Realmax (Shanghai, China) showed off a prototype of the company’s augmented reality glasses at CES 2018. Called Qian, the AR glasses can be described as self-contained and mobile. These descriptors mean that the headset contains a CPU and requires no connection to a computer.
Perhaps the most striking feature of Qian is that the field of view of the projected imagery is very wide at 100.8°. The company explained that this FOV is far greater than the FOV found in other AR headsets currently on the market. Realmax went on to explain that the wide FOV was achieved using “proprietary optics which involve a combination of so-called waveguide and freeform technology to control how light is beamed out from a source and then reflected back onto the lenses a user looks through.”
The see-through view of the real world through glasses is reported as almost 180 degrees. The headset weighs in at 450 grams.
The Qian headset integrates the ability for six degrees of freedom hand tracking. This is accomplished by use of a Leap Motion module attached to the top of the headset. By this means, and in conjunction with the capability for gesture recognition, it is possible for the user to use their hands to interact with virtual objects in an AR scene.
The Realmax AR glasses are illustrated in the figure below.
The Realmax AR glasses.
One on-line review describes the aesthetics of the prototype Realmax AR glasses as looking “like it was cobbled together by a handful of off-the-shelf parts.”
A short video discussing and demonstrating the Realmax AR glasses can be found at the end of this article.
At the CES show, the Realmax AR glasses were demonstrated through the use of two rudimentary apps.
The company has stated that the initial target for the Realmax AR glasses is in the education marketplace.
Realmax says the company plans to bring a developer version of the Qian AR glasses to market during June and to go on sale during third quarter of this year. The selling price is anticipated to be about $1,500. -Arthur Berman
