Hasta La Ideas

We first reported on Canon noodling around with augmented reality, which they branded “Mixed Reality,” back in ’09. Their system had this clunky two-handed viewfinder:

By last year they’d refined it into a smaller set of goggles, though they artfully added some protruding antennae, to prevent the user from looking too cool:

The system was pitched specifically for industrial design applications, getting our hopes up, however guardedly. We’ve seen plenty of pie-in-the-sky technologies promised and never delivered, but this morning Canon announced the system is ready for roll-out. While some media sources are reporting a March 1st launch, Canon’s saying it’s available now. And if their press photo is to be believed, they’ve done away with the dorky antennae:

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