Your first personal holographic display. For people, real and imagined.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Deeper into the future we Go.
5 months ago
– Fri, Dec 08, 2023 at 10:02:52 AM
Hi all,
A couple days ago, we announced the launch of Looking Glass Go — a next generation product that all of you in our amazing community made possible and shaped through your feedback and holographic creations and ideas over the past few years.
Thank you for believing in and sharing our vision of the future. We know it's rare to get the chance to make a dream actually become reality, and we're deeply humbled to be able to continue to deliver on that dream of the hologram with you. Especially as the broader era of spatial computing, gen AI, and spatial photography unfolds.
More than a few of you here have already backed the our new Looking Glass Go project (if that's you, thank you^3). But I wanted to send this note for those of you who still hadn't heard.
We're running the Super Early Bird Special, starting at $199 (normally $300), on the Looking Glass Go for another few hours only, until this Saturday Dec 9 at 8a ET. Wanted to let you know in case you were interested in getting one or two before time is out.
I also chose to wait a couple days to send this message so I could share this Tested walkthrough with y'all, since I know a lot of you here love the channel :)
Since our last update two weeks ago, we have shipped out 413 more Looking Glass Portrait units with lots more coming in the next few weeks! Our fulfillment team has also extended the survey cut-off date from March 31 to July 20 so if you belong in any of the reward tiers and have filled in your survey by July 20th, you can expect to have your Looking Glass Portrait systems shipped out by middle of October at the very latest. For all those in all the reward tiers and have filled in your survey any later than July 20th, we've had to push out fulfillment for your units to November as we've had to schedule in orders from Indiegogo and orders made directly through our main website.
Let's get into the specifics →
If you belong in the following reward tiers and filled in your survey by March 4th:
Early Bird Special
New Holiday Hologram Special
Holiday Hologram Special
Campaign Special
Holographic Capture Bundle
There is a good chance you've received your unit already since we've currently shipped around 75% of this batch. The remaining 25% will complete shipment by the end of September so if you're still waiting, you won't have to wait too much longer!
For all those who are still waiting, as long you've filled in your survey by July 20th, your unit(s) will leave our warehouse by middle of October at the very latest. The numbers are as follows:
70% of these will leave our production facility on September 30th, with the latest ship date being the second week of October. (Although most will be sent out in the first week of October.)
TLDR: If you've filled in your survey before July 20th, you'll receive your unit by middle of October. If you've filled in your survey after July 20th, you'll receive your unit in November.
Lastly, a friendly reminder that if you haven't filled in your survey or not sure if you've filled it in, you can either write us at orders[at]lookingglassfactory.com so we can check this for you and send you your survey link directly OR search your email for messages from "Backerkit". We want to get everyone their Looking Glass Portrait units as soon as possible, and definitely before 2021 comes to a close but we can't do that without your address details so please do make sure to double check that you've filled this in!
Light Field Photo Rail →
We are just now locking in the final firmware patch for the light field rail and moving into conducting the in-house test tomorrow. If all goes as planned, we will then be releasing both the firmware and hardware change to our supplier. Without the supplier's input, we are cautious to share an expected delivery date just yet but we really think that this will be ready by the time our next bi-weekly comes along. Again, thanks so much for your patience with us on the rails, we can't wait to get these out to you very soon (along with new and updated tutorials + how-tos).
Software Updates →
HoloPlay Studio 1.1.0 Update
Last week, we announced a pretty major update to HoloPlay Studio, the desktop hologram companion app for your Looking Glass Portrait. Specifically, we released HoloPlay Studio 1.1.0 (now, 1.1.1 with a small patch update as of last Friday). This update now includes:
A brand new hologram import/export format that allows you to export and share holograms with your friends and the community.
The ability to drag & drop multiple hologram files at once — across all different types of formats, including the .hop format.
Reverse directionality of light field photo sets directly within HoloPlay Studio PLUS with the new .hop format, you can easily export light fields to share out with friends.
All around improvements in stability, usability & bug fixes including small delights like keyboard control functionality and small UI hover states for better navigation and user experience overall.
For those who have been using HoloPlay Studio since May or for those who are just about to get started, we're super excited to see what sorts of holograms you're creating and with this update, we can't WAIT to have you share them with us. If you haven't already, do join us on our Discord community where thousands of community members are gathering together to talk hologram experiments, sharing creations and more. Join us here!
Blender Add-On 2.0
We've partnered with long time community member Christian Stolze to release a brand new update to our open-source Blender Add-on. This new revision of the add-on has a ton of super user friendly features with more to come with the Blender 3.0 launch later this year. The new update features things like:
Still and animation rendering
Adjustable capture box
Light field viewport in the Looking Glass with automatic and manual refresh modes
and much more.
You can dive into what's new + download the Add-On to try for yourself by visiting the Github page here.
Last week, our friends at Luxonis launched Oak—D Lite, with the aim to bring, and I quote, "Spatial AI [to] everyone". We first featured their original Oak—D captures in our Looking Glass Portrait campaign late last year and above, you can see their 3D engineer Sachin captured with the earlier Oak—D camera module.
Fast forward to a year later, they've released Oak—D Lite at 25% the volume, 50% the weight and at much lower price than that of its predecessor in a much more powerful package too. If you are at all interested in computer vision and the possibilities it unlocks for 3D (which, if you're reading this, we're almost certain you are!), head on over to their campaign here and pre-order an Oak—D Lite (or several!) for yourself.
And one last thing, if we can (collectively) push the campaign to $750K, plug-and-play Unity support will be added :-)
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That's all for now, folks! Hope everyone has a wonderful week ahead and catch you again in October... or should I say... Holo-ween 🎃
- Nikki & the Looking Glass Factory team
Your Friendly Bi-Weekly Update | August 2021
over 2 years ago
– Thu, Sep 02, 2021 at 01:01:22 AM
Holo there!
Nikki here with your bi-weekly update and hopefully, we've only got a couple more of these to go! This one will be short and sweet.
In the month of August, we made some great progress and shipped well over 1,200 Looking Glass Portrait units.
Just two weeks ago, we mentioned that we would be able to fulfill the rest of the Kickstarter orders (of those who filled in their survey by March 31) in September. However, we ran into a small speedbump (the supplier change of a critical component) as mentioned in the last update this month, and because of this, built in some extra room for testing to ensure that all systems are still a go. Turns out, they are! This has caused around 360 Looking Glass Portrait units in this final batch to slide to ship out the first week of October though in the land of manufacturing - it is better to be safe than sorry, I'm sure you will all agree! Once that shipment is complete, we'll have shipped out all Kickstarter orders for those who have filled in their survey before (or on) March 31st. For those who might have filled your survey in a bit later than that, we are still working out the timeline against some Indiegogo + Shopify orders but they shouldn't be too far behind.
The upcoming September shipment will be split up into two larger shipments of around 600 units each. We will communicate this to folks as best we can in the coming week about which batch you belong to. You will also be notified when your order is being prepared as we've started to write to individuals confirming addresses before shipments go out so, if for some reason you need to hold your shipment / change your address, there will still be time to do so before your order arrives — just look out for an email from orders[at]lookingglassfactory.com. If you are still waiting on your unit, you can stay ahead of the curve and update your address right now by emailing us there.
Lastly, for the Light Field Rails, development for that has once again been put on short hiatus as we reorganized out some engineering resources to address the firmware glitches we saw flare up for a quick moment (of which we've since found a fix for). More updates around the rails in the next one!
We do want to say a huge thank you again to everyone here for your patience as you wait for your Looking Glass Portrait units and your light field rails — for those who are still on the edge of your seat, we promise it is worth the wait.
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[Alt] This image features a vertical sliders showcasing a bunch of cute holographic content made in Blender and C4D on Looking Glass Portraits.
As a small P.S., I wanted to share a Hologram Drop that has been in the works now for the last few months. Together with some of our favorite artists, we're celebrating the fuzziest side of the future with work from some of our favorite artists. This Hologram Cute Pack features a collection of soft, pastel and dreamy vibes to get you through the day. Think: 90s internet girl meets strawberry Pocky wrapped in a cloud. While we’re all used to a Blade Runner-esque future set within a dystopian dreamscape, we’re turning that future on it’s softest side with the work we’re sharing this week. Every piece here is it’s own wonderland to explore. This drop features work by an incredible group of artists that include Agatha Yu, Joi Fulton, Christina Young, PeachySlothArt, Jane Guan, Mar, Yasmin Islas, Rachel Xiang, and Krystal Sim. I really can't wait for everyone to try these out in their Looking Glass Portraits either now or in the next month as you receive them.
Preview some of the work from this cute pack here and join me in celebrating some of these artists by sharing their work on Twitter here :-)
Until next time! Holographically yours,
-Nikki & the Looking Glass Factory Team
A Midsummer Update: Hologram Edition
over 2 years ago
– Mon, Aug 16, 2021 at 01:47:02 PM
Holo, all!
First, the good news. We continue to ship out Looking Glass Portraits despite ever-present and ever-evolving challenges in the supply chain. It's a game of whack-a-mole, truly. We've now shipped out all Looking Glass Portraits that belong in the following reward tiers (for those who filled in their Backerkit survey by March 4, 2021):
Super Early Bird Special
2-Pack Bundle
10-Pack Bundle
Early Bird Holographic Capture Bundle
In the coming few weeks, we're moving through the remainder of fulfillment for the following tiers: Early Bird Special, New Holiday Hologram Special, Holiday Hologram Special, Campaign Special, and Holographic Capture Bundle.
Here's an updated diagram of the shipment schedule:
(ALT) This diagram shows that we've shipped out 6500 + units from the Super Early Bird Tier, 2-Pack Bundle, 10-Pack Bundle, and Early Bird Holographic Capture Bundle between April and August which accounts for 70% of the units fulfilled. Between August and September, we will be moving to fulfill the remainder of the reward tiers and this diagram shows that this is about 2-weeks delayed from originally communicated a few updates ago. These shipment dates apply to all those who filled in their Backerkit survey by the March 4 deadline.
As of this writing, we've fulfilled over 6,500+ Looking Glass Portrait units which amounts to about 70% of all Kickstarter units. Over the next few weeks, we aim to ship out the remainder of the units for all the other reward tiers, and then will be moving into shipping Looking Glass Portrait units for the Indiegogo campaign + website orders.
What if my Looking Glass Portrait still hasn't shipped?
Almost there! If you're one of the ~1/3 of Kickstarter backers who haven't received your Looking Glass Portrait yet — we continue to work around the clock to build and ship your systems. To be completely transparent for those of you eagerly tracking and awaiting the arrival of your Looking Glass, there is a small slip reflected in the schedule above vs. what we reported a few weeks ago. This was due to a supplier change for a critical component - GAH! - which required an additional unplanned step of verification, and this caused a 1-2 week slip on some production units. But that aside, we're continuing to build and ship units and can't wait for every single backer to have a Looking Glass Portrait shining back with holographic glory on their desks :)
Okay, how about the light field photo rails?
If you're still waiting for your light field photo rail, some good news there too. Well, on its way to good news. Over the last couple weeks we finally made the major progress on the rail firmware that was necessary before we could start shipping units again. We're going to be running through a slate of tests over the next couple weeks, and hope to restart the shipment of rails shortly after that. We don't have a firm date for that shipment restart, but I will update everyone once that's locked in.
Holograms + Shaders
Last week, we published a tutorial on how to get shaders from ShaderToy into Looking Glass Portrait. For this, we worked with community member David Gallardo (Twitter, YouTube) to publish a tutorial that outlines the steps from numbers → shader magic → hologram shader magic. You might recognize the work from David & Nimitz in the demo reel on Standalone Mode here:
Protean Clouds by David Gallardo & nimitz (Footage from David Gallardo's Youtube channel).
I implore you to head on over to our Learn Hub where you can dive into this new tutorial by David. If video is more your thing, Bryan, Technical Specialist from the Looking Glass team, walks you through this whole magical process in a quick 15-minute video. All I can say is 🤯
We have a few more tutorials up our sleeve to publish later this month and we're excited to see what you - our community - makes with them.
Is there anything in particular that's not currently on our Learn Hub that you might want to see? Our holographic ears are all a'open, so let us know in the comments below!
As a quick refresher, here's a list of all the tutorials we've published since May:
That's a dozen tutorials and even more to come later this month. Stay tuned.
A reminder that we now have almost 3,000 community members on our Discord server. If you've been longing for a place on the interwebs where like-minded hologram enthusiasts are conversing day-in and day-out about all things holograms, look no further! We hope that summer has been treating everyone well so far and until next time (aka the future)!
-Nikki & the Looking Glass Factory team
Just Another Bi-Weekly Update (July 23, 2021)
almost 3 years ago
– Sat, Jul 24, 2021 at 03:30:00 AM
Hi everyone,
Nikki here with your bi-weekly Kickstarter update. Hope everyone is having a fantastical summer so far!
July Fulfillment Updates
The good news is that we are targeting to have Looking Glass Portraits for 90% of the Super Early Bird, 2-Pack Bundle, 10-Pack-Bundle, and Early Bird Holographic Capture Bundle reward tiers* shipped out by July 31st (which, by golly! is just a week or so away). The remainder of units in those tiers will ship out one week later (the first week of August). So, if you're in one of these reward tiers, by the time this next update comes out, your Looking Glass Portrait(s) should on their way to you.
Rest of the Kickstarter Reward Tier Updates
In other news, we are on track to ship out the remainder of Looking Glass Portraits in all the other reward tiers* by end of August, all arriving within a few weeks of ship out. As always, we are closely monitoring fulfillment dates for any sensitive parts and will let you all know if there's any change to this plan.
(* for those who have filled in their survey by the March 3, 2021 deadline)
For all those who have not filled in their survey by the deadline
If for some reason you missed the deadline for filling out the surveys, don't worry! Your Looking Glass Portrait is not forgotten and will have a target ship out date in September. A soft reminder for anyone here who has not filled in their survey to do so soon! If you don't remember where you last saw this survey, search your email for Backerkit and you should find your survey there. If you can't find a Backerkit email, please check your Kickstarter DMs for a note from us. And alas, if none of those approaches work, write us directly at orders[at]lookingglassfactory.com. We want to make sure that everybody who backed us in this campaign get a piece of the holographic future.
Pre-shipment Address Confirmation Emails
Over the last few months, as we've been sending out batches of units, we've also realized that some of you may have moved / in the process of moving / just out for the summer holiday. To prevent your packages from getting lost or returned back to us, we will send out a final address confirmation email a few days before we process your orders so please keep an eye out for emails from orders[at]lookingglassfactory.com over the next few weeks so that you get an opportunity to confirm your shipment address with us one last time, or change it if need be!
Light Field Photo Rails
We've been heads down with prioritizing updating firmware to work with the new MCU for the Looking Glass Portrait production and this update has taken our team a smidge longer than we anticipated. This means we've had to push back confirmation on the new Light Field Photo Rail firmware under development by another couple weeks. We'll keep you updated on progress here in our next bi-weekly.
Big & Bigger - The Full Lineup of Next Generation Displays
Over the last two weeks, you might have noticed some announcements about the Looking Glass 4K & 8K Gen2 systems. A few of you were curious about why we were launching the Gen2 before we finished shipping out all of your Looking Glass Portraits. And rightfully so! I will answer this in two parts:
First, Looking Glass Portrait is in fact the first of the Gen2 family. See below for the official Gen2 family photo :-)
Second, we will not be shipping out any of the Looking Glass 4K & 8K Gen2 units until we fulfill all crowdfunding orders. So don't you worry! We are however, extremely excited to have finally shared news about the full next generation lineup with the world. For more on that, head on over to our website where we dive deeper into the use cases for the two larger holographic interfaces.
As I write this, I'm so stoked knowing that we are days closer to getting Looking Glass Portrait units out to everyone. I am always delightfully surprised by all the creations I see on our Community Discord Server as well as on our Twitter mentions and know that the sooner we get units out to everyone, the more creations we'll get to see.
For now, I'll leave you with one my own:
To the future!
-Nikki & the rest of the Looking Glass Factory team
