For the DIY crowd, there's no reason to wait impatiently to spend $1,500 (plus $225 on prescription lenses) on a Google Glass-like heads-up display. If you have access to a 3D printer and deft fingers, you can build your own Glass alternative for less than $200.
DIY Electronics site Ada Fruit has a tutorial on creating the frame that clips on to your prescription glasses. You'll have to purchase a NTSC/PAL (Television) video glasses for $109.95, a miniature wireless USB keyboard with touchpad ($49.95) and a Raspberry Pi chipset ($39.95). You'll also need a 3D printer to create eight parts that form the enclosure for the glass. The .STL files to 3D print those parts are available through the Ada Fruit website for free.
MORE: Top 7 Google Glass Alternatives
To create the headset, you'll start by dismantling the TV video glasses, unsolder power connections to increase the lengths of wires and put them into the enclosure. This looks like it requires plenty of finesse, and is not for the faint of heart.
Once the video glasses are set up and clipped onto your glasses, you'll have to connect it to the Raspberry Pi chip for the operating system to show up on the display. You'll also need to power the CPU with a USB battery pack.
While this looks like a viable and affordable alternative to Glass, we find the connecting cables a cumbersome attachment. Enterprising techies may find a way to improve this process and make this heads-up display sleeker. The rest of us mere mortals will probably have to wait till Google officially launches Glass for public consumption, which is expected later this year.
via Mobile Geeks
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