AR without the sickness is a real Lark

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Augmented reality has been on the cusp of mainstream success for pretty much as long as I’ve been writing about technology.

But with Apple’s mixed reality headset due to arrive this year, it’s clear that tech designed to blur the line between the physical and digital worlds is one ‘next big thing’ that will keep pushing forward until the mass market embraces it.

Today’s startup isn’t the only one tackling a common problem with this kind of tech, but Lark Optics reckons its got an edge over the competition. As usual, paying PreSeed Now members get the full story.

And speaking of paying PreSeed Now members, it’s been a couple of months since we last did a member spotlight in the newsletter. Drop me a line if you’d like to be featured and highlighted to our 1,000+ subscribers.

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Lark Optics is targeting your retinas for AR without nausea and other sickness

Whether you believe it’s the future of everything, or just a useful tool that will be part of the mix of tech we regularly use a few years from now, augmented reality is a rapidly developing field with one major drawback - like VR, it can leave you feeling sick.

For example, US soldiers who tried Microsoft’s HoloLens goggles last year suffered “‘mission-affecting physical impairments’ including headaches, eyestrain and nausea,” Bloomberg reported.

While the technology could “bring net economic benefits of $1.5 trillion by 2030” according to PwC, this sickness is a massive inhibitor to the growth of AR and VR.

One startup looking to tackle the problem is Cambridge-based Lark Optics, which has developed a way of bypassing the issues that cause these problems.

Mismatched cues

“In the real world, we perceive depth by our eyes rotating and focusing. Two different cues need to work in harmony. However, in all existing AR glasses, these cues fundamentally mismatch,” explains Lark Optics CEO Pawan Shrestha.