Electronics

Lenovo AR glasses let you multi-screen virtually anywhere

Lenovo AR glasses let you multi-screen virtually anywhere
The Lenovo ThinkReality A3 projects up to five virtual displays in a user's field of view
The Lenovo ThinkReality A3 projects up to five virtual displays in a user's field of view
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The Lenovo ThinkReality A3 projects up to five virtual displays in a user's field of view
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The Lenovo ThinkReality A3 projects up to five virtual displays in a user's field of view
The Lenovo ThinkReality A3 don't look too bulky, in the world of AR glasses
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The Lenovo ThinkReality A3 don't look too bulky, in the world of AR glasses
The Lenovo ThinkReality A3 packs a pair of 1080p displays, dual fish-eye cameras for tracking and an 8-MP camera that records video
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The Lenovo ThinkReality A3 packs a pair of 1080p displays, dual fish-eye cameras for tracking and an 8-MP camera that records video
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It’s becoming more and more obvious that one display just isn’t enough for most people. If you’d rather not clutter up your desk with a whole bunch of screens, Lenovo might have the answer – the ThinkReality A3, a pair of augmented reality (AR) glasses that can project up to five virtual displays around you.

Where virtual reality (VR) envelops a user in a completely artificial world, AR works by overlaying virtual images over the real world. The highest-profile version was of course the ill-fated Google Glass, but since then Microsoft has taken up the mantle with HoloLens. Most phones now have some sort of AR functionality too, even if it’s usually just for catching Pokémon or giving yourself bunny ears in selfies.

But Lenovo has more enterprising endeavors in mind for the ThinkReality A3 unveiled at the online-only CES 2021 – the company claims it’s all about increasing efficiency and aiding collaboration, especially while working remotely. To do that, the headset packs a pair of 1080p displays into a frame that doesn’t look too bulky, as far as these things usually go. Dual fish-eye cameras track the room in 3D to figure out where to place the virtual objects, and an 8-megapixel RGB camera can record or stream 1080p video.

The Lenovo ThinkReality A3 packs a pair of 1080p displays, dual fish-eye cameras for tracking and an 8-MP camera that records video
The Lenovo ThinkReality A3 packs a pair of 1080p displays, dual fish-eye cameras for tracking and an 8-MP camera that records video

As the name suggests, these fancy specs are built on the ThinkReality platform, the AR and VR system that Lenovo has been pushing for a few years now. The new A3 model appears to be a more compact version of the A6, which the company showed off last CES.

There are two models of the ThinkReality A3, depending on what you want to do with it. The PC Edition plugs into a desktop, laptop or notebook computer via USB-C to place up to five virtual monitors into your field of view. That can let users set up big workspaces without having to take over the whole kitchen table, or work from different places without lugging giant screens everywhere with you.

The Industrial Edition, meanwhile, is made to connect to Motorola smartphones, so it’s a bit more portable. The idea is that it could be used on factory floors, retail, hospitality and other industries to visualize information, monitor conditions and train new staff, among other things.

Lenovo says the ThinkReality A3 will be available in mid-2021, but so far hasn’t specified a price. Check it out in action in the video below.

Introducing the ThinkReality A3

Source: Lenovo

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7 comments
7 comments
Claudio Bonechi
I wonder if a shortsighted person like me could wear these glasses over the normale everyday necessary glasses
FB36
I for 1 would just want simpler/cheaper (no VR/AR) glasses that only provides a remote desktop connection to my home/work computer, from anywhere in the world, thru wifi! (& of course, also would need a handheld pointing device to use as mouse & virtual keyboard!)
paul314
AR for virtual screens seems like one of the least useful (although perhaps most immediately implementable) applications. There is probably an enormous market out there for AR content in an endless list of product servicing tasks and manual operations, especially if backed by cameras that can tell you when you're doing it wrong. (But that content would cost money and probably take trained people who don't exist right now.)
*Joe*
That would need to be a really long USB cable so I have time to remember to remove the glasses when I'm getting up from my desk, or else they will get ripped off my face and break fairly quickly.
bwana4swahili
Might be kinda useful...
kwalispecial
@*Joe* Or you would need a slightly shorter cable than the USB cord to chain yourself to your desk, so you get stopped before the glasses do.
WB
what a sexy beast... hold me back... sorry same reason google glass failed.. no WAF... no women acceptance factor ...