AR Headset

Snapchat Reveals Next-Gen AR Glasses, But There’s A Catch

May 20, 2021 From vrscout.com

The popular multimedia messaging app announced a slew of exciting features during its third annual Snap Partner Summit.

Earlier today, Snap Inc. held its third annual Snap Partner Summit, during which co-founders Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy, and other members of the team revealed a handful of exciting features on their way to the Snapchat app.

Among today’s many announcements were several updates to the app’s Scan and Camera tools, including new shortcuts located directly on the main camera screen which make it easier to access these increasingly powerful features. Beginning today, the Snapchat app can now recommend related camera modes, Lenses, and soundtracks depending on what the camera is looking at. Additional new features, such as Screenshop, allows you to scan real-world clothing to receive recommendations from hundreds of brands. Upcoming features, such as Allrecipes, will take the experience even further by allowing you to scan real-world food in order to receive specific recipes.

Today’s event also saw the reveal of various updates to Lens Studio, a free desktop app that allows you to create your own Lenses and effects with little-to-know developer experience. This includes Connected Lenses, a new type of Lens that allows you to interact with other users in real-time, whether you’re located in the same room or across the world. To help demonstrate the power of Connected Lenses, Snap Inc. has released a LEGO-like brick-building Lens, enabling you to create colorful structures with others in augmented reality (AR).

Arguably the most exciting announcement from today’s event, however, is the all-new Snap Spectacles. Designed specifically for Snap creators, these lightweight glasses are capable of generating AR visuals in real-time. Using the companies proprietary Snap Spatial Engine, these AR-enabled smart glasses feature dual 3D waveguide displays, a 26.3-degree field of view, two RGB cameras, four built-in microphones, and two stereo speakers.

The device itself is controlled via a dedicated touchpad mounted directly onto the glasses themselves, allowing users to launch different Lenses from the carousel as well as activate the Scan tool. Users can also use Voice Scan to search for and launch Lenses straight from the headset. Everything you know and love about the app is present on these next-gen glasses, including 6DoF movement and hand, body, and surface tracking.

Powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR1 processor, the new Spectacles weigh just 134 grams and offer 30 minutes of action per charge; not bad for a dedicated AR device with such a slim design. Seeing as the glasses were built specifically with creators in mind, the new Spectacles can be tethered wirelessly to Lens Studio, allowing for more seamless testing.

Sounds a little too good to be true, right? Well, that’s only because it is. Unfortunately, the latest Snapchat Spectacles will not be available for consumer purchase. Rather, the company is working directly alongside the following Snap creators in order to further test the technology:

Don Allen Stevenson III | XR Developer | Vibe Quest AR
Lauren Cason | Creative Technologist | Taos, Caldera, and Anita
Kat V. Harris | Technical Designer | Dance Helper
Zach Lieberman | Artist | Poem World (with Shantell Martin)
Matthew Hallberg | AR Developer | SketchFlow
Clay Weishaar | AR Creator | Metascapes
Leighton McDonald | VR/AR Creator | BlackSoul Gallery

Those interested in going hands-on can learn more about the program over at spectacles.com/creators.

For more information on the hardware as well as today’s other announcements, check out the companies official release.

Feature Image Credit: Snap Inc.

Exclusive Hands-on: DigiLens is Building Modular AR Glasses to Accelerate Consumerization

May 18, 2021 From roadtovr.com

DigiLens, creators of waveguide optics, today announced the Design v1, a modular reference headset which the company hopes will accelerate the development and consumerization of truly glasses-sized AR headsets. Road to VR got an exclusive hands-on demo of the Design v1 and the company’s latest waveguides.

DigiLens is one of several companies building waveguide optics and positioning them for use in XR. Waveguides allow for extremely compact near-eye optics which are no thicker than the lenses on a pair of glasses.

Seemingly frustrated that no company has yet created a pair of AR glasses suitable for mass adoption, DigiLens has set about building a modular reference design to help interested parties accelerate the time-to-market of affordable AR glasses. The device is called the Design v1, a fully standalone pair of AR glasses with Snapdragon XR2 and a 50° diagonal field of view.

“Design v1 is brighter, lighter and more capable than any other waveguide based XR device on the market. Our strategy is to empower the forward leaning XR companies in the ecosystem to capitalize on the strengths of an emerging horizontal market,” says Chris Pickett, CEO of DigiLens. “We are creating an XR blueprint for the ecosystem to take, add to and adapt as needed for their individual markets and their unique XR software development needs. Expanding the pool of experts and democratizing ideas across the spectrum is what the market has missed to date.”

The Design v1 AR glasses are comprised of three core modular parts:

Frame: containing compute, batteries, and sensors
Optics: featuring the company’s waveguides
Display module: containing the display and light source

These parts snap together in a matter of seconds, without tools, as easily as Legos. The idea behind Design v1 is to give large tech companies a customizable starting point for building a pair of AR glasses that fits their productization needs. Here’s a look at the specs of the base unit:

DigiLens Design v1 Specs
Resolution	1,280 x 720 (0.9MP) per-eye, DLP
Refresh Rate	60Hz, 72Hz, 90Hz
Lenses	DigiLens waveguide
Field-of-view	44° x 25° (50° diagonal)
Processor	Snapdragon XR2
RAM	6GB
Storage	128GB
Connectors	USB-C
Tracking	Dual on-board cameras (no external beacons)
Input	Gaze
Audio	In-frame speakers
Microphone	Yes
Cameras	8MP RGB center
Wireless	Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth

Make no mistake, the Design v1 is unfortunately not for your everyday enthusiast hardware hacker. DigiLens is planning to work directly with a small handful of companies to iteratively customize the Design v1 for their specific needs. In fact DigiLens isn’t announcing an actual price for the glasses—it’s a ‘get in touch if you’re interested’ sort of situation.

Bright as Daylight

While the modular design is interesting, DigiLens isn’t the only game in town with a reference design for AR glasses. So what makes the company think theirs is the best offering out there?

Naturally, it comes down to their waveguides, which are indeed some of the best AR optics available today.

It’s not just that waveguides can be truly the thickness of the lenses on a pair of glasses—and get just as close to your eye—they’re also highly transparent and actually capable of looking like glasses, rather than sunglasses as is the case with many of the AR headsets available today which need to dim incoming light to account for low brightness.

On the other hand, DigiLens boasts of having 300 nits per lumen brightness, and the demo to back it up. I got to visit the company’s Silicon Valley office for an exclusive look at its latest optics. Before trying on the Design v1 itself, the company sat me outside on a sunny afternoon and showed me their Crystal 30G optic (which has just a single color channel, green) connected to a compact board containing the display and light source.

After picking up the optic and looking through it, I could see the image clearly, even when set against the bright blue sky. That’s pretty impressive considering it can still sometimes be hard to see smartphones in direct sunlight (smartphones commonly have sub 1,000 nit brightness; DigiLens says this demo was 3,000 nits). I was even able to take a perfectly good photo through the lens with my phone.

Through-the-lens of DigiLens Crystal 30G optic in bright daylight | Photo by Road to VR

While the Design v1 isn’t this bright just yet, the company pointed out that—assuming the same light source—there’s a range of tradeoffs among waveguides between color channels, field-of-view, and brightness. Part of why they’re building the Design v1 with modular optics is so partners can easily snap on a different optic that’s specific to their use-case, whether that be optimizing for a wide field-of-view or for maximum brightness.

Continue on Page 2: Hands-on with DigiLens Design v1 »

NuEyes’ AR Glasses Are Made For Hardcore PC Gamers

May 8, 2021 From vrscout.com

Work and game on a 148″ augmented reality screen using the companies Pro 3e 5G smart glasses.

AR company NuEyes is taking its passion for AR and gaming to the next level with the launch of the Pro 3e 5G-enabled smart glasses through their gaming division, NuGaming. Unlike existing enterprise-focused headsets like the Microsoft HoloLens 2, the Pro 3e smart glasses are designed for use by consumers as a PC gaming and entertainment device.

Designed to look like a standard pair of sunglasses, the Pro 3e uses AR to project a 148” viewing screen in full 1080p HD at a smooth 60 FPS. There’s also a deep color contrast of 100,000 to 1, as well booming stereo speakers built into the frames. Similar to existing VR headsets like the Oculus Quest, the Pro 3e allows you to adjust the lenses to fit your personal IPD measurements.

I went hands-on with the device recently and the first thing I noticed was the lightweight and comfortable design. They didn’t feel bulky or uneven. Honestly, it felt like I was wearing a pair of conventional glasses. Thanks to the foldable arms, you can toss them in your backpack or tuck them descretely into your shirt pocket, making it easy to carry them with you throughout your day.

Adjusting the settings on the AR glasses is simple. There are volume and brightness controls built into both arms of the frames as well as two diopter adjustment knobs located at the top of the glasses that you can access by pulling back the covers.

NuGaming’s Pro 3e uses a USB-C plug so you can connect your glasses to the Samsung S20 and other mobile devices. You can also connect the device to your PC and project your computer screen directly to your glasses. NuEyes’s Pro 3e even works with the MacBook Pro and iPad Pro. There are other devices that you could plug your glasses into, but you might need a power boost adapter depending on the device, which will be available on the NuGaming site soon.

In terms of gaming, the Pro 3e can sync to almost any type of gaming controller, including Xbox, Google Stadia, and PlayStation. There’s even support for the Finch Ring as well as various Bluetooth keyboard and mouse solutions.

In an official press release, Mark Greget, Founder and CEO of NuEyes, said, “There are so many great cloud-based streaming services now, and to be able to tether my controller to my phone or tablet and stream games in 5G while enjoying the content on a crisp 148” viewing screen in full 1080p HD vs a smaller 8” or 10” screen or a cumbersome VR device is the next evolution in technology for this space.”

Crystal clear visuals and gaming support aside, the Pro 3e does feature its fair share of technical limitations. Unlike other popular AR headsets, for instance, the Pro 3e does not allow you to pin interactive 3D content around your real-world space due to its lack of external cameras. This lack of inside-out tracking means the generous 1080p HD screen remains in front of you at all times, regardless of whether or not you’re moving around.

In addition to gaming, the Pro 3e features plenty of light enterprise appeal. For example, the ability to quickly and privately access work-related content could make the device a valuable tool for business professionals on the move; while it may look like you’re soaking up the sun in pair of cool-looking shades, you’re actually balancing the company books and working on a proposal in MS Office. And whenever you need a break, the glasses can be used to access HBO Max, Netflix, Hulu, and other popular streaming platforms. I have to say, watching Star Wars: The Bad Batch on a 148″ screen is spectacular!

What NuGaming delivers with its 5G AR smart glasses is a streamlined immersive experience designed to meet the needs of both gamers and business professionals.

If you want to learn more about the NuGaming Pro 3e AR smart glasses, check out their website or follow them on Twitter.

Feature Image Credit: NuEyes