Lynx R1

Lynx-R1 Launches Kickstarter to Raise $300,000

October 5, 2021 From vrfocus

One of the most interesting XR headsets currently in development is the Lynx-R1 by French startup Lynx. Combining both virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) capabilities, today sees the launch of the company’s Kickstarter crowd-funding campaign, looking to raise a substantial $300,000 USD over the next month.

Lynx has garnered a lot of attention thanks to the technology its employing in the headset and founder Stan Larroque’s vision for the device and the company as a whole. He started developing his own headset back in 2016, a mishmash of various components that included an Oculus Rift DK1. Fast forward five years and the Lynx-R1 embodies the latest technology to provide customers with an all-in-one (AIO) headset with hand tracking, 6DoF tracking, and many more features.

All of which have now been confirmed by the company. The hand tracking for example comes from Ultraleap and will be the primary control method. The front-facing cameras will be full-colour passthrough – no B&W here – whilst the display will offer 1600 x 1600 per eye resolution at 90Hz at a 90° FOV. Powered by a Qualcomm XR2 chipset the Lynx-R1 will have 6GB of RAM and 128GB internal storage that’s expandable to 1TB thanks to an SD card slot. It’ll also have Wifi 6 and Bluetooth, compatible with SteamVR thanks to OpenXR support and three-hour battery life. Oh, and there’s a magnetic VR facial interface to prevent any light leaks.

What everyone really wants to see though is those lenses. While they’ve gone through several revisions the optics feature a 4-fold catadioptric freeform prism in conjunction with a 2.1″ octagonal LCD panel helping to keep the headset’s form factor small. To maintain comfort the battery is located on the back of the head strap which is becoming much more commonplace in AIO devices.

Lynx has launched the Kickstarter to help with the final production run with a variety of funding tiers available. To secure one of the standard black Lynx-R1’s you’ll need to spend €530 EUR, £453 GBP or around $600 USD. Or if you’re looking for an XR headset that’s aesthetically different a limited edition transparent version is available but that’ll cost €745/£636. Only 1000 of these will be offered.

While the Lynx-R1 doesn’t come with motion controllers Lynx has been working with Finch to supports its FinchShift controllers if hand tracking isn’t to your liking. As the Kickstarter progresses, VRFocus will keep you updated.

Lynx Mixed Reality Headset to Start at $500 via Kickstarter in Late September

September 10, 2021 From roadtovr

French startup Lynx announced its Lynx R-1 mixed reality headset last year. The standalone headset, which is capable of both VR and pass-through AR, was previously said to launch for business somewhere around the $1,500 price point. Lynx previously said it was pivoting to target both enterprise and consumers however, now adding that the headset will start at $500 when it hits Kickstarter sometime in late September.

Update (September 10th, 2021): Lynx tossed out a new promo yesterday in which an opening price point was revealed, reaching well below the sub-$1,000 price tag previously mentioned in July.

The consumer version is said to be priced at $500. A transparent ‘Limited Edition’ model is said to come in at $700, while a professional edition for businesses will sell for $900.

CEO Stan Larroque explains in a Q&A video that while it won’t be selling hardware below cost, they’ve factored in the price of both limited and pro editions so they can hit that $500 price point for consumers. The original article announcing the Kickstarter follows below.

Original Article (July 9th, 2021): Lynx founder and CEO Stan Larroque announced in the project’s July update a few key changes to its upcoming MR headset. You can check out the full 30-minute video at the bottom of the article.

In short, the headset is now said to include a modified version of its unique “four-fold catadioptric freeform prism” optics which will remove the need for eye-tracking, something that was required due to the headset’s relatively small eye-box—the “sweet spot” area within the headset where you can view the image in focus.

One of the biggest revelations from the update was that Lynx R-1 is expected to be “way below $1,000,” or just a “couple hundred dollars,” Larroque says. This was achieved by modifying some components, however it wasn’t specified which ones.

Larroque confirmed the headset will still include Ultraleap hand-tracking, which is the only other change in its overall feature set. All other features are said to be in-tact, and the product “is complete,” including specs and design. The Qualcomm Snpadragon XR-2 is still listed on the headset’s spec sheet, which is nice to see.

A month-long Kickstarter campaign to fund the headset’s refocus towards consumers is expected in September 2021, with shipments targeting February 2022. Lynx says it’s reimbursing those who pre-ordered the headset and will give them a promo code. A special clear version of the headset is also slated to be on offer, which you can see in the image above.

Prototypes of the updated design are said to ship sometime this summer to select members of the press, so we’ll hopefully have a better idea of how everything has come together after the company’s two-year stint in R&D.

Lynx R-1 Kickstarter to Offer Mixed Reality from $499

September 10, 2021 From vrfocus

For those after a reasonably cheap mixed reality (MR) headset then French hardware startup Lynx‘s R-1 device is a tantalising prospect. Lynx founder Stan Larroque has been developing the device for several years now, taking that next leap towards consumer availability with the launch of a Kickstarter crowd-funding campaign this month. He’s also revealed the price, $499 USD.

In a new live stream this week Larroque revealed plenty of new details about the company’s plans and what it’s trying to achieve. While he refrained from unveiling a date or funding goal for the Kickstarter, he did say the current aim is to launch the campaign by the end of September between the third and fourth week. Larroque also highlighted several reasons for going down this particular route, aiming to keep Lynx independent from the big tech companies, helping to gauge order quantities for production and thus helping create a speedy delivery for customers.

Obviously, the big news revolves around the price. When the Lynx R-1 was officially unveiled at the beginning of 2020 it was marketed as an enterprise headset retailing for $1500. That’s dramatically changed, with the price coming down to $499. Now, that’s a special Kickstarter price to encourage backers, with a transparent limited edition available for $699 and a pro-enterprise version for $899.

Lynx hasn’t revealed what the eventual retail price will be post Kickstarter or what the main difference will be between the consumer and enterprise models. The R-1 headset specs have already been released, providing a 90° FOV with 1600 x 1600 per eye resolution at 90Hz. Powered by the Qualcomm XR2 platform – the same as Oculus Quest 2 and HTC Vive Focus 3 – the device won’t come supplied with controllers as it’ll use Ultraleap hand tracking as its main input method. However, Lynx R-1 will support the upcoming FinchShift controllers and Larroque did make a teasing comment about: “exploring with another, bigger company that is famous for making accessories in the PC world.”

When it comes to gaming he confirmed that Lynx R-1 will support OpenXR in Q4 2021 and the team has got the headset working with SteamVR. An early test showed Larroque in SteamVR’s home via a tethered USB-C cable. In the future, the team plans to enable WiFi 6 streaming that’s built into the device.

The Lynx R-1 certainly promises an interesting alternative in the XR hardware market and as further details are revealed, VRFocus will let you know.