Stefan Alexander (North) on Applying the Lessons of Focals v1 to v2 and the Argument for Laser Scanning Displays (Part 2)

06/02/20 • 51 min

Stefan Alexander is the VP of Advanced R&D at North, a company taking a human-centric approach to creating AR smartglass hardware and experiences that are both useful and respectful.

After earning a Masters of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Stefan spent more than a decade working with OLED display technology at IGNIS Innovation.

From there he joined North to build and lead the team that developed the technology behind Focals 1.0 and the forthcoming 2.0 hardware.

My conversation with Stefan goes deep into the technology, the mindset, and the lessons learned at North, and I’ve split it into two parts.

In the second part of our conversation, Stefan explores the key takeaways from the launch and use of the Focals 1.0 glasses.

Stefan shares his perspective on how making smartglasses is about tradeoffs, and goes on to tease some of the key advancements they’re making for version 2, which is expected later this year in 2020.

He also shares his take on Laser Beam Scanning versus MicroLED displays for smartglasses, his thoughts about Nreal and the Nreal Light, and key challenges around privacy and consent when everybody is wearing cameras and microphones.

You can find all of the show notes at thearshow.com.

Stefan Alexander is the VP of Advanced R&D at North, a company taking a human-centric approach to creating AR smartglass hardware and experiences that are both useful and respectful.

After earning a Masters of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Stefan spent more than a decade working with OLED display technology at IGNIS Innovation.

From there he joined North to build and lead the team that developed the technology behind Focals 1.0 and the forthcoming 2.0 hardware.

My conversation with Stefan goes deep into the technology, the mindset, and the lessons learned at North, and I’ve split it into two parts.

In the second part of our conversation, Stefan explores the key takeaways from the launch and use of the Focals 1.0 glasses.

You can find all of the show notes at thearshow.com.

Previous Episode

Stefan Alexander (North) on Taking a Human-Centric Approach to Designing Focals (Part 1)

Stefan Alexander is the VP of Advanced R&D at North, a company taking a human-centric approach to creating AR smartglass hardware and experiences that are both useful and respectful.

After earning a Masters of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Stefan spent more than a decade working with OLED display technology at IGNIS Innovation.

From there he joined North to build and lead the team that developed the technology behind Focals 1.0 and the forthcoming 2.0 hardware.

My conversation with Stefan goes deep into the technology, the mindset, and the lessons learned at North, and I’ve split it into two parts.

In the first part of our conversation, Stefan describes some of the design ethos of the company, and a key lesson they carried forward from the development of the Myo armband. Through that experience, they gained a deep appreciation for human biology and individuality as well as the challenges of making something that people feel comfortable wearing - both physically and socially.

Stefan goes on to describe some of the constraints and underlying technology of the Focals smartglasses. He also shares some lessons learned from the launch in 2019, including how people are using Focals every day, and what Stefan believes is the most important capability of smartglasses.

You can find all of the show notes at thearshow.com.

Next Episode

SXSW Spanning Realities With Music (Panel: Amy LaMeyer, Tony Parisi, Rebecca Barkin, Eric Wagliardo)

Today’s conversation is a recreation of a South-by-Southwest Panel that didn’t happen this year because the conference was canceled. My guests are so passionate about their topic, we got the panel together to share with you here. This conversation was recorded the same week that SXSW was scheduled to happen in March. Here’s a bit from the show guide:

From Childish Gambino’s augmented reality dancing to Marshmello’s Fortnite concert in virtual reality to the mixed reality experience of Tonandi, immersive and spatial computing is closing the gap between the real and the virtual when it comes to music and art. Listeners can experience music in new and more profound ways. Musicians can take advantage of this shift to reach and connect more deeply with broader audiences. Artists can create a lasting emotional connection by letting their fans be in the center of the experience.

In the conversation, we explore new methods for listeners and artists to span realities with music. We talk about which experiences are getting traction, as well as where the technology shines, and where it still falls short.

We expanded the topics a bit to incorporate a discussion about survival advice for startups.

The four panelists include:

Amy LaMeyer is the managing partner of WXR Fund, where she invests in early stage spatial computing and artificial intelligence companies with female leadership. She’s a lover of music, and the author of the “Sound and AR” chapter in the book Convergence: How the World Will Be Painted With Data. She’s also an advisor for immersive music-focused startups: TribeXR, Stage, and Melodrive.

Eric Wagliardo is an internationally recognized artist and creative who resides in Brooklyn, NY and Dallas, TX. Eric has been working in XR for 4 years and recently collaborated with Childish Gambino to create an augmented reality musical experience. Eric is the founder and creative director of &Pull.

Rebecca Barkin is the VP of Immersive Experiences at Magic Leap, where she served as Executive Producer of Tónandi—a visceral, interactive audio-visual experience made in partnership with the band Sigur Rós. More recently, she teamed up with HBO and Framestore for Game of Thrones "Dead Must Die," a mixed reality experience brought to AT&T retail and Tribeca Film Festival. In 2020, opportunity informed a new focus on delivering services and solutions that bridge the physical and digital divide, ultimately expanding the reach of premium XR installations beyond any singular venue. She began her career at EMI Music.

Tony Parisi is a pioneer of virtual reality, a serial entrepreneur and an angel investor. He is the co-creator of 3D graphics standards, including VRML, X3D and gl-TF. He’s also the author of several books from O’Reilly Media covering Virtual Reality, Programming 3D Apps, and WebGL. Tony has become one of the leading spokespeople for the immersive industry, and he was recently named to Next Reality’s 30 People to Watch in Augmented Reality. Tony is currently Head of AR/VR Ad Innovation at Unity Technologies.

You can find all of the show notes at thearshow.com.