SAN FRANCISCO, May 26 — The Israeli start-up Sightful has demonstrated an amazing concept of a screenless laptop PC. The idea is to be able to work on the virtual equivalent of a 100-inch screen thanks to accompanying augmented reality glasses.
Will the computer of the future still have a screen? The Spacetop developed by Sightful shows how working on a virtual screen, seen only by the wearer of augmented reality (AR) glasses, could be an alternative to the laptop PC as we know it today.
Its creators state this is the world’s first augmented reality laptop PC, potentially paving the way to a new generation of personal computers. It could also provide one of the first practical mainstream applications of augmented reality. As such, the project is particularly ambitious.
Here, wearing a simple pair of AR glasses provides the user with a virtual workspace equivalent to a 100-inch display. The idea is to be able to carry your workspace with you in a virtual way, while also making it private and personalised.
In terms of hardware, all you have to carry is a keyboard unit and augmented reality glasses. The PC has its own operating system (Spacetop OS) and has a relatively low battery life, of just five hours. Note that it is, however, Wi-Fi 6 and 5G compatible. In fact, it works exactly like any other laptop, without any gesture controls.
The applications are superimposed on the real world, so the user is not completely disconnected from their environment. You can therefore work in complete privacy, away from prying eyes, wherever you may be — at home, on the move, in a café or at the office.
Spacetop is currently in the development phase and is the subject of an Early Access program open to a thousand testers for US$2,000. — ETX Studio
