CastAR now on Kickstarter (a Jeri Ellsworth invention).

[FaSMaN]

For those that havent seen the CastAR demo at Maker Fair,

Cast AR, is a Altered reality device built and designed by Jeri Ellsworth, it uses two small projectors just above the eyes to project an image on a special surface, that reflex it to a set of polarized shutter glasses, this creates a 3d effect for the wearer,thats in fucus with his or her depth of field,its hard to describe.

What is castAR?

castAR is a projected augmented reality system that displays holographic-like 3D projections right in front of you. Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope sparked our imaginations of what might be possible in the future by showing R2-D2 and Chewbacca playing a holographic 3D chess-style game. It has taken nearly 35 years since the film was released for this technological dream to come to reality, but with castAR, that reality can be yours.

castAR includes a very fast and highly precise tracking solution, allowing you to change your experience by holding your 3D world in place while you are free to move around in it.

One primary concern we kept in mind when developing the castAR system was how to bridge the gap between the physical world and the virtual world. We accomplished this through the use of two unique peripherals: the Magic Wand and the RFID Tracking Grid. The Magic Wand is new kind of controller that lets you position things in space and control them with a joystick, all with one hand. The RFID Tracking Grid allows you to uniquely identify, track, and augment physical objects (such as miniatures, cards, and board game pieces) across the surface.

Another goal we have is to make castAR a comfortable and enjoyable experience for a wide audience. The final retail glasses are expected to weigh less than 100 grams, which is only slightly heavier than a pair of sunglasses. If you wear prescription glasses, castAR was designed to sit easily on the outside of them.

castAR requires no calibration or adjustment. Just put on the glasses and play!
Finally, we also strive to make castAR the most versatile head-mounted display available. We offer an attachment that transforms castAR into a true virtual reality system as well as a true augmented reality system. Whichever reality you prefer, there is now a single system capable of taking you there.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/technicalillusions/castar-the-most-versatile-ar-and-vr-system

Jeri is no longer working for Valve and is focusing her efforts to release CastAR to the masses, it looks like a great alternative to other VR devices.



Source

 

[BORTZ]

Obligatory "Another pair of glasses that projects stuff in front of your eyes" comment. So what makes this better than OR, Google glass, and whatever that glasses thing that was posted a few days ago?

 

[FaSMaN]

Obligatory "Another pair of glasses that projects stuff in front of your eyes" comment. So what makes this better than OR, Google glass, and whatever that glasses thing that was posted a few days ago?

Well for starters it doesn't project things right in front of your eyes, it projects them onto special paper infront of you, meaning you can still see the world arround you, and interact with the world around you, for instance play chess right ontop of the 3D area using real chess pieces, or dungeons and dragons...

 

[FAST6191]

Two projectors, polarised and shutters?

Interesting enough, I shall finish watching the video before making any proper comments though.
I get the impression I will have to echo the "another one?" sentiment though, though this is not necessarily a bad thing.

 

[Hells Malice]

I just have to say I think it was crazy of this girl to leave Valve for a maybe-project like this.
It seems kinda neat, but so limited in its use.

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

Obligatory "Another pair of glasses that projects stuff in front of your eyes" comment. So what makes this better than OR, Google glass, and whatever that glasses thing that was posted a few days ago?

Well since this is projecting shit onto other shit, you could make like...a crude nude patch for humans

 

[FAST6191]

I just have to say I think it was crazy of this girl to leave Valve for a maybe-project like this.
It seems kinda neat, but so limited in its use.

I thought she was fired/laid off, it said as such in the video and there were a few interesting articles back when it happened.

Anyway finished watching the video. Some interesting ideas and I can not say I would have done the tech that much differently.
However I am not sold on game boards per se. Granted I know of no way to do it otherwise, this side of lugging a serious computer around with you at least, and it is not a true dealbreaker.

I would not begrudge anybody wanting one, would probably not say not to having a new toy and can see some marginally interesting things coming of it. However I am not in a hurry to go find my wallet, not that I ever do kickstarters, and I am quite content to wait a bit and see what others do.

Well since this is projecting shit onto other shit, you could make like...a crude nude patch for humans

Suddenly "if it exists there is porn of on it" takes on a whole new meaning.

 

[Gahars]

I kind of hope that AR takes off; the phrase "Projecting much?" will take on an entirely new meaning.

 

[KidIce]

Hmm... These are a bit different than most other attempts in that they project on to a surface. A lot of people seem to have a problem w/ near eye projection/displays (as she states in the video and a common complaint w/ other VR glasses). So this might be a better option for people who get headaches from Oculus Rift and the like.

I'm a little disappointed by the choice of LCD shutters though, polarized lenses alone should have done the trick I would think. Shutter glasses tend to cause flicker because they require your frame rate to essentially be cut in half as each image is swapped between for each eye. Even at 80Hz I can notice it enough to be bothered by it. Thank god I bought my shutter glasses for my PC for ~$20 on clearance rather than the $200 they cost when released (and they no longer work because they require a CRT display which I no longer use). There is no way I would buy a 3D TV that required them and it certainly makes me less interested in this product.

OT: Oddly enough the first shutter glasses I know of, X-specs on the Amiga, were actually slightly better than looking at an unaugmented display because they required the use of interlace, which flickered like a bitch w/o them but the nature of the shutters and the darkness of the glasses helped cover up said flicker... Still flickered more than any one would want to look at for any period of time though. Interlace at 60Hz sucked and god help you poor PAL bastards, 50Hz sucks let alone when forced to 25. :-p

 

[IBNobody]

I feel so bad about saying this... but...

It's hard to take someone serious when they set up their cam to give a down-the-shirt view.

 

[FaSMaN]

Here's a better video that describes how it works:

 

[KingVamp]

I'm more interested in the AR/VR clip-on than the surface.

Well for starters it doesn't project things right in front of your eyes, it projects them onto special paper infront of you, meaning you can still see the world arround you, and interact with the world around you, for instance play chess right ontop of the 3D area using real chess pieces, or dungeons and dragons...

Like this?

 

[Kouen Hasuki]

Probs will be forgotten in 3 months time

 

[Veho]

So you need the glasses, the IR glyph thing (several if you want a larger field of effect), the reflective surface, and the wand. It's too complicated and impractical. The only advantage over other glasses is that you get the depth/distance cue, but the depth is fixed at any given moment and focus wise all the objects are "stuck" on the reflective surface, i.e. you can't have things at different distances at the same time.

 

[KingVamp]

So you need the glasses, the IR glyph thing (several if you want a larger field of effect), the reflective surface, and the wand. It's too complicated and impractical. The only advantage over other glasses is that you get the depth/distance cue, but the depth is fixed at any given moment and focus wise all the objects are "stuck" on the reflective surface, i.e. you can't have things at different distances at the same time.

They also have the clip-on option. I hope they talk more about that.

 

[Veho]

They also have the clip-on option. I hope they talk more about that.

I think that should be the primary mode of operation.

 

[The Catboy]

Looks like meh. Although I've never cared about AR myself nor Kickstarters

 

[Jamstruth]

This sounds really interesting.

As a guy who loves tabletop RPG gaming something like this would look amazing (albeit it would be supremely expensive and time consuming for a standard DnD game). Hell I know guys who like RTS games who'd find this really cool.

 

[KingVamp]

They have it working with Leap Motion.

 

[FAST6191]

It seems dev stuff is starting to appear, have a teardown