If 2016 was the year that hosted virtual reality’s coming out party, many developers are hoping to do the same for augmented reality this year. One company working towards that goal is Lumus, which has announced two new, immersive augmented reality displays at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show.
Supported by a $45 million investment from a number of top electronics manufacturers, Lumus has debuted two new augmented reality displays. The first is the Maximus, which at 55 degrees is the largest field-of-view display that Lumus has ever created. While this may not seem like much compared to virtual reality displays, bear in mind that this is for a single eye.
The Maximus is designed to be a high-end AR solution for gamers and AR developers. It has what Lumus describes as a ‘top down’ design, which allows it to work with prescription glasses or in conjunction with other lenses.
The second display that Lumus is proud to announce is the Sleek. Designed as a more understated alternative to the Maximus, it is aimed at everyday use and is a more practical solution for a wider range of lower-level scenarios.
Both technologies are being shown off at Lumus’ CES 2017 booth, with a number of different demonstrations and experiences for people to try that will highlight the potential for mixed reality in public and personal settings.
“Lumus is determined to deliver on the promise of the consumer AR market by offering a range of optical displays to several key segments,” Lumus CEO Ben Weinberger said. “From our unique vantage point as the key enabler of augmented reality eyewear, we foresee the consumer AR market arriving sooner than expected, with some of our customers planning to introduce consumer prototypes during the coming year.”
Lumus hopes to differentiate itself from other augmented reality hardware and software developers through the use of its reflective waveguide technology. It claims far brighter augmented reality thanks to this technology and believes it can handily take on some of the emerging giants of the fledgling industry.
