蘋果新時尚：虛擬技術開發的三種趨勢
What's Steve Cook planning for AR and VR gadgets? Here are three possibilities.
Steve Cook對AR和VR設備有何打算呢？有以下三種猜測。
Apple is doing a great job of hinting that it's very serious about virtual reality. The company recently confirmed a Financial Times report that it hired VR expert and Virginia Tech computer-science professor Doug Bowman, also the head of the university's Center for Human-Computer Interaction. Apple has also acquired three companies working in either VR or AR (augmented reality) during the past year: AR company Metaio, motion capture startup Faceshift, and expression analysis company Emotient.
蘋果公司不斷向公衆預示了其對虛擬現實技術的高度重視。蘋果公司在最近的財經時報上一則報道中證實其僱用了VR專家以及Virginia理工大學電腦科學教授Doug Bowman，Doug Bowman同時也是這個大學人機交互中心的帶頭人。在過去一年中蘋果公司也與其他三家VR和AR公司展開合作，他們分別是：Metaio AR公司，Faceshift動作捕捉公司，Emotient表情分析公司。
So what does Bowman's hire suggest Apple has planned for VR and AR? It's impossible to know for sure, but here are three possible scenarios.
Bowman的僱用預示着蘋果公司在VR和AR方面會有何計劃？暫時還不能肯定，有以下三種猜測。
1. A headset to replace the iPhone.
1.頭戴設備將取代iphone。
Piper Jaffray senior analyst Gene Munster recently told the Wall Street Journal he thinks Apple is pursuing an AR product, like electronic glasses or an Apple version of Google Glass, that could potentially replace the iPhone one day. This type of device could allow consumers to scroll through applications without obscuring visibility of the real world. Even if Apple has no official plans to produce such a product, Munster told the WSJ that Apple will still allocate resources to the technology "just to hedge their bets," and that he thinks Apple has a small team of people working on AR.
Piper Jaffray公司高級分析師Gene Munster最近告訴華爾街日報，他認爲蘋果公司正在研發一種AR設備類似於蘋果版谷歌眼鏡，這類產品很有可能會取代iphone。這類設備在允許用戶使用各種APP時也能顧及到周圍的世界。即使蘋果目前沒有明確計劃要生產這類產品，但根據Munster向華爾街日報提供的信息，蘋果公司將會調配一部分研發資源用於該技術的發展。“蘋果這樣的做法是設法對衝賭注”並且他認爲蘋果有一小部分員工正在對AR產品進行研究。
2. A gadget to make all screens a thing of the past.
2.開發出一種設備使得所有的帶屏幕的產品成爲過去。
Dreaming even bigger, Apple could be envisioning a headset that would make all other products with a screen--tablets, computers, TVs--obsolete, as suggested by Tech Insider. VR has been referred to as "the last medium," suggesting that as soon as VR and AR technology reach a tipping point of consumer adoption, there will be no need for any other device with a screen. Everything from computing to entertainment to apps will be achievable through one singular device.
隨着蘋果公司對未來想象的不斷髮展，根據Tech Insider的消息，蘋果公司可能正在設計一種頭戴設備，這種產品使得其他所有帶屏幕的產品如平板電腦，普通電腦以及電視設備成爲歷史。VR也被稱爲是最終媒介，一旦VR和AR消費產品普及開來，人們將不再需要帶有屏幕的設備了。所有的電腦運算和娛樂以及APP使用都可以通過一個設備完成。
3. Apple's electric car.
3.蘋果電動汽車。
Despite Bowman's extensive experience in VR and AR, there is also a chance that his hiring is actually related to Apple's secretive car project. Why? As the FT reported, car companies including BMW have been experimenting with "gesture control," where drivers can use physical gestures to control infotainment systems. The benefit of the technology is the ability to operate electronic features while continuing to look at the road ahead, rather than look down at a screen and risk distracted driving. While it seems unlikely that Apple would hire a VR expert for something other than VR, Bowman's expertise in "human-computer interaction" does lend itself to this type of technology.
儘管Bowman在VR和AR領域經驗豐富，蘋果公司僱用他還有可能是和蘋果公司的祕密汽車計劃有關。爲什麼？FT報道說，寶馬汽車公司已經在嘗試姿勢控制，通過駕駛者動作來控制汽車娛樂系統。這樣的好處是駕駛員可以在操作電子設備的同時還能專注開車，而不是看着屏幕分心駕駛。雖然蘋果公司貌似僱用了一個VR專家來研發汽車看起來不太靠普，但是Bowman的“人機交互”這方面的專長在汽車製造方面還是有用武之地的。
Regardless of Apple's specific plans, it's hard to imagine the company not offering some sort of product or service related to VR and AR technology in the next few years. Investment in the sector has grown for the past six consecutive quarters, helping the industry claim a spot on Inc.'s most recent list of the Best Industries for Starting a Business.
不管蘋果公司有沒有確定詳細計劃，我們難以想象接下來幾年蘋果公司不去涉足VR和AR領域。這領域的投資在過去連續6個季度一直在增長。有助於這個產業在新興產業名單上佔據一席之地。
