The core innovation lives in what SpectraEyes calls the Real-Time Dual-Screen Synchronization System. Rather than attempting to merge thermal and night vision into a single confused image, the optics route each feed to its own dedicated 1280×720 LCD screen inside the binocular housing.
Looking Glass has been doggedly committed to making holographic displays the next big thing since 2019, and with its new Musubi digital photo frame, it might finally be offering its tech at a price that's hard to deny. Musubi is scheduled to start shipping in June, and unlike the company's previous, more developer-focused kits, the company's new display only costs $149.
"It's not an overstatement to declare another VR winter," said J.P. Gownder, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester. "I think we might even go as far as to say there's only a handful of successful scenarios where people are using VR." This assessment reflects the industry's struggle to find practical applications beyond niche markets.
One of the big focuses of the new operating system version is what Pico calls PanoScreen, a feature that lets the wearer run multiple applications at once while also keeping a 360-degree view of the real-world space around them. Other users can pop into the space as 3D avatars while you spin around to see spreadsheets, browser tabs, design software, or whatever else you're working on.
The company is building directly on its major success supplying its waveguide technology to glasses, and proving that geometric waveguides work at consumer scale with standard glass. At CES, Lumus showcased a ZOE prototype with a field of view of more than 70 degrees, an optimized Z-30 with 40% more brightness, and a Z-30 2.0 preview that's 40% thinner. David Goldman, VP of marketing, walked me through each demo with clear enthusiasm about the progress Lumus is making.
Following a toiling week at CES, there was nothing more captivating to me than the opportunity to watch a full, hours-long Lakers game in the Apple Vision Pro by the time I got home. See, I'm based in New York, so my best chance of catching the latest Spectrum Front Row in Apple Immersive experience -- which puts you courtside, effectively on the scorer's table -- is by watching a replay a few days after the live broadcast.