Brennan Hatton, our resident Pioneers Technical Coordinator, created an awesome "Day in the Life" video. All events were recorded on a single Friday at the Meta HQ.
Our office is located in beautiful Portola Valley, in Silicon Valley, just outside Palo Alto. Where are we building the future of augmented reality? At a mansion with a quarter-mile gated drive, a 13-foot pool with diving board, tennis courts, and stunning views of both the Bay and Golden Gate Bridges. It's awesome.
We really enjoy eating on the patio, which on clear days you can see 40 miles due north to the San Francisco skyline. Apart from the spectacular views, our resident chefs continually keep our taste buds jumping for joy. We love Jaime and Marisol!
As you watch the video, you get a real sense of communal family bonding taking place. The house caters to working in close, collaborative, proximity to co-workers. You’ll also notice that most people appearing on the video seem pretty darned happy. There is good reason for that. About half way through the video, you’ll see treats being handed out as mid-afternoon snacks.
Dogs and fun abound. Some of us even decide to take a nice, cool, dip in the pool (this was filmed in February). As you'll see, the video wraps up with a well deserved award for "excellence in Zen, coding and always saving the day." The lucky recipient was prized with a Golden Buddha Batman. We are working hard building the next big thing in augmented reality. But we are also having fun.
If you'd like to meet us in person, swing by the Meta Augmented Reality Hackathon in San Francisco from Friday, March 6, 2015 at 6:00 PM - Saturday, March 7, 2015 at 9:30 PM (PST). If you are really impressed with what you've learned here, we are hiring!
The idea of a holographic medical simulator came to Dr. Ryan Ribeira when he was in medical school doing simulations and training. He realized there were vast limitations with the vinyl mannequins they trained on, the same kind of dummies used for the last generation of medical students. A budding expert in emergency medicine, Ribeira saw that a pile of plastic and crude sensors provided a dangerously incomplete learning experience.
“These basic CPR dummies currently being used can only simulate one immobile body type, and one specific trauma situation.”
Then Dr. Ribeira had an “a-ha” moment that started a unique mission. In addition to treating patients in Stanford University Medical Center’s busy Emergency Department, he’s trying to change the face of medical training. His goal is to get past the limits of those expensive mannequins used in medical schools around the world, and replace them with much more realistic patients using Augmented Reality. His platform is the Meta 1 Developer Kit, and we’re happy to support Dr. Ribeira and his team at SimX in our partner program.
“With SimX on the Meta 1, students can practice using real instruments on virtual patients of any gender, age, or medical issue. We can simulate with live action, and in real time. That could include any clinical situation, such as birth, heart attack, or a stroke!”
“Our hope is to replace the current CPR dummies that cost up to half a million dollars each with our affordable and infinitely more diverse simulation app. We’ve successfully made medical simulations 100 times cheaper, making them affordable and accessible to all hospitals and training programs in the world. Students will get hundreds of hours more hands-on training before they face real-world scenarios and real, live patients.”
The need is urgent. Improved medical training will likely reduce medical errors. In the United States, avoidable medical mistakes remain the number three killer. These accidents come in 3rd place behind heart disease and cancer as the leading cause of death. They claim the lives of about 400,000 people, at a cost of some $1 trillion every year. At a recent Senate hearing, patient safety officials presented their ideas to address the problem, with technical solutions as the best hope.
The SimX team started building on the Meta SDK a year ago. The Meta 1 app enables medical students to practice a multitude of emergency medical scenarios on holographic, interactive patients. It helps prepare doctors-in-training to make the right decisions in life or death situations. The application recently won a first place at the prestigious International Meeting of the Society for Simulation for Healthcare.
SimX is about more than just medical training in wealthy parts of the world. It also has the long-term potential to revolutionize medicine in poor countries that simply cannot afford other types of advanced medical equipment. Medical schools around the world struggle to find money for basics, and SimX offers them an inexpensive way to provide sophisticated, real-life training.
Dr. Ribeira is inspired: “Imagine giving doctor’s in war-torn or disease ridden areas of the world the opportunity to improve their emergency field techniques with real-life scenarios, at a price they could actually afford.”
The SimX team ultimately decided to use the Meta SDK after attending one of Meta’s workshops.
For Ribeira, the choice was clear: “We chose to build our app on the Meta SDK over VR and tablet options because it had all the tracking features we needed. And the platform is extremely simple. No need to merge a bunch of other existing SDKs. And, importantly, the technology was appealing because of its tight Unity integration—an advantage for our team, which was already experienced in 3D environment programming on Unity.”
“At the Meta workshop, in less than 24 hours we had a working prototype of our application. I’ve been waiting for this technology to come to life for many years. I’m so excited that our work with Meta has produced it so quickly. We estimate that the app will be available, in a limited capacity, by summer 2015 and will progress quickly from there. A virtual patient for every medical student is a dream that is about to come true.”
Announcing the biggest Augmented Reality Hackathon of the year!
Join Meta, Wix, Unity, Shapeways & AWE at a 24hr AR Hackathon in SF
We are very excited to present, along with our partners at Wix, Unity, Shapeways and AWE, the first ever Meta Augmented Reality Hackathon.
Join us on the weekend of March 6th-7th to develop on the Meta 1 Developer Kit, the first see-through AR headset that allows developers to build interactive holographic applications.
We’re bringing together Unity developers, hackers, AR enthusiasts, and leading minds in the AR industry - plus uber talented Meta engineers - for a two day hackathon at the gorgeous Wix lounge in San Francisco’s SOMA district.
This is a great opportunity to build augmented reality applications using the Meta SDK (built on Unity) and to network with the AR community and Meta’s team. You will be able to present your app to Meta’s CEO for a chance to win a Meta 1 Developer Kit and a 1 year Unity Pro license.
Find the Hackathon schedule and all the information you need on the registration page here.
Check out these cool apps that were built in 24 hours at Mhacks this week:
For any other inquiries, please feel free to email us any time at [email protected]. We'll get back to you as soon as possible.
We're looking forward to having you take part in this special event with us.
We’re only 20 days away from shipping! The countdown is coming to a quick and exciting end. Thank you for all of your patience during the building and fine-tuning process. We will be sure to get them to you as quickly as possible.
Meta @Unite Conference
While we’re on the subject of Unity, Last week we had the pleasure of participating in “Unite” - the biggest Unity conference of the year.
Unite is one of the world’s most dynamic gatherings for interactive content development; where the best developers from around the world meet up to exchange ideas.
We were pumped to reach out to so many developers and give live demos of the Meta 1 devkit.
From the steady stream of developers checking out our booth we heard so much valuable feedback and a lot of really brilliant ideas.
We’d like to thank everyone who participated in the conference with us and tell you how much fun it was to see your eager faces and hear your feedback
Meta Pioneers Workshops
If you’d like to get more hands-on time with the Meta devkit and the whole team, you can apply to join one of our upcoming Pioneers Workshops.
Workshop dates
Meta House: September 6th & September 16th
Sydney: September 28th
It’s time to get really excited because the final touches were just made on the Meta 1 Dev Kit and we’re thrilled to announce that we’ll be shipping them out in the beginning of September!
The road to early shipping started with Meta CTO Raymond Lo, VP of Logistics Karen Kwan and Production Engineers Eric Bokides and Jackson Wilkins taking a fine-tuning excursion to Meta manufacturing headquarters in the Far East.
They helped perfect the injection molding process for the plastic frames to produce a seamless surface. Then, onto the cable enclosure case and Meta control box where they ensured the hardware would hold the cables from the optics, camera, and IMU neatly together and allow you to plug your Meta glasses directly into your computer. You can see the smooth final product coming out of the molds in our travel photos. Then, because we want to keep it classy, our team went to the makers of Oakley’s sunglasses cases to have our carrying cases made. They’re pretty slick, if we do say so ourselves.
Our beloved Backers! Get ready to be the first to get your hands on this amazing kit.
Thanks to all of the companies who submitted an application for the pioneers program! Due to the overwhelming response, more time is required to look at all applications in depth and select the winners. We will be sending out the Golden Tickets early next week!
Applications are still open & welcome for the 3rd round of workshops! See here to apply
Best of luck to all the applicants!
Brennan Hatton
Here is the moment we have all been waiting for. After months of anticipation, we are happy to announce the first official workshop structured by Steve Mann, Steve Feiner & Jayse Hansen. We are inviting you to be among the first in the world to develop with our latest technology and have your applications used as examples to show off the possibilities of meta.
Get your Golden Ticket. Workshop Applications Open
We will be opening our doors again to our developers, selectively inviting a special few to have us work with them in building their applications on the meta platform.
These workshops will be the foundations of partnerships. We will work closely with you in building key applications that will then be demonstrated around the world as examples of what meta can do. Many of the greats have already climbed on board to create apps that will stretch the imagination. We are looking for the best and most innovative teams to work with us to build the future.
The Pioneers Program will include:
Meeting Meron Gribetz, CEO of meta.
Getting your hands on the future with a highly sought after pre production meta 1 prototype fresh off our 3D printer.
Extra early access to the SDK.
Experience the magic of metaPro
Training from our engineers on our SDK and hardware.
Time with the some of the best professors in AR: Including Prof. Steve Mann from the University of Toronto, Prof. Steve Feiner from Columbia University, Prof. Stefano Baldassi, Stanford University.
Guaranteed position in our first official meta hackathon!
Introduction to the whole meta team!
Development time and assistance from our engineering team while building your application.
Daily lunch and social nights with the meta team.
Promotion of your application. (We will work with all finished applications to make promotional video, showing off your hard work)
Off-site development assistance from our engineers.
Tour of the MetaHQ. Where dreams become reality, and some realities become dreams.
Experience
The workshop will be a professional hands-on experience with our hardware. On the first day, we will help you gain an in-depth understanding of the SDK through a series of lectures and presentations by our Research and Software team, followed by hands-on activities with the SDK.
The second day will be focused on building your applications. With the assistance of our developers, we will help your bring your ideas to life.
Participant Objectives
Create a stunning application utilizing the Meta-1 Augmented Reality Developer Kit and accompanying SDK.
Complete a working prototypes of your application.
Resources Provided
You will be provided with early access to a meta1 hardware developer kit and accompanying SDK. Along with these components, participants will be offered onsite workspace at the Meta Headquarters, which is located just outside Palo Alto, California.
Live training through a series of in-person workshops and web-based assistance is included as well. The Meta engineering team can provide integration help if needed.
To top it off, all of your art direction and UI elements can be guided by our very own Jayse Hansen, the creator of some of the most iconic cinematic graphical interfaces, including those in Iron Man and The Avengers. Guest speakers, including Professor Steve Mann of University of Toronto, popularly known as “father of wearable computing” by The Guardian, Professor Steve Feiner of Columbia University, an early pioneer of augmented reality and Professor Stefano Baldassi of Stanford University, a professor leading researcher in visual perception.
Dates
The Workshops will be two days long, held Sunday–Monday May 4–5, 11–12, 18–19, and 25–26.
Requirements
1–3 Developers with experience using Unity3D.
A well defined app idea.
A pre order of the meta1 developer kit or metaPro.
Application Process
To apply for the Meta Pioneers Program, send an email to [email protected]. Your email should include:
Your company name and location/s.
A brief description of your company.
Your application idea that you wish to develop
Both short term and long term goals
How your application utilizes the following features of the SDK. It does not need to utilize all features, but at least one.
Hand tracking with natural interaction techniques such as grab, point, pinch and swipe. (actions you would use on real world objects).
Holographic UI components. Use of holographic buttons or elements.
3D Holographic display. 3D content your application will include.
Surface tracking. Being able to attach virtual content to real world objects.
The number of developers you will have working on the project.
Next steps
We will be selecting companies to participate in these exciting workshops and sending Golden Tickets to the lucky winners on Tuesday April 15, 2014.
The suspense is terrible. I hope it'll last. ~ Wonka
The Pioneering begins. Kickstarter Workshop Complete
Congratulations to the first meta Pioneers to complete our workshops! The Pioneers included Digital Iris, Decimal Labs and Salesforce. The first day, the teams had their first exposure to the SDK and started building their apps. On the second day, they were able to build prototypes of their applications with over 12 hours alongside our engineers.
Videos of some of the applications, along with more details on each of the teams and their applications, are coming soon.
The first meta Pioneers. Isabel, Nathan, Seth, Meron, Wolfgang, Spencer, Ben, Brennan, Alex, Tim
Product update—Get your hands on early prototypes!
The first Pioneers have already had their hands on the last design of the dev kits. These are the latest prototypes fresh off our 3D printers, which will be given out to the most promising Pioneers in the Workshop.
Tooling is currently underway. We are visiting our manufacturers in the coming weeks and will have photos of the dev kits in development soon!
Latest prototype of the meta1 developer kit. Without FOV enhancer.
Latest prototype of the meta1 developer kit. With FOV enhancer.
The FOV upgrade is an addon that slides in and out of the meta 1 device, allowing you to easily switch between different sizes depending on which you want to use.
Shipping Status
Our CTO is currently meeting with some of our manufacturers in Shenzhen. We will have a more detailed update on shipping in the next week when he returns at http://blog.spaceglasses.com.
We are looking forward to hearing about your applications.
I know what you're thinking: They can't be doing what they're doing. But they are. They have to. ~ Wonka
Shot the same style as our metaPro launch video; we give you all of the angles and video feeds you need to see how the developer kit looks, feels, and works!
Our developers have been working hard to show you just some of the possibilities with the developer kit. In this video our Unity Engineers, Joseph and Neb, take you through our Sculpting and Space demos which show off our hand tracking.
Composite View 1
We will have a simple system to create your own video just like this in order to show off your applications. In our developer portal, we are constructing tutorials on how to make your own videos, as well as how to utilize the SDK and features!
Composite View 2
.
Shipping update
Our CTO is currently meeting with some of our manufacturers in Shenzhen. We will have a more detailed update on shipping in the next week when he returns.
20 open slots: 1 week intensive course at meta HQ.
Hey Charlie’s, ever dreamed of being in the chocolate factory? Now you have the chance to do it augmented reality style! This is your opportunity to get your hands on the meta SDK before anyone else! We are going to be inviting the best of you, as our kickstarter backers and first supporters, into our doors to get the chance to learn the SDK from our developers at our meta HQ before it even ships, starting 1st of March! Only 20 developers will be accepted in this special program. We will cover how to use the SDK and early developer support on your application. For those chosen to be a part of this course, we will be continuing to work closely and promoting all of the fantastic applications after the pioneer workshops.
The Pioneer Program will include:
Meet from Meron Gribetz, CEO of meta.
Chance to pick up a meta 1 prototype fresh off our 3D printer and get the SDK extra early.
Training program on our SDK and hardware.
Lectures from the best professors in the AR industry: Including Prof. Steve Mann from the University of Toronto, Prof. Steve Feiner from Columbia University, Prof. Stefano Baldassi, Stanford
Take part of our first official meta hackathon!
Workshops to build your app with the whole meta team!
Development time with assistance from our team while building your application.
Daily Lunch & Social nights with the meta team
Promotion of your application. (All finished applications will have a promotional video made to show off your hard work)
First week complementary (no-charge) to Kickstarters with best apps. To show our appreciation for believing in us early on & your patience while waiting for your glasses to arrive we are opening early-bird applications exclusively for the kickstarter submissions to the Meta Pioneers Program. In a few days we will offer for $5000, a limited number of meta pioneer positions to anyone else who ordered the Dev Kits. So get those applications sent in quick before this news hits the rest of the world and our inbox gets flooded. Applications sent in the next 4 days will be prioritized above all others!
To apply for the exclusive program send an email to [email protected]. Your email should include your company name, your application idea that you wish to develop and the number of developers you will have working on the project. Also, include your backer level, as higher backers will receive priority.
*Experience using Unity3D is required for all applications.
Our glasses in TechCrunch’s & Tom’s Guide as “The best of CES 2014”
Tom’s Guide listed us in Best of CES 2014 and gave the metaPro glasses “Best Heads-Up Display”. TechCrunch shows us off as “the definite highlight of CES”.
This is great news for all you meta developers. The metaPro is the product your apps will be running on when the first of the consumers explore the app store! Enthusiasm and excitement is high around the metaPro from the consumers. The apps you make with the developer kits will be the first apps to be hitting our app store for them to buy! Which means more people downloading your apps!
Here is what Toms Guide had to say:
“Google Glass brings notifications to your face, but the Meta Pro offers full-blown augmented reality and lets you interact with the world in a new way. During a hands-on demo, we drew 3D models by extending our hands and manipulating projected images. The Meta Pro is a wearable computer and can be used in its most literal sense; the Intel Core i5-powered headset can project Windows as an overlay in front of a user's eyes.” . . “the Meta Pro literally changes the way you view the world.”
Best of CES
View full article here, http://www.tomsguide.com/us/pictures-story/624-6-best-ces-2014.html
TechCrunch has awarded meta amongst all the big names out there in “The best of CES 2014”!
Here is what TechCrunch had to say about our technology: ..
“One of my favorite things at the event” ... “where I was given a demo of the Meta Pro, a new augmented reality headset that they will be shipping later this year. The Meta Pro essentially looks like a pair of souped-up sunglasses; what they do is provide the user with a three-dimensional interactive video experience that instantly responds to gestures — something that up to now has not been possible (other augmented reality and 3-D experiences are less accurate or do not work in real time; this does both in a piece of hardware that is only getting more streamlined over time), all while overlayed on top of what you normally see in front of you. For the demo I had, Meta had created a little app that lets you sculpt a small vase with your fingers, and then print it out with a 3-d printer (vase pictured here). Sounds fanciful, but really the possibilities for this tech — on both the consumer and enterprise front — are vast... And here’s an interesting little detail: it’s all being developed and made in the USA.”
Vase virtual sculpted with bare hands in AR, then printed.
View full article here, http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/12/the-best-of-ces-2014/
COMING SOON: The video so many of you have been asking for. The developer kit action video, with POV shots, external video shots, composite views shots and Unity video screen capturing!
Stay tuned and I’ll be in touch soon!
Brennan Hatton
In case you missed it, this is where your glasses are right now!
One of the biggest wearable tech supporters in the industry is Robert Scoble. Best known for his blog, Scobleizer, which took off during his tenure as a technology evangelist at Microsoft. He currently works for Rackspace promoting break-through technology and startups.
Robert took the time to visit our campus for an exclusive 40 minute short documentary. See the meta campus, our production hall & more insider information that doesn't usually make it outside our walls! “This startup proves that Silicon Valley is still doing real tech. Meet the future of wearable computers.”
We’ve been approached by some of the largest companies in the world (some of them our big kickstarter backers) to develop a high powered professional product.
We worked on this secret project that is now the metaPro, knowing the developments in this new technology would mean upgrades to the meta1 Developer edition for you as well. We’re please to announced the MetaPro, an ultra high-end professional augmented reality product which is a sign of where our form factor is heading in the long term. The R&D that led to the larger field of view (FOV) in the metaPro has allowed us to bring a much larger FOV to you in the meta Developer as a free upgrade. Nothing else is available on the market with this kind of technology. The professional team has requested more features in the SDK and those will all go to you as our developers as well. You now have a team of 35 highly talented individuals working around the clock to build your product. This is a huge leap from the 6 people who brought the Kickstarter to you, so you can expect big things.
Introducing the Ultra High-end metaPro Glasses: The first early adopter device for consumers. We have a new video shows a recording of our software as seen through the meta pro glasses. Featuring a 15 times displayable area of Google Glass and superior materials including Carl Zeiss lenses. This device will be the new form factors the end-users will be running your 3D augmented reality applications in the future.
We greatly appreciate your support in backing us through the kickstarter and would like to offer you $700 offer for the metaPro purchases.
Meta 1 Developer Kit Progress
We have been through exciting times in the company, working on both projects, meta 1 and metaPro. Here is a quick summary of our upcoming working progress of the last few months:
Hardware upgrades
Stockpiles
Manufacturing time & delivery
Latest working prototypes Software partnerships
See us live!
Latest press
FAQ
Company expansion
After launching our Kickstarter in April, we were blown away by almost doubling our goal! So we decided to double our efforts! We’ve been iterating on the design to ensure you get something very special and you’re very happy with what you receive. We have made a significant upgrade to the form factor, upgrading the design for all orders multiple times. Sales were much stronger than expected resulting in a complete sell out of the meta1 and opening up a lot of resources to make the product even better.
Free Upgrade #1 - Form Factor
To improve the ergonomics, we devoted substantial resources to develop a new industrial design, and upgraded every previous order free of charge in October. After many different iterations that many of you have been following we have presented you with continually more impressive designs. We want this to be a product you can comfortably wear while developing all day. After feedback from our earliest iterations we saw some room for improvement in the ergonomics of the device. To solve this, we hired Rusty Reed as a special contractor to work on ergonomics and production line. Rusty has 20 years experience building glasses for Native, Orbus and Nike, and has contributed major improvements to product design and tooling to ensure a smooth production run.
Free Upgrade #2 - The Field of View (FOV)
We have nearly doubled the Field Of View (FOV). After the significant improvements to ergonomics, we focused on our next biggest feedback point: the FOV. After months of new optics iterations, we found a solution! We can now provide your developer edition with a 35 degrees FOV. This FOV increase gives you 12 times the viewable area of Google Glass and almost double what the previous design had! This will allow you to design your applications with a device that is close to what consumers will be using.
All developer editions pre ordered in the past and now will now have upgraded FOV and the upgraded ergonomic design at no extra expense.
FOV upgrade on developer edition to be shipped.
Manufacturing & delivery plans
Due to our groundbreaking new designs, the delivery timeline has been lengthened by a few months. The glasses will begin shipping this May. We want to share with you the inside details of what we are doing to bring you the future of computing by May 2014 and why we have determined it is necessary to delay the shipping.
gantt chart from beginning of October to January.
After our overwhelming demand for the developer edition, we have been incredibly busy designing the future. We are committed to making sure you we designed the highest quality glasses in the global market, as soon as possible!
In October, we created new technology for a bigger field of view that previously wasn’t viable. By mid-October we had some working prototypes in our labs. We successfully validated the prototypes and after weighing up the pros and cons for the benefit of our customers made a decision to change course at no additional cost.
We’ve finished finalizing the conceptual design. Now the conceptual designs are turned into mechanical CAD file designs used for prototyping. These files are used for building prototypes, testing the prototypes and redesigning them until we validate that all the parts are correct. Once the CAD files are finalized we give those to the manufacturer to create the tooling plans for the injection molding tools. The tooling designs are completed and the injection molding tools are built. A very short run of parts of each tool is done. These are our “first shots”. Our first shots are reviewed for accuracy. Once perfecting everything and ensuring the tools accurately the tools are finished and production parts can than be made preparing your glasses for shipment.
Prototypes!
We have a world class team of industrial designers, production line specialists and optics engineers who have put their heads together to redesign the physical product that will be the future of computing. But don’t just take our word for it, check them out!
CAD files for printing next iteration with optical upgrade.
working prototype
working prototype
new wireframes being worked on by our designer Martin
Close up of new wireframes
Software Partnerships
Our business team has been working just as hard as our tech team to ensure you get the most out of this amazing opportunity. Each shipment of the meta glasses will include a software package totalling thousands of dollars! This includes the iisu SDK, our own SDK & a special partnership that will be announced in the near future that so many of you have been wanting to see!
Stock Piles
Hardware stock has arrived is ready for production! Our base hardware has arrived: we have all our optics units on site, and all the depth cameras to build the systems to fulfill our orders.
Base hardware stock 1
Base hardware stock2
Base hardware stock3
Latest press
Robert Scoble
“This startup proves that Silicon Valley is still doing real tech. Meet the future of wearable computers. ” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuMv29nKo2k
TechCrunch
“The Best Of CES 2014“
http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/12/the-best-of-ces-2014/
Engadget
“The MetaPro glasses do some pretty amazing things with augmented reality” http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/10/metapro
The Verge
“Meta wants to augment your world with the 'Iron Man' interface"
http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/11/5297162/meta-developing-iron-man-interface-augmented-reality-glasses
LaptopMag
“Meta Pro AR Goggles Kick Google’s Glass"
http://blog.laptopmag.com/meta-pro-glasses-hands-on
CNET
“High up in the hills of Portola Valley, Calif., west of Stanford University, a band of engineers and designers are creating the future.” http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-57615671-76/metas-$3000-3d-glasses-look-to-an-augmented-reality-future/
DVICE
“metaPro augmented reality shades will turn you into Tony Stark“
http://www.dvice.com/2013-12-17/metapro-augmented-reality-shades-will-turn-you-tony-stark
FAQ
A lot of you have noticed and taken advantage of the live chat when it is on our website, spaceglasses.com. We would like to answer publicly some of the most common questions.
Will I be getting the developer edition or metaPro?
If you have ordered the developer edition since our first sales in August 2013, you are getting the new and improved developer edition, shown on the top of this page, with an ergonomic, sleek design and much larger FOV upgrade. We greatly appreciate your support in ordering the developer edition of meta1 and would like to offer you a $200 reduction in price toward the metaPro.
metaPro $200 reduction code: pro-developer
What is the difference between metaPro and the developer edition?
metaPro is an ultra high end early adopter device shipping with finished applications.
The developer edition is an early release of meta1 for developers to start building apps with the most advanced augmented reality hardware as soon as possible. Key differences are a larger FOV, much lighter-weight product, much broader array of sensors providing enhanced synchronization between digital content and the real world and a distilled sensor capability allowing us to deliver an even more ergonomic and aesthetically pleasing design.
How is this different than Google Glass?
meta is true see-through augmented reality. It features a binocular display and an array of sensors to perceive the real world and integrate it with the digital world, including a depth sensor, rgb camera, and IMU. We create the Iron Man-like interface with a natural form of input and display, allowing the world around you to become the computing interface. At half the price, we offer double the technology. Google Glass with the Mirror API is not true augmented reality. It is a notification machine - a monocle display that does not recognize real world objects or support 3D objects and 3D interfaces.
What is in the SDK?
Featureless surface detection, multi-marker detection and tracking, feature-based tracking, featureless surface morphing, real-time 3D scene segmentation, 3D stereoscopic display (side-by-side), hand tracking, hand gesture recognition, head-tracking with 9-DOF IMU integration (based on accelerometer, gyro, and digital compass). Sample code of demo applications. Samples codes include specific tutorials of how to create your first Augmented Reality applications with our SDK.
What operating systems does the developer edition run on?
We currently support Windows 7 & 8 for development and are looking into supporting other OS’s. We are not currently supporting Parallels or VMware.
Can I still buy the meta1 developer edition?
Due to the popularity of the meta1, we cannot guarantee we will have enough stock to fulfill your order, however if you wish to back-order one you can order one at spaceglasses.com/buy.
Company Expansion
You have backed a winner! We have grown meta this year from a 6 person startup to an over 35 employee strong company. Each area of the company has been expanding rapidly over the last few months, outgrowing office after office. meta is now built strongly of world class software engineers out of Steve Mann’s labs and the best universities around the world. Hardware engineers coming from the most highly regarded companies and backgrounds, the best industrial designers, concept designers and UI designers from all over the globe and experienced entrepreneurs from many different backgrounds all committing themselves to our cause.
The meta hardware team building this dream into a reality.
meta manufacturing labs
meta engineers using the industrial 3D printer for prototyping.
meta outreach engineers discussing feedback
Hard at work at 4AM: meta software engineers pulling in the long hours with big smiles.
meta concept, industrial & UI designers collaborating on the future of meta.
Unveiling the next form factor in computing: Our new product design!
You can only make a first impression once and we want ours to be killer! So, we have decided to build something entirely mind-blowing and new.
Our current focus is perfecting ergonomics. We want this to be a product you can comfortably wear while developing all day and we were not happy with the feedback from our earliest iterations. To solve this, we hired Rusty Reed, an ergonomics and production line specialist with over 20 years experience building glasses for Native, Orbus and Nike. To improve the ergonomics, we devoted substantial resources to develop a new industrial design, and we are pleased to reveal it today.
Latest working prototype of developer edition to be shipped to kickstarters
The new redesign has lengthened our delivery timeline by a few months. However, it means you will get a much better product because of all the new resources we have been devoting. The glasses will begin shipping this December and you will have them by January (except for those international orders with lengthened customs).
Our base hardware has arrived: we have over 600 optics units on site, and all the depth cameras to build the systems to fulfill our Kickstarter orders.
base hardware
Manufacturing & delivery plans
We want to share with you the inside details of what we are doing to bring you the future of computing by this December.
gantt chart from beginning of September to January. Click here for more detail
As you can see we will be very busy over the next few months making sure you get your glasses as soon as possible!
First we must finalise the conceptual design. (Already done!) We will than be turning the conceptual designs into mechanical CAD file designs used for prototyping. These files will be used for building prototypes, testing the prototypes and redesigning them until we validate that all the parts are correct. Once the CAD files are finalised we give those to the manufacturer to create the tooling plans for the injection moulding tools. The tooling designs are completed and the injection moulding tools are built. A very short run of parts of each tool is done. These are our “first shots”. Our first shots are reviewed for accuracy. Once perfecting everything and ensuring the tools accurately the tools are finished and production parts can than be made. Preparing your glasses for shipment.
Latest working prototypes!
We have a world class team of industrial designers, production line specialists and engineers who have put their heads together to redesign the physical product that will be the future of computing. But don’t just take our word for it, check them out!
Latest working prototype
Latest working prototype
Exploded view of CAD files for printing next iteration
new wireframes being worked on by our designer Martin
Close up of new wireframes
Latest press
“If it were 1976 and you had just met Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs at a conference would you have known that they were "the ones?" You know, the ones who would go on to change the world?” ~ Robert Scoble, after meeting the meta team.
A lot of you have noticed and taken advantage of the live chat on our website,spaceglasses.com. We would like to answer publicly some of the most common questions.
Will Kickstarter backers be getting the developer edition or streamline?
Kickstarters backers are getting the new developer edition, shown on the top of this page, with an ergonomic and sleek design.
What apps are available?
We are working on a number of open source demo applications, such as metacraft, lightsabers, boxing and a few more surprises. We are currently preparing our app store for all the apps you developers will be making. With several hundred ideas already submitted, we are going to be funding 10 of the best for development! Submit your ideas at spaceglasses.com/killer_apps
How is this different than Google Glass?
meta is true see through augmented reality. With binocular display and an array of sensors to perceive the real world and integrate it with the digital world, including a depth sensor, rgb camera, and IMU. We create the Ironman like interface with a natural form of input and display, allowing the world around you to become the computing interface. At half the price, we offer double the technology. Google Glass with the Mirror API is not true augmented reality. It is a notification machine, a monocle display that does not recognize real world objects or support 3D objects and 3D interfaces.
What is the difference between meta 1 developer and meta 1 streamline?
The only difference is in design and weight. Both share the same technical specifications.
What will be in the SDK?
Multi-marker detection and tracking, feature-based tracking, featureless surface detection, featureless surface morphing, real-time 3D scene segmentation, 3D stereoscopic display (side-by-side), hand tracking, hand gesture recognition, head-tracking with 9-DOF IMU integration (based on accelerometer, gyro, and digital compass). Sample code of demo applications. Samples codes include specific tutorials of how to create your first Augmented Reality applications with our SDK.
What Operating systems does it run on?
We currently support Windows 7 & 8 for development and are looking supporting other OS’s. We are not currently supporting Parallels or VMware.
Does it have wireless capabilities?
The meta 1 Developer Edition does not have a radio, but can take advantage of the wireless card in your tethered computer. The meta1 is an interface, it is not intended or available as a stand alone device. Subsequent version will have full wireless capabilities.
Things have been buzzing over here in meta as we work like a hive to bring this reality come to life! 3D printers are churning out new prototypes every few hours, developers designing evolutionary algorithms and visionaries reaching into previously unfathomable concepts. Every week there is at least one person pulling a 3 day long all nighter.
We have been having the best in the world join our ranks in different fields to help design this product. We have been having people fly in to join meta every day for the last week from all over the world! A true team of superstars, each in his own department.
Please feel free to bug us with any question you have. We are here for you, so please fire away :-)
We have a lot of exciting news moving your way at near light-speed. Well, Mach 3 at least. Here’s how we’ve been (rather intensely) spending our time:
New Demos
We have completed full operative demos of:
metaCraft - Minecraft-style construction app! (Video attached)
Chess - Augmented Chess using feature tracking and pinch gestures!
3D-sculpting App (with GameDraw company) - 3D sculpting app with 3d printer feature!
All apps are heading your way very shortly!
New Algorithms
Markerless, feature-based tracking
Custom gestures to determine feature for tracking
IMU-interposing (between object recognition frames, as necessary)
Multi-feature tracking
All listed software developed in-house: we are using fewer and fewer off-the-shelf libraries and SDKs
New Hardware
IMU integration via a custom PCB
250 boxes of glasses hardware
Professionally-designed, industrial engineer-built casing and mounts
Several iterations of 3D-printed prototype
Camera and glasses cable-routing system
New Website (Launching tomorrow!)
SDK installer file hosting
Web store to purchase meta SDKs and accessories
Developer forums (and hackathons planned with meta staff)
Feature listings and specifications
New Publicity
We are launching tomorrow an EPIC new video with many cool new apps!
USA Today compared our founder and CEO Meron Gribetz to Steve Jobs. Fantastic read and interview.
WSJ, Bloomberg and Engadget also wrote amazing pieces about us and have great interviews with Meron.
We have a new video of Reddit co-founder Steve Huffman trying our new demos and wowed by our groundbreaking technology (Video is launching tomorrow!)
SDK Structure:
Object recognition, markerless feature tracking (based on OpenCV and PCL libraries using computer vision techniques acquired at Columbia University under the tutelage of Austin Reiter and Steven Feiner)
3-dimensional game-oriented scripting and interactivity using the Unity3D game engine
SoftKinetic gesture recognition augmented with additional gestures, Kalman smoothing, and other precision-enhancing techniques
InvenSense IMU integration using smoothing algorithms that interpose positional data between marker-tracked frames (our marker tracking usually operates at a full 60 fps, so this is mostly useful when the marker leaves the video frame or field of view)
Abstraction layers to allow easier development of productivity apps and vertical-specific (healthcare, law enforcement, finance, etc.) demos (and also games)
Growth Trajectory:
Increased our VC funding by an order of magnitude in only 2 months
A home in Silicon Valley that briefly housed 20 staff members
A new Unity or CV developer on average one per week
A second house for engineer overflow
New hires: a marketing expert, industrial designer, graphic designer, developer ambassador, and web developer
Please also check out the press links at the bottom of the page for more information. We will attempt to update you here as well, but journalists do get a fair bit of our limited publicity time. We’re extremely busy building the best product we can for you!
More as this story develops.
Best wishes and happy summer,
Brennan Hatton,
Developer Ambassador and SDK Guru
Barrett Williams,
HW Product Manager and Late-Night Solderer
meta
First App for meta!
GameDraw3D: Virtual sculpting in the real world
Sculpt in 3D just like you would in real life - using all your fingers and both your hands! GameDraw brings pro-quality sculpting and 3D modeling tools to meta. Running on top of Unity 3D, Game Draw is easy for both artists and developers to use.
In their next release GameDraw will allow players to model, texture and animate the art of a game while they're playing it!
See what GameDraw built for meta in 2 days, using our pre-alpha SDK:
Filming Through the Glasses
We laser cut a filming rig for the glasses -- see images below. This allowed us to film reliably from the exact perspective of the user, relative to the depth and RGB camera inputs that are part of the dev kit. We combined this with the output from a Unity app to give you a sense of what it's like to wear the glasses.
See the result of video shot from the glasses point of view in the GameDraw video above.
Build your own apps!
The meta 1 dev kit runs on Unity 3D, one of the most popular game engines in the world. The best way to get started in Unity 3D is with these tutorials from Jodon.
Just download Unity (for free):
http://unity3d.com/unity/download/
Download Jodon's tutorials (for free):
http://www.codingjargames.com/blog/2013/01/10/interactive-unity-tutorials/
and you'll know how to use the Unity UI.
Next week:
We'll have more tutorials to prepare you for the meta SDK!
In a few days we'll be at the world's biggest Augmented Reality conference:Augmented World Expo 2013.
After breaking the Kickstarter goal we have expanded our conference booth and will be right next to our Chief Scientist Steve Mann. We'll have prototypes and demos from our labs and our engineers and scientists will be on deck to speak with you.
June 4-5, 2013
Santa Clara
AWE 2013 Conference
Panel featuring meta CEO Meron Gribetz
Panels featuring meta Lead Advisor Steven Feiner
Keynote from meta Chief Scientist Steve Mann
