French VR headset startup Lynx announced last week it would cut the cost of its R-1 headset to a “few hundred dollars” and launch its Kickstarter fundraiser in September.
The month-long fundraiser will allow the company to raise additional capital ahead of the R-1’s proposed shipment in February 2022.
Additional prototypes of the updated headsets are expected for shipment in the summer this year for press reviews.
According to the Paris-based firm’s LinkedIn page, both consumers and businesses can use the headset for virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) content.
Demos for the upcoming kit would take place by the end of August, including its gaming capabilities, the company added.
The news comes after the firm previously announced its headset would debut at roughly $1,500, but recently backtracked, stating both the enterprise and consumer-level models would cost “below $1,000.”
Stan Larroque, Lynx Founder and Chief Executive Officer, announced changes to the MR project in July, which included a modified optics system which removes eye-tracking requirements.
The company has not disclosed further modifications to the original Lynx R-1 headset, but Larroque stated it would include a Qualcomm Snapdragon XR-2 and Ultraleap hand tracking capabilities.
The news comes after everal firms launched similar MR innovations, including Finnish startup Pixieray, who raised $4.4 million USD with investors for its AR autofocusing eyeglasses.
US tech firm Kopin Corp also announced in June it had developed fully-plastic pancake optics and later filed patents for the innovation, which aimed at building future super-lightweight headsets.
