For it is here that the signal is really chopped into Leonardo-like categories before it finally emerges, by processes as yet poorly understood, as what the possessor of the brain in question perceives as visual reality.

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Google Glasses are already showing us ways in which visual recognition and augmented reality can be combined to provide a dizzying array of overlays and information.

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Microsoft Research architect Jaron Lanier, a pioneer in virtual reality and visual computing, is starting a new lab in San Francisco dedicated to developing new kinds of computation, based on tactile and motor experiences.

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For example, the 4K X-Reality PROTM picture engine reduces visual noise and corrects image shapes.

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Masayoshi Son, the billionaire (and philanthropic) CEO of SoftBank, has given a two-hour speech to his shareholders about his technological predictions for the next 30 years, and about halfway through he describes a familiar idea: augmented reality glasses that can understand what a person is saying and provide subtitles as a visual overlay.

ENGADGET