An early preview of the Lynx R-1 MR (Mixed Reality) mode has been given by Lynx CEO Stan Larroque, showcasing the Lynx R-1 headset’s ability to overlay content on to the real world.
This should be of interest to designers given that the Lynx R-1 doesn’t use a transparent display – like that of Microsoft’s Hololens – but instead uses a video passthrough with what looks to be minimal latency.
This allows much more control over the quality of the overlaid graphics; with each pixel controlled the scene can display more accurate colours and objects can appear much more opaque, building a greater sense of realism, while losing none of the real world immersion.
A 90 degree field of view from Lynx’s unique ‘four-fold catadioptric freeform prism’ lenses adds to the experience, although Larroque states that there’s still more fine tuning to be done.
This latest video is the raw capture of a demo scene built with Unity3D 2020.1, using a GoPro Hero4 looking through the left eyepiece of the Lynx HMD.
“We left the peripheral view on purpose on the left so you can appreciate the continuity that is key for proprioception and balance,” says Larroque.
“The distortion you might perceive especially in the peripheral vision on the left is because of the fisheye lens of the Gopro.”
The rig used to film the video also let in more external light than the bulk of a human head would, so expect contrast to be even better. “Also remember that what you are seeing is a compressed 2D video,” adds Larroque, “it’s very far from the experience you might have when you wear the actual device.”
