These castAR glasses do virtual and augmented reality

Former Valve engineer’s project turns to Kickstarter

The augmented-reality project hardware engineer Jeri Ellsworth was working on while at Valve didn’t stop once she was let go from the company. castAR, glasses that put “holographic-like” projections on a special surface, has appeared on Kickstarter seeking $400,000.

They aren’t the prettiest things ever at this point, but that’s the point of this crowdfunding campaign — getting them ready for wider consumer use as well as the assembly line. That goes double for the silly wand controller. In addition to the main draw of augmented reality, there’s an optional attachment which allows castAR to do virtual reality.

I like the promise of these glasses for board games and similar experiences. The fact that virtual reality comes in the form of an add-on has me worried from an adoption standpoint. Really, that’s the big concern with these devices — will there be enough compelling software?