Mixed-reality sensor and peripherals maker Leap Motion Inc. has launched a new augmented reality platform called Project North Star that aims to deliver $100 AR headsets with hand tracking.

Leap Motion, best known for its hand tracking hardware development, sees Project North Star as an open AR platform, releasing hardware specifications and software under an open-source license to encourage outside development.

“We hope that these designs will inspire a new generation of experimental AR systems that will shift the conversation from what an AR system should look like, to what an AR experience should feel like,” co-founder and Chief Technology Officer David Holz wrote in a blog post.

The AR headset design specs include two ultrabright, low-persistence LED displays. The 3.5-inch, 1600×1440 displays offer up to 120 frames per second with a visual field over 100 degrees in diameter. Where the link to Leap Motion comes into place is that though the open-source design can be used by anyone, it only works when coupled with the company’s 180-degree hand- tracking sensor.

Leap Motion itself debuted a prototype headset using the Project North Star specs. Although visually it’s somewhat ’60s sci-fi, the results are 100 percent 21st century. Using the company’s hand-tracking technology, which sits on top of the headset like a small Microsoft Kinect, users can not only manipulate objects but have overlays appear on their hands (above).

Whether this is a killer app or not for a company that has raised $94.1 million, most recently $50 million in July, is another matter. The company is primarily showcasing more novel uses for the headset and its tied hand motion tracking technology, but one image it uses is that of doctors undertaking surgery with AR information overlaid on the display.

That’s a pitch AR and VR companies have made before, but with a $100 price point versus thousands of dollars for other, existing systems, it’s potentially a massive market Leap Motion could tap into going forward.

Photo: Leap Motion