Employees at eyeglasses designer Michael Pachleitner Group have no reason to consult desktop computers, tablets or old-fashioned paper binders to find items in their 22,000 square-foot warehouse. The information is right in front of their faces.

The Austrian company recently outfitted warehouse workers with a head-mounted device that displays digital information on a clear lens over one of the eyes. The lens gives visual directions through a Wi-Fi connection to the 1.4 million items stored in the warehouse. It also confirms they made the right pick, and frees up their hands. By July, the company's six warehouse pickers will be wearing the device all day, cutting down on picking errors by an estimated 60%, said Chief Financial Officer Neil Lambert. 'We were skeptical in the beginning' about the device, which reminded him of military gadgets seen in movies. 'It was a nice surprise to see that it works.'

The $13,000 device made by Austrian company Knapp AG gives a glimpse at the future of 'augmented reality,' by using transparent displays to overlay digital images atop a person's view of the physical world.

The rise of Internet-connected smartphones and advances in 'heads-up' displays are accelerating the development of all sorts of wearable augmented-reality devices. Such gadgets have long faced skepticism because they were uncomfortable to wear, ugly, and expensive, reserved only for corporations and military agencies.

Google Inc. caused a stir last month when it offered a peek at futuristic-looking headgear that would essentially turn an eyeglass lens into a computer screen. The wraparound glasses, which place a single lens above a person's right eye, display digital information like maps and emails on the glass. People may be able to control the device using their voice or gestures.

Google has tentative plans to sell its Google Glass device to consumers starting sometime next year, said people familiar with the project. A Google spokesman declined to comment.

Meanwhile, smaller companies such as Lumus Ltd., Vuzix Corp., Laster TechnologiesSAS and Recon Instruments Inc. are also hoping to convince skeptical consumers to wear unusual-looking gadgets -- from glasses that transmit directions so people won't have to look away from the road while driving, to displays built into ski helmets that show skiers how fast they are cutting through the snow.

Some computer scientists increasingly envision a world in which people wear glasses-like devices with a built-in camera and use apps that can recognize objects and faces -- using technology called 'computer vision' -- and retrieve information about those objects from the Web or other sources.

For example, an American visiting another country could wear such a device and run a translation app to overlay English on foreign-language billboards, street signs and store fronts in his field of vision.

The closest device to Google Glass that is currently on the market for consumers is Recon Instruments' GPS device that is inserted into specially made goggles worn by skiers and snowboarders. For about $500, the goggles display information such as speed in a small box located below the user's field of view. For around $600, the product can play music and display text messages and caller ID when attached to a phone.

Recon Chief Executive Dan Eisenhardt said the Vancouver company has sold 'tens of thousands' of the devices annually since the product launched in 2010. The 65-employee company is profitable, he said, and plans to launch similar products for other action sports such as motorcycling.

At Knapp, the company began working on its warehouse-picking device by buying lenses from Israeli firm Lumus. The lenses, placed in front of an eye, can create the effect of watching images on an 87-inch TV screen from a distance of 10 feet.

Lumus said the U.S. Air Force current uses its technology to show weapons information in the helmets of fighter pilots. The company added it is working with several hardware manufacturers to build consumer devices around its lenses, but declined to comment further.

'We thought this could be a nice additional product, but we didn't expect it to be so important,' said Peter Stelzer, a business development executive at Knapp. He adds the company has sold around 100 of the devices since last year.

Meanwhile, Vuzix and Laster Technologies said that next year they plan to launch a pair of regular-looking display glasses for consumers. The devices, which would cost several hundred dollars, would connect to smartphones so that apps could be projected onto lenses.

Until more heads-up displays hit the market, people will have to rely on their smartphones or tablets to mix the real world with digital images, through the view of a device's camera.

A number of mobile apps already incorporate augmented reality features on smartphones. Yelp Inc.'s mobile app, which rates restaurants and other businesses, lets people hold up their phone and see digital markers on the screen that show the location of nearby businesses. Software from Germany-based Metaio GmbH is being used to create tablet apps that flash repair instructions across the screen when the camera is pointed at car engines or computer printers.

Videogames are also fertile territory for augmented reality, with Sony Corp.'s PlayStation Vita device and 13th Lab AB's 'Ball Invasion' game for the iPad already providing such experiences. 'By 2020, the world will have perfect augmented vision,' said Dave Lorenzini, who designs augmented-reality apps and related businesses at consulting firm Augmented Reality Co. 'It's like creating the Internet again but inside the real world.'

Amir Efrati

• consult [kən´sʌlt]   v.商量；磋商；请教   (初中英语单词)
• old-fashioned [´əuld´feʃənd]   a.老式的；过时的   (初中英语单词)
• device [di´vais]   n.装置；器具；策略   (初中英语单词)
• connection [kə´nekʃən]   n.联系；关系；联运   (初中英语单词)
• financial [fi´nænʃəl]   a.金融的，财政的   (初中英语单词)
• glimpse [glimps]   n.&v.瞥见   (初中英语单词)
• physical [´fizikəl]   a.物质的；有形的   (初中英语单词)
• expensive [ik´spensiv]   a.费钱的，昂贵的   (初中英语单词)
• computer [kəm´pju:tə]   n.计算机；电子计算器   (初中英语单词)
• screen [skri:n]   n.银幕 vt.遮蔽   (初中英语单词)
• sometime [´sʌmtaim]   ad.曾经 a.从前的   (初中英语单词)
• project [prə´dʒekt, ´prɔdʒekt]   v.设计；投掷 n.计划   (初中英语单词)
• convince [kən´vins]   vt.使确信；使认识错误   (初中英语单词)
• executive [ig´zekjutiv]   a.行政的 n.行政官   (初中英语单词)
• working [´wə:kiŋ]   a.工人的；劳动的   (初中英语单词)
• comment [´kɔment]   n.&v.评论；评注；注意   (初中英语单词)
• additional [ə´diʃənəl]   a.附加的，额外的   (初中英语单词)
• reality [ri´æliti]   n.现实(性)；真实；逼真   (初中英语单词)
• repair [ri´peə]   v.&n.修理，修补   (初中英语单词)
• pointed [´pɔintid]   a.尖(锐)的；中肯的   (初中英语单词)
• transparent [træns´peərənt]   a.透明的；显而易见的   (高中英语单词)
• uncomfortable [ʌn´kʌmftəbəl]   a.不舒服的，不自在的   (高中英语单词)
• translation [træns´leiʃən, trænz-]   n.翻译；译文；译本   (高中英语单词)
• specially [´speʃəli]   ad.专门地；特别地   (高中英语单词)
• annually [´ænjuəli]   ad.每年；按年计算   (高中英语单词)
• profitable [´prɔfitəbəl]   a.有益的；有用的   (高中英语单词)
• launch [lɔ:ntʃ]   vt.发动 n.发射；汽艇   (高中英语单词)
• fighter [´faitə]   n.战士；战斗机   (高中英语单词)
• consumer [kən´sju:mə]   n.消费者；用户   (高中英语单词)
• incorporate [in´kɔ:pəreit]   v.结合 a.合并的   (高中英语单词)
• location [ləu´keiʃən]   n.定位；位置；地方   (高中英语单词)
• tablet [´tæblit]   n.碑；牌；匾额   (高中英语单词)
• fertile [´fə:tail]   a.肥沃的；有繁殖力的   (高中英语单词)
• related [ri´leitid]   a.叙述的；有联系的   (高中英语单词)
• warehouse [´weəhaus]   n.仓库 v.存入仓库   (英语四级单词)
• essentially [i´senʃəli]   ad.本质上，基本上   (英语四级单词)
• transmit [trænz´mit, træns-]   vt.传送；播送；发射   (英语四级单词)
• increasingly [in´kri:siŋli]   ad.日益，愈加   (英语四级单词)
• hardware [´hɑ:dweə]   n.五金器皿   (英语四级单词)
• designer [di´zainə]   n.设计者   (英语六级单词)
• spokesman [´spəuksmən]   n.发言人   (英语六级单词)
• caller [´kɔ:lə]   n.呼喊者；访问者   (英语六级单词)