The Accidental Invention of castAR
The story of castAR, a projected augmented reality glasses, is one among accidental discovery and perseverance. Jeri Ellsworth, the creator of castAR, was working at Valve Software when she stumbled upon the thought. She was attempting to determine why people got motion sickness when wearing virtual reality rigs. In an interview, Ellsworth explained, "I put a reflector in backwards in order that it wasn’t projecting into my eye … There was a chunk of reflective fabric within the room, it bounced a picture back to me, and it was beautiful."
The Birth of a New Technology
Ellsworth’s curiosity was piqued, and he or she began experimenting with projector headsets, which she affectionately calls "head crabs." She analyzed and explored the technology, becoming an enormous proponent of it throughout the company. However, it didn’t quite fit with Valve’s master plan, and Ellsworth and her team were eventually let go. Despite this, Ellsworth has fond memories of her time at Valve, where she was a part of the hardware team.
A Fond Farewell
Ellsworth recalls being wined and dined to hitch Valve’s hardware team resulting from her background as a chip designer and hardware hacker. Gabe Newell, the founding father of Valve, even flew right down to discuss with her personally, and he or she was given the liberty to construct her own space nevertheless she wanted. Although her time at Valve got here to an end, the corporate’s founder allowed her to proceed working on the project on her own, fully divorcing the corporate from it.
The Next Chapter
Ellsworth, together with former Valve engineer Rick Johnson, formed a brand new company called Technical Illusions to proceed developing castAR. They launched a successful Kickstarter campaign, which helped them bring the project to the following level. At the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2014, they showcased their progress, and Ellsworth expressed her excitement about moving towards manufacturing.
Looking to the Future
The team is just just a few weeks away from receiving recent, high-quality projectors and cameras, which can significantly improve the castAR rig. Ellsworth hopes to have the early dev glasses ready by summer and plans to ship the Kickstarter deliverables by Q4 at the most recent. However, this isn’t the tip of the journey. The team is searching for additional funding through Series A, VC funding, and angel investors to make castAR more industrial.
Conclusion
The story of castAR is a testament to the facility of innovation and perseverance. From its accidental discovery to its current stage, castAR has come a good distance. Despite the initial setback, Ellsworth and her team remain committed to creating projected augmented reality a reality. With their dedication and exertions, it should be exciting to see what the longer term holds for castAR and the world of augmented reality.
