Bose introduces a first of its kind AR sunglasses which let you hear about your surroundings

While **Augmented Reality** has been restricted to visual overlays, games and other visual applications, Bose, a company better associated with making headphones, seems to think a little out of the box. [caption id=“attachment_4385145” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] A person wearing Bose AR Prototype Glasses. Image: Bose[/caption] In an announcement at South by South West (SXSW), Bose unveiled a pair of AR-enabled sunglasses which is still in its nascent stage but brings forward a whole new way AR can be implemented. The Bose concept sunglass is capable of telling the user more about what is being looked at by directing sound into the ear canal. While Bose could have done the same with a pair of headphones, it certainly decided to shake things up a little and open the platform up to all kinds of wearables. According to Bose’s blog post explaining the capabilities of the concept wearable, the company states that the sunglass makes use of the Bose AR platform which uses head movements, voice commands and taps on the wearable to execute various functions. Talking about the platform itself the company stated, “Bose AR is a platform, which means others can develop both apps for music, travel and education, among others — as well as wearables, including headphones, glasses and helmets.” [caption id=“attachment_4385147” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”] Bose AR Prototype Glasses. Image: Bose[/caption] The company intends on working with developers and companies in order to expand the capabilities of audio AR wearables. To encourage the startup community to begin work on the new platform, Bose has also gone ahead and set aside $50 million to invest in companies that create apps, services and related technologies for the Bose AR platform. As for the concept sunglasses, we are not sure whether Bose intends on launching it for the masses just yet. But the company does assure us that we will hear about more wearables based on Bose AR platform in the near future.