The human race has been dreaming about visiting the Moon for centuries. Piles of speculative fiction has been written about The Moon and what it looks and feels like, and with only a very small number of humans ever having the chance to walk in the lunar dust, it still holds some mystique for many. A company called AstroReality have devised a way to let people explore the lunar surface from the comfort of home, using Augmented Reality (AR).
The product that AstroReality have created involves a one-pound sphere which has been carefully 3D printer and then hand-painted with the aid of highly detailed NASA lunar orbiter data to recreate the lunar surface in painstaking detail. Users can then activate an AR app that can be used to scan famous lunar landmarks such as the Apollo landing site, where the app will provide additional photos, information and trivia. As the user moves the model on its stand, more locations will appear in the app to be explored through AR.
The app tracks the model’s movement in real-time, with 900 landmarks available to be scanned and explored using the AR app.
AstroReality are planning to launch a IndieGoGo campaign to fund the launch of the Lunar Pro model and app, with the campaign due to begin on Tuesday 11th July, 2017. Early Bird backers can pledge $179 (USD) Lunar Pro models. Other early backers will be able to snag rewards such as a mini lunar model or a full solar system collection. The campaign will be aiming for a goal of $50,000 to produce the Lunar Pro models and its associated app, with delivery expected to begin in November 2017 if the campaign is successful.
VRFocus will bring you further news on VR and Ar related crowd-funding projects as it becomes available.