There are a number of names associated with augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) headsets, with well-funded companies such as Microsoft and Magic Leap being the top of the list. A Start-up in India is aiming to compete with the big boys in the MR/AR realm with the AjnaLens.
Ajna roughly translates as ‘The power of the sixth sense’, making AjnaLens and apt name for a device which allows you to see something that isn’t there in the normal world. The device was developed by Mumbai-based company Dimension NXG, who want to challenge stereotypes of what is possible for India’s tech sector.
The company was founded in 2014 by Pankaj Raut the CEO, Abhijit Patil the COO, Abhishek Tomar the CTO and Gaurav Godbole the CIO with backing from Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder of PayTM, Japan Vyas and Nailesh Khimji, owner of Khimji Ramdas Group.
The AjnaLens uses depth-sensing technology to understand the surrounding environment and creates a real-time mesh of it, then uses artificial intelliegence (AI), computer vision and world mapping technologies to create an amplify a hologram and place it accurately in the real world.
The creators of the device claim that the AjnaLens actually improves on the capabilities of devices such as the HoloLens, since the AjnaLens offers a 90-degree field-of-view, as opposed to the 35 degrees offered by the current version of the HoloLens, they also aim to improve the hologram quality by using ambient relighting technology to more closely match the holograms with the real world, making them more solid and realistic.
COO Abhijit Patil says, “Other competitors have only their developer edition ready in the market, and enterprises don’t know what to do with that after buying it. So we are offering a complete next-generation wearable computer to enterprises to save their time and cost and increase productivity.”
Dimension NXG is hoping to lure in customers from sectors such as aerospace, automobile, defence, healthcare and manufacturing by offering a lower price point compared to its competitors, planning to sell the device for $1,500 (USD), compared to £3,500 for a HoloLens.
For further news on the AjnaLens and other MR projects, keep checking back with VRFocus.
via Mint VR