Lumus and InfinityAR aim to do with augmented reality what Oculus has done with VR

Whether or not huge sales projections for Oculus and other VR devices come to reality, there is no doubt that the aray of developer kit from Oculus has assisted onset of the industry. Before now, Augmented Reality (AR) has been without a well set-out developer platform that rivaled the capabilities of VR. Wave guide provider Lumus and software developer InfinityAR have partnered to do just that. The Lumus DK-50 developer kit will include not only the DK-50 AR glasses, but also a version of InfinityAR’s markerless AR tracking system.

The DK-50 breaks new ground in AR

When I first demoed a Lumus wave-guide-equipped pair of glasses last year, I was very impressed by not just the realistic projection of objects into my field of view, but the very wide field of view. It is similar to (and some speculate the same as) that found in the original Microsoft HoloLens prototype (though more recent versions seem to have a narrower field of view). This is huge for AR, as existing devices force you to work or focus on only a small area — typically 22 to 26 degrees. The 40 degree FOV provided by Lumus makes a very tangible difference.

Designed in concert with InfinityAR, the DK-50 also includes everything needed to support self-contained, markerless, AR tracking. It has a 9-axis IMU that includes both an accelerometer and magnetometer for motion tracking, twin 4MP cameras for stereo-vision-based object tracking, and two 720p optical engines for a convincing visual experience (Lumus expects to bump this up to 1080p later this year). Each optical engine consists of Lumus’s patented Light-Guide Optical Element (LOE), a reflective waveguide, and a Micro Display Pod, essentially a miniature projector. The DK-50 is expected to be available in Q2 this year, and while pricing has not been finalized, Lumus expects it to be around $3,000 including the needed software.

Can they pull it off?

While you may not have heard of Lumus, they have been providing optical solutions for AR applications in industry and defense for 15 years, so the technology itself is proven. Infinity AR is a newer player, and I think the acceptance of the DK-50 kit will depend in large part on how much performance developers can get out of their software running on the Android-powered Qualcomm Snapdragon in the hardware. The demos I saw looked good, and certainly good enough to develop with, but as Oculus has found, it can be a long road from something developers will work with and something that consumers will be happy to make a part of their everyday life.