VIDEO DEMO: World's first Augmented Reality Spectacles: Vuzix WRAP 920 AR

We had a European first in the office today with this demo of Vuzix’s Augmented Reality spectacles. Combining augmented reality with 3D images they let you see three dimensional characters pop out of objects in the real world.

So looking through the glasses, dragons pop out of pages, volcanos erupt on a book in front of you and globes orbit your mug. A prototype was seen on the Gadget Show back in April, but this is the finished product now available for developers.

At £1500 the AR specs are not exactly for consumers and until 2011, only 200-300 models will be made. Till then Vuzix are selling them to developers (many universities have placed orders) bundled up with the Software Development Kit (SDK) for the device which will allow the developers to build apps and content for the new hardware… and those could be anything from architectural models to engineering manuals to the most exciting children’s book you’ve ever seen. In the New Year, Vuzix will sell the specs without the software which will bring the price down to approximately £900.

Give them a little longer and we hope there will be affordable versions on the market.

Yes, they’re expensive, clunky, and make you look a bit like a weevil-eyed weirdo but my god, this stuff is really exciting. I didn’t film the five minutes I spent moving a virtual troll around the desk, but let me tell you, it was great.

We have literally seen the future… watch the video to see the demo with David Lock, the European head of Vuzix

Vuzix Wrap 920AR, £1499.99 on Vuzix