In recent years, virtual reality (VR) capable laptops have proliferated, giving users the mobility to explore rich virtual worlds on the go. To meet the demanding requirements of VR applications and games, these laptops are built with powerful hardware specifications.
The first item in their portfolio, the screenless “augmented reality laptop” called Spacetop, has been released by human-computer interface company Sightful. This cutting-edge tool hides the user from the world around them, projecting tabs onto a 100-inch virtual screen. It consists of a full-size keyboard, a hardware deck and a pair of personalized NReal glasses that allow tabs to be projected in front of the user’s line of sight.
Thanks to its Snapdragon 865 CPU, Adreno 650 GPU, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, Spacetop is similar to smartphones that can power augmented reality glasses. However, it differs from the traditional smartphone form factor in its physical dimensions, which are 1.57 inches high, 10.47 inches wide and 8.8 inches deep. It also weighs 3.3 pounds, making it more comparable to a computer in terms of size and weight.
Sightful is clearly targeting the growing market of remote working professionals. While computers are still the mainstay of our offices, technology has struggled to keep up with our more mobile and privacy-conscious lifestyles. Although the technology is still in its infancy, augmented reality shows great promise and potential. Tamir Berliner, co-founder of Sightful and a former employee of Primesense and Leap Motion, believes the time is ripe for a major paradigm shift in a popular and well-known gadget.
Currently, Spacetop can only be purchased through an application-based system by 1,000 early adopters. Although no pricing or availability information has been released, we will be keeping an eye on this project to see if it succeeds where so many others have failed.