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Google may be the first company to attempt to turn augmented reality eyewear into a mass-market product, but the concept itself is nothing new. The Augmented World Expo in Santa Clara has collected together more than 30 prototypes of augmented and virtual reality headsets, and Engadget has a comprehensive set of photos which make fascinating viewing.

We’re sharing a few of them below the break, from the crude to the close-to-Glass-like … 

From something that looks like you’re wearing an industrial sander on your head:

Through the very clunky:

Clunky:

An early pass at a glasses approach:

Not exactly stylish eye-wear, but the concept is there:

To the minimalist (though the photo doesn’t show the sizeable box with all the electronics inside it):

And finally, a reminder of some of the evolutions Glass itself went through:

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