castAR is something of a unique prospect for the head-mounted display (HMD) form factor. This upcoming kit consists of a pair of see-through lenses much like Microsoft’s HoloLens mixed reality (MR) HMD, but works with a special fabric that displays virtual content in the real world. Crucially, the kit is designed to be affordable, though the company behind it hasn’t yet confirmed a price. What it has confirmed, however, is when fans can expect to see both the developer and consumer editions of the hardware revealed.
CEO David Henkel-Wallace revealed as much to VRFocus in an interview that will be published later in the week. “At CES [2016] we’re going to announce our developer hardware,” he said. “It’s still in the final stages of design but it will weigh about half of [a prototype kit]. Even this only weighs 130 grams. So it’ll be a much lighter experience, we’ll have some additional capabilities, fewer wires plugging it together. And we’re going to be producing those in volume for shipment through the year to developers and enthusiasts who want to experiment with the technology similar to what Oculus did with the DK1 and DK2.”
As for the consumer version, fans can expect a reveal in a little over a years’ time. “And about a year after that, so around CES at the beginning of 2017, we will actually be announcing the consumer product,” Henkel-Wallace added. “And that’s the one that we think will be at a consumer price point and should be usable by anyone from ages eight to 88.”
VRFocus will continue to follow castAR closely, reporting back with the latest updates on its progress.
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