Joel Orr's World

VR goggles turn the real world into ASCII art - Engadget:Sure, ASCII art is cool for making lewd gestures and the unicorn that you use for your e-mail signature, but couldn't we be doing more with it? Well, some Russian artists / DIY'ers certainly think so, and as a result they've created an immersive system which allows you to view the world through the lens of real-time ASCII art (amongst other effects). The designers of this VR headset / live video-effects-unit were hoping to modify "real" reality for the user, thus creating a "virtual reality" experience via video effects (similar to Photoshop filters) in a stereoscopic viewer. The creators used a pair of goggles with a camera attached, a proprietary "black box" consisting of a CPU, battery, and radio transmitter, and custom-coded video processing modes (we assume, considering the box has no "operating system"). The result? Well, besides ASCII -- which looks a bit like the Matrix numbers -- you can do an effect akin to the Predator's POV... though we're pretty sure it won't make you invisible, or a lethal, alien killer. Check the video after the break to see the psychedelic magic unfold.More