daystAR – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

August 15, 2017

Lenovo Teases Its Upcoming VR and AR Product Launch at IFA

Lenovo seem to be keen on getting into the virtual reality (VR) market. The company has at least three headsets that it is working on, some of which are set to be launched for Christmas this year, if the recently released teaser video for Lenovo’s presentation at the IFA event is any indication.

As previously reported, Lenovo is working on two VR platforms. One of which is an entry into the Windows 10 Mixed Reality headset market, where it will join companies such as HP, Asus and Acer. The other is a stand-alone VR device based on Google Daydream technology, designed to be a meeting point between expensive high-end PC VR and mobile VR. A recent trademark application revealed that one of these devices will carry the name ‘Lenovo Mirage’, and thought on which of those devices will receive the name is divided.

Lenovo are also developing augmented reality devices, one of which has previously been featured as part of Disney’s D23 event as the headset was used along with a bluetooth lightsabre peripheral to create an AR Star Wars experience which will overlay images on the real world. The same headset will allow users to play Holochess, the iconic game played by Chewbacca and R2D2 in Star Wars IV: A New Hope.

The AR device is said to be smartphone-powered, though Lenovo have previously displayed a prototype of a standalone AR device referred to as the DaystAR. If this device is related to the Star Wards AR device is unknown at this stage, though some reports indicate that the DaystAR is intended for enterprise use.

Further details will be revealed by Lenovo at IFA 2017, which will be held on 31^st August, 2017 in Berlin, Germany. You can watch the IFA teaser video below.

VRFocus will continue to report on new technologies in the VR and AR sectors.

July 20, 2017

Lenovo Reveals AR Headset DaystAR

Lenovo today unveiled at the company’s annual Tech World conference a new standalone AR headset dubbed ‘daystAR’.

Revealed on stage by chief technology officer Yong Rui, daystAR is an augmented reality optical display with what the company says is an “independent vision processing unit and free-formed surface lenses with a 40-degree field of view.”

This marks Lenovo’s second big piece of AR news recently, as we saw the company tease a smartphone based AR headset a few days ago, a project realized in partnership with Disney that aims to deliver a Star Wars-themed HoloChess and lightsaber-focused experience.

1 of 5

The headset is said to be a concept, with no price or release date at this time. Engadget’s Chinese site got a chance to try on a non-functional model, displayed with 4 attractive metallic colors. The model on display features a turn-wheel strap adjustment, a sleek profile, and a number of visible sensors—no doubt purposed to position the headset in 3D space. There’s also a top-mounted wheel, likely used to change the interpupillary distance, or the variable distance between the eyes.

Lenovo also teased an AR development platform in a blogpost so potential daystAR developers can create applications across a variety of industries. The company is including features like Cloud Object Recognition, Remote Assistance, Multiplayer Interaction, and 3D Content Manager, so developers you can scan, upload, and edit 3D content through the platform.

We’re keeping an eye on Lenovo and their recent entrance into AR, possibly signaling the first steps towards a race by well-known manufacturers to capture early consumer interest in augmented reality.

The post Lenovo Reveals AR Headset DaystAR appeared first on Road to VR.

July 20, 2017

Lenovo Unveils AR Headset daystAR

Chinese tech giant Lenovo has yet to enter the virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) headset market with a device of its own but that won’t be the case for much longer. This year has already seen confirmation that the company will be making a Windows MR headset and a standalone VR device based on the Google Daydream platform. Today, during its third annual Tech World innovation summit, the company has revealed lots of new concept products one of which is an AR head-mounted display called daystAR.

A sneak peek of the device was revealed this past weekend with a collaboration with Disney on an AR experience called Star Wars: Jedi Challenges. With the reveal today several more details have surfaced regarding the headset. It’ll be a standalone device with its own built-in vision processing, have a 40-degree field-of-view (FoV), and the battery life should last for at least an hour during high-intensity sessions.

Lenovo Star Wars 2

In terms of apps for the device, developers will be able to use the Lenovo AR Platform for scanning, uploading and editing 3D content.

As it’s just a concept at this stage few other details have been released regarding the specifications of the headset. An array of sensors are built into the front of the device such as a couple of cameras – similar in design to Microsoft HoloLens – enabling it to detect depth and other features from the world around the user.

A couple of buttons on top might act as power, home or volume controls, while a scroll wheel is featured right in the top middle, likely for focusing the device for spectacle users (just like Gear VR). While the headset strap on the back also has an adjustment wheel which will probably tighten the device to a users head.

While this headset may take sometime to come to market, expect Lenovo’s other HMD offering much sooner. It’s Windows MR headset has already been confirmed by Microsoft to be out in time for Christmas, with the Daydream standalone VR HMD also likely to see a release later this year.

VRFocus will continue its coverage of Lenovo, reporting back with any further updates.