Meta Startup
Helped raise $75 million for the small Y-Combinator backed AR headset startup through investor and public demos around the world using "Time Machine" prototypes of the hardware and software to show off specific aspects of the product before it was finished.
"Augmented reality represents a transformational platform for communication, collaboration, and how individuals will work in the future,” Michael Yang, Managing Director at Comcast Ventures
Highlighted Projects
Project
Input Explorations
Deliverables
Unity prototype Motion tracked objects 3D printed parts
Role
Senior Researcher
Collaborators
Industrial Designer Mechanical Engineering Electrical Engineering
Brief
One of the major challenges AR glasses like the Hololens have is the reliability of the main form of input the “air tap”, at Meta we tried to imagine other forms of 6DOF input that users might find more reliable, useful and expand the product use cases.
I built a few prototypes using Optitrack motion capture markers to create a 6DOF mouse and pen that could be used with the AR headset.Initially the prototypes used the classic retro reflective markers, but that evolved into semi- transparent 3d printed IR LED markers that could be easily attached via a standard 1/4” 20 thread and tracked via the headset.
In addition to the Input Explorations we also used this system to film mixed reality views of people wearing the AR headset and interacting with AR content using a DSLR camera.
Working with our industrial design team, Electrical Engineers, and mechanical engineers we reduced the size and weight of the pen integrating everything into a useable physical prototype.
Project
Investor Demo
Deliverables
Unity prototype Motion tracked headset 3D printed parts
Role
Demo Manager
Collaborators
CEO Sales team Unity Developers Industrial Design Mechanical Engineering
Brief
Shortly after joining the small AR startup Meta (not Fb), the CEO Merton Gribitz asked me to come up with an investor demo that added 6DOF tracking and showed more early use cases to show investors the potential of AR glasses that could be cheap, bright and have a wide FOV.
At the time fast and reliable SLAM tracking was not a given and we needed to show what the intended experience would be before we had a working 6DOF solution. We added infrared LEDs under the surface of the headset and use IR transparent 3d print material and paint to allow the IR to shine through the surface. This allowed us to use Optitrack to create a custom marker and motion track our headset for our investor demos.
This solution allowed us to raise $75 million for the company and gave us the much needed runway to develop a robust 6DOF tracking solution that didn't require outside motion capture. That round of funding also allowed us to mass produce the Meta 2 headset and grow beyond our core startup group of 30 people to 300 people. The AR startup Meta rebranded to Campfire in 2021. Facebook also rebranded to Meta in 2021.
