Right. That’s it. I’ve pretty much had it with these Kickstarter projects. Is it me or is each one getting slightly more bizarre and dangerously close to “quack, quack, look I’m a duck” crazy?
That’s the first thing I thought when I saw the promotional images below for this particular item. But first, let me start with the pitch…
vrAse turns your smartphone into virtual reality goggles so you can enjoy movies in a huge 3D-Perfect screen, play totally immersive games and experience the awesome possibilities of Augmented Reality. Your smartphone simply slides into the front of the headset to provide the display. Packed inside the headset is a pair of interchangeable lenses, one for each eye. Using an app that splits your display into two separate images, each eye then sees a slightly different version of the same image, creating a 3D view.
Yes. The product is called vrAse. That’s vrAse and definitely, absolutely NOT vArse.
No. Wait… breathe. I must try to be positive about this. Right. The good points. Firstly, it’s from a team of people here in the UK – Edinburgh to be exact. Secondly, they’re well on the way to reaching their £55,000 goal, securing almost half the money already. Thirdly, yes, there’s some very clever technology here and, if you’re at home and want a cheap (apparently only £48) way of watching 3D and virtual reality, these are a snip.
Sorry, but that photo below of a guy wearing the glasses in bed and on the plane, that’s just had me in hysterics.
Look. Just look at the man in the airport lounge. I would point at that man. I would.
There’s a lot of cleverness inside though. A couple of lenses will ensure that your eyes see the two images without strain and, when you’re passing the image from your camera onto the screen, it can produce an augmented reality world. Imagine, for a moment, seeing the world through your camera but with additional data placed in your vision. As you walk through Asda that data could distract you from the fact that everyone is laughing and pointing at you.
Technically this seems brilliant, and a lot of tech blogs have applauded it, but this invention (which effectively gives you a 200″ screen) would be staying firmly inside my home. I just can’t see anyone wearing them in public.
Here, then, is the video showing you all about the product. If you’d like more information, go to vrase.com or get funding on KickStarter.