If you are attending a once-in-a-lifetime event, you have two choices, fully immerse yourself in everything you are seeing and hearing the moment, or record the event for posterity – usually with your smartphone. The creators of the EyeQ crowdfunding campaign are hoping to remove this dilemma with their mixed reality smart capture binoculars.
Utilising a smartphone visor similar to the ones used for the Samsung Gear VR or Google Daydream, the purpose of the EyeQ is to let users view in first person while simultaneously recording events, featuring a zoom of up to 16x zoom to magnify what the user is seeing. The device features a touchpad control on the top for a simple and intuitive control scheme.
Campaign organiser Mary Shulenberger and her team are seeking $25,000 (USD) in funding from the Kickstarter campaign. As of writing, over $12,000 had been pledged, with the campaign due to end on the 16th November, 2017.
Funding tiers range from the basic Early Bird package at $99, which comes with a set of eyeQ smart binoculars, USB charging cable and adjustable neck strap, to the $229 ‘Fan Pack’ tier which comes with a Pebble portable charger and Trailblazer Monopod in addition to the items in the Early Bird tier, and goes right up to the $349 Friendly Pack, which gets the backer two sets of binoculars, charger cable, carrying case, portable charger and neck strap.
Pre-production prototypes have already been built, and if the Kickstarter campaign is successful, the EyeQ team hope to begin shipping the devices in May of 2018.
Further information can be found on the Kickstarter page.
VRFocus will continue to report on crowdfunding campaigns retailed to VR/MR/AR.