of names of people and places, his to-do lists, and keeping track of his other daily activities. Where the user would benefit from real-time interactive information that is largely visual in nature, is sometimes referred to as computer-mediated reality, commonly known as augmented reality. · Eye tap has been explored as a potential tool for visually impaired due to its abilities to direct visual information to parts of the retina that function well.
However There are a few side effects of using Eye Tap. Users may find that they experience side effects such as headaches and difficulty sleeping if usage occurs shortly before sleep. Mann finds that due to his extensive use of the device that going without it can cause him to feel nauseous and unsteady when he removes it.
Since 1970s Steve Mann has been inventing, designing and building wearable computer systems. And now the work in progress on the eye tap technology has set up a new paradigm for a seamless connect between real and digital world, blurring the boundaries between the two and offering unprecedented ways of interacting with both.