Project North Star From Leap Motion Brings Open-Source AR Device

Leap Motion, the company famous for its gesture-based tracking system, just announced the new and amazing open source platform Project North Star. Through Project North Star, Leap Motion will release a design for an augmented-reality (AR) headset that, if built on a large scale, will cost less than $100 each.

This headset would allow users to manipulate AR objects with their hands using the Leap Motion sensor, a feature similar to  the ones found in Leap Motion’s virtual reality (VR) headsets. What makes Project North Star so awesome is that it is open-source; Leap Motion won’t be selling any AR headsets, but instead will provide the blueprints and specifications required to make the headset.

Using two 3.5 inch LCD displays that offer a 1600 x 1440 resolution per eye and a light-reflecting visor, the Leap Motion AR headset blueprint promises the biggest field of view we’ve seen so far. According to the company, the field of view will be 95 degrees high and 70 degrees wide. The Leap Motion sensor will track hand motion in an even larger field of 180 degrees both vertically and horizontally.

“We hope that these designs will inspire a new generation of experimental AR systems that will shift the conversation from what an AR system should look like, to what an AR experience should feel like,” announced Leap Motion in their unveil of Project North Star.

Below are some examples of how revolutionary the Leap Motion AR platform could prove to be, especially when it comes to virtual wearables.