AntVR, the Beijing-based company known for their 2014 VR headset Kickstarter, is launching a new crowdfunding campaign soon focusing on a hybrid AR headset called simply Mix. The makers are promising a bevy of bells and whistles, including the ability to integrate with the SteamVR platform so users can play VR games too, and all at only $500.
Update (04/17/18): According to a Venture Beat report, AntVR is launching their Mix AR headset in May via a Kickstarter campaign. With the price tag of $500, the Mix AR headset is said to boast a 96-degree field of view, two 1200 x 1200 displays with a 90Hz refresh rate. Inside-out head tracking offers six degrees of freedom.
AntVR is promising to ship to backers “by the end of 2018.” The company also published a video showing the headset ‘in action’ as it was filmed through its lenses with an iPhone X.
The original article follows below:
Original article (01/04/2018): The company, which launched their first Kickstarter back in May 2014, raked in over $260,000 to realize their wireless VR headset. While the headset actually ended up shipping to backers, the lack of manufacturing experience and a penchant for overpromising the headset’s capabilities—optimistic ambition notwithstanding—ultimately rendered AntVR’s first headset a complete flop. To soften the blow of the tumultuous launch, the company offered a 20 percent discount off the next iteration.
AntVR has since gone on to ship a number of devices including a room-scale VR headset called AntVR Cyclops, and a number of portable Cardboard viewers, with one such viewer made in collaboration with Lenovo. Not many of these headsets have hit Western shores however, as the company only sells through the China-based webshop AliExpress.
While not much is known about the new AR/VR headset for now (see update above), two photos published by the company show a single camera sensor, two reflective panels/displays, a pair of servomotors mounted on each temple (possibly to change from AR to VR mode), and what appears to be a halo-style strap.