Frequently Asked Questions
About the Looking Glass
The Looking Glass is a unique combination of light field and volumetric display technologies within a single three-dimensional display system that updates at up to 60fps.
It generates 45 to 100 views of a three-dimensional scene so that multiple people standing around a Looking Glass can see different parts of the scene in the real world.
As you move around a Looking Glass display, your eyes are exposed to different sets of 3D information, creating a life-like, 3D experience for groups of people.
VR headsets produce just two 3D views of a scene. To let a group of people see that same scene without headgear, the Looking Glass generates 45 views of that 3D scene simultaneously, no headgear required. The Looking Glass comes in the following models:
• Looking Glass Portrait
• Looking Glass 15.6’’
• Looking Glass 8K
Easy! You don’t have to put it on your face.
Real talk aside, we think that there is a place in the world for all types of realities but our favorite kind of reality is one where there is absolutely no-friction between you and a 3D scene. Enter Looking Glass. At Looking Glass Factory, our north star has always been to make technology that has no barriers to entry and is as simple as looking over your shoulder and seeing 3D content in real life space.
Unfortunately, because of the current climate of the world, we're unable to offer in-person demos. If you do want to have a chat, feel free to write us at [email protected]
A full list of our software tools can be found here. These include:
HoloPlay Unity Plugin
HoloPlay Unreal Plugin
HoloPlay Core SDK
3D Model Importer that works for loading glTF, GLB, and OBJ files.
HoloPlay Studio (coming soon!)
These are free for use for individual developers and creators. For any questions about commercial licensing use with our hardware products, please write to us at [email protected]
The Looking Glass is a unique combination of lightfield and volumetric display technologies within a single three-dimensional display system that updates at up to 60fps.
It generates 45-100 views of a three-dimensional scene so that multiple people standing around a Looking Glass can see different parts of the scene in the real world.
As you move around the Looking Glass, your eyes are exposed to different sets of 3D information, creating a life-like, 3D experience for groups of people.
For more detail behind the technology of how the system works, visit our How it Works page.
Our hardware team is based out of our Hong Kong lab, where we lovingly assemble all Looking Glass units. The parts are sourced from China.
We'd love to hear from you! We are hiring for a number of roles in our Booklyn and Hong Kong team right now. please visit our careers page to apply.
Nope! The Pepper's Ghost illusion is simply a 2D image, reflected on a piece of film or glass. When viewed from a large distance of 30+ feet, your eyes can’t tell what’s 2D or 3D. But if you get up close to a Pepper’s Ghost, the illusion collapses and you see it’s just a 2D reflection after all.
On the other hand, the Looking Glass generates a truly three-dimensional virtual scene with 45 distinct views shooting out into the real world. What this means is that up close, you still feel as if the content in the Looking Glass is alive and 3D — because it is!
We are currently in the very early stages of exploring a reseller program. If you are interested in chatting and being one in your country, please get in touch by emailing [email protected]
(NEW!) Looking Glass Portrait
We know you have a lot of questions. We'll try to answer as many as we can here 😃
Any iPhone that can take a Portrait mode photo is supported. Additionally, we've recently published an initial list of supported Android devices:
Most of the newer flagship Samsung phones, including A7, A9, S10, S10e, S9+, S20, S20+, S20 Ultra.
Some of the Huawei phones with "Aperture" mode, including Mate 20, Mate 20 Lite, Mate 20 Pro, P20 Pro, P30 Pro.
Newer Pixel phones, including the Pixel 3, 4, and 5 models.
Absolutely! We recently published a posts with best practices for creating holographic renders in Blender and Unity. Using another program? Drop us a line at [email protected] and let's chat about it!
You can access the Pi 4 by taking off the back of the display which is attached with Philips head screws. We don't currently have an API to modify its functionality, but it is hacker-accessible. Opening the back of the system will not void your warranty if you just want to take a look, but if you make modifications to the system, the warranty will be voided.
The viewing angle is 58°.
There is no internal battery in the Looking Glass Portrait system though we have had it run for a few hours with an external battery pack! The battery pack will have to provide at least 5V3A.
Our Linux support is currently limited because of how much our users (and us!) use game engines like Unity and Unreal, which themselves have only limited Linux support. Having said that, we’ll be building out our Linux offerings in 2021 and will likely have more information about this in early 2021 when shipments start going out. But likely it will not be the 32-bit or ARM systems.
Looking Glass Software & Development
Absolutely!
On Dec 2, 2020, we announced the launch of Looking Glass Portrait, your first personal holographic display. You don't need to know how to program to use it.
The easiest way to make a hologram is to take a Portrait mode photo with your phone. Believe it or not, those Portrait mode photos you've been taking have depth information hidden behind them. This is normally used to generate the bokeh effect, and now the software that comes with every Looking Glass Portrait can use that same depth info to generate a three-dimensional hologram with a single click.
You can pre-order Looking Glass Portrait here.
The 3D Model Importer allows you to easily import and view 3D models on your Looking Glass. The current version of the 3D Model Importer works directly with glTF, OBJ and GLB files.
A full step-by-step on using the 3D Model Importer can be found here on our public documentation page.
The HoloPlay Unity Plugin is by far the most popular software development tool for the Looking Glass. You can download that here. It is a robust, well-documented and easy-to-use plugin. If you're just getting started, please consult the setup guide.
Currently, there are a few tools that the community has put together in order to do direct stereo to Looking Glass conversion. These are:
With these tools, you’ll be able to use the Looking Glass to view converted stereo photos as actual living 3D images.
In the second half of 2021, HoloPlay Studio will support the direct import of SBS format stereo photos for direct conversion for Looking Glass Portrait.
A quilt is the format Looking Glass uses to store light fields in sets of views as common 2D images. Views start in the lower left corner, with view 0 being the leftmost view. The views are then added to the right and then up, in a grid, like so:
See more information on our documentation site about quilts here.
Looking Glass Hardware
Different Looking Glass displays require different configurations to run at it's optimal level.
Looking Glass Portrait runs up to 1,000 pieces of holographic media on Standalone mode.
For Desktop Mode, here is what we recommend:
To import, edit, process and convert depth photos, videos, and other holographic media, almost all PCs and Macs with HDMI and USB-C will work. Post a question in the Comments section if you have any questions about this.
To run and create heavier-duty interactive applications with Unity or Unreal, we recommend a PC with a GTX 1650 or equivalent graphics card, an Intel i5 or better, and at least 8GB or RAM. For Mac, we recommend a MacBook Pro with an AMD Radeon Pro 5000M series discrete graphics card.
Looking Glass 15.6" supports various hardware configurations but for the best viewing experience we recommend the following specifications:
Operating system: Windows 10 64-bit
CPU: Equivalent to Intel Core i5 or above
Graphics card: Equivalent to Nvidia GTX 1060 or above
RAM: 4GB or above
Internal storage: 128GB or above
Looking Glass 8K requires a PC with at least the following specifications to run:
Operating system: Windows 10 64-bit
CPU: Equivalent to Intel Core i7 or above
Graphics card: RTX 2080Ti or above
RAM: 16GB or above
Internal storage: 256GB SSD or above
The Looking Glass displays are all horizontal parallax only with 45-100 views within a ~50 degree view cone.
There is no optimal view distance or sweet spot, the Looking Glass can be viewed in 3D comfortably within a ~50 degree-view cone from any distance though the "sweet spot" may vary between displays.
There is a trade off in image quality as you push an image away from the middle plane. But in general, you can get a reasonably good experience when the perceived depth is +- 4cm from the mid-plane. Part of this volume appears to be behind the back of the display.
The color accuracy and contrast are a little hard for us to quantify since everyone's computer settings are a bit different - but you can adjust the color profile that your computer drives into the Looking Glass to get improved match.
The Looking Glass displays do not have any onboard camera or eye-tracking. 45-100 views are passively produced at 60fps and delivered into space. Here are some more technical details from Shawn’s chat with Norm on tested here.
The Looking Glass Portrait supports various hardware configurations including the MacBook Pro "Core i5" 2.7. However for best viewing experience we have some recommended computer configurations which you can find a few questions above this one.
We currently have Linux support in the form of Web Drivers that allow you to view web-based holographic content using our HoloPlay.js library. As for the HoloPlay Unity Plugin, we are still working on compatibility on Linux.
Looking Glass Portrait can run Standalone Mode on a Raspberry Pi 4, with the ability to playback 1,000 pieces of holographic media (both static and animated) content with no additional computer required. To pre-order yours today, go here.
Yes, absolutely.
As long as you're able to update the Leap Motion firmware on your computer (Orion), it will work. Currently, Orion only works with PC (argh!) so the interactive applications we've developed so far only work with Leap Motion + PC.
Orders, Shipping, Warranty & Repairs
Looking Glass Portrait is available for pre-order today with earliest units shipping out January 2021 with later batches shipping out in March & April 2021. Gets yours today here.
Looking Glass 15.6” ships worldwide in 2 weeks.
Looking Glass 8K ships worldwide on a case-by-case basis but you can usually expect orders to ship out in 4-6 weeks.
If you have any questions about your order, write to [email protected] and we will get back to you with your estimated delivery date.
Certainly! For a Quote or an Invoice, submit your P.O. to [email protected] and we’ll be able to handle your transaction directly via bank transfer. You can expect an email back from us within 24 hours on normal working days.
Your card will be charged immediately when you make an order on our site.
For Kickstarter orders, your card will be charged on the last day of the campaign (Jan 14, 2021).
Unfortunately, we’re not able to change your method of payment without canceling your original order. If you need us to do that, please write us at [email protected]
Some banks and credit card companies block large transactions as a safety precaution, so that might be the issue. Usually a quick call to the bank to let them know you approve the purchase will do the trick. If you’re still having troubles with your purchase, please write to us at [email protected] and we’ll be able to help you out there!
Please write to us at [email protected] and we’ll be able to check if your order has been shipped yet or not.
We’ll be able to cancel your order immediately if the order has not yet been processed. However, if your products are already on it’s way to you and you have received your tracking information, then unfortunately the order cannot be cancelled. If that’s the case, and you still want to return your order, please contact us at [email protected] and we'll start processing a return.
Please note that shipping fees are non-refundable.
You can request a copy of our W-9 by emailing [email protected]
Shipping costs are calculated at checkout either directly on our page here (for Looking Glass 15.6") or on Kickstarter (for Looking Glass Portrait).
Please note that shipping fees do not include Value Added Tax, import duties, and any other customs fees. These fees are still liable to be paid by the customer. Looking Glass Factory is not responsible for these additional fees for any deliveries outside of the USA.
Should you need to pay any additional Value Added Tax, import duties or customs fees, our courier will reach out to you during delivery.
All additional fees mentioned above, as well as shipping charges are non-refundable.
Should, for any reason, your order be returned to our office, shipping fees paid towards your original order will not be refunded.
Not usually but we might make an exception if there is good reason to do so. Please contact our support team at [email protected] if this is something you’ll need.
We usually use couriers that attempt delivery 3 times before the shipment gets returned back to our warehouse.
Please note that for orders outside of the US, our courier will likely reach out to you to have any additional outstanding fees paid (e.g - Value Added Tax, import duties or customs fees).
In the unfortunate event that your order does get shipped back to us, please email us at [email protected] and we will try our best to arrange another shipment. Additional shipping and processing fees will be applicable.
However, if you would like to cancel the order then the return shipping fees will be deducted from your original payment. Shipping fees paid towards your original order are also non-refundable.
Looking Glass Factory reserves the right to review these terms on a case by case basis, depending on the circumstances surrounding the shipment of the product and the reason by which it was returned to Looking Glass Factory.
For orders outside of the US, our courier will reach out to you to have any additional outstanding fees paid that are associated with your order (e.g - Value Added Tax, import duties or customs fees). Looking Glass Factory is not responsible for these additional fees for any deliveries outside of the USA.
If, in the event that these fees are unpaid, the courier will return the shipment back to us.
If your order does get shipped back to us, please email us at [email protected] and we will try our best to arrange another shipment. Additional shipping and processing fees will be applicable.
However, if you would like to cancel the order then the return shipping fees will be deducted from your original payment. Shipping fees paid towards your original order are non-refundable.
Looking Glass Factory reserves the right to review these terms on a case by case basis, depending on the circumstances surrounding the shipment of the product and the reason by which it was returned to Looking Glass Factory.
Contact [email protected] for all Looking Glass support related questions and concerns.
We offer a full 30-day refund for all our products and a 12-month limited warranty. To learn more, see the Shipping, Warranty, and Returns.
Looking Glass Factory offers a 12-month limited warranty as outlined in the Shipping, Warranty, and Returns page.
First of all, take a slow, deep breath. Everything will be OK. We're here for you.
Take a few photos and a video of the damage and email our Support team at [email protected] We’ll determine an estimated price of repair for you and arrange the logistics for it to be delivered back to our lab for re-work.