In a blog post by Valve’s Michael Abrash, perhaps in response to the Steam Box rumors, stated that Valve is working on a wearable computing augmented reality computer. According to Abrush, the project has just reached the research and development stage, but it is expected to grow. He also called upon technical wizards to contact them to work on the project.
According to Valve, wearable computing overlays computer graphics onto the real world in your view, “think Terminator vision,” Abrash said.
“The logical endpoint is computing everywhere, all the time – that is, wearable computing – and I have no doubt that 20 years from now that will be standard, probably through glasses or contacts, but for all I know through some kind of more direct neural connection. And I’m pretty confident that platform shift will happen a lot sooner than 20 years – almost certainly within 10, but quite likely as little as 3-5, because the key areas – input, processing/power/size, and output – that need to evolve to enable wearable computing are shaping up nicely, although there’s a lot still to be figured out.”
Perhaps Valve is working on a product similar to Google’s recently teased Project Glass. Abrash was quick to point out that they are simply in the R&D stage, “it doesn’t in any way involve a product at this point, and won’t for a long while, if ever – so please, no rumors about Steam glasses being announced at E3.” He added, “The process is very fast-moving and iterative, and we’re just at the start. How far and where the investigation goes depends on what we learn.”
Valve’s wearable computing R&D shows the possibility that they could be entering into the video game hardware space with a Steam Box or similar product. It could explain a job advertisement that showed up on Valve’s website.
Valve is looking for an electronics engineer to help develop hardware to “enhance” the gameplay it’s known for. “We’re not talking about me-too mice and gamepads here – help us invent whole new gaming experiences,” according to the post.
[Via EuroGamer]