For avid outdoors explorers, binoculars make up for one of the most important tools in your gear, as they enable you to observe things from a long distance with unparalleled detail. In fact, binoculars are incredibly versatile tools, as they can be used in a variety of settings, such as hiking, wildlife viewing, birdwatching, and even stargazing. Having a pair of binoculars not only makes it easier to locate important landmarks such as accessible trails and potential camping sites, but it also enables you to observe celestial objects at night like the moon, star clusters, and planets. However, without confidently knowing the areas you’re exploring, even with a pair of binoculars you might not know exactly what you’re looking at, whether that’s a specific landmark that could help you with your orientation on the ground or even a celestial body in the sky when you’d like to do some stargazing. Enter Unistellar, a company renowned for its revolutionary smart telescopes, who recently unveiled the Unistellar ENVISION, a pair of smart binoculars that aim to transform and deepen the way you explore the world around you.
The Unistellar ENVISION are cutting-edge smart binoculars that leverage an Augmented Reality Precision Orientation System which combines high-quality multicoated optics, designed in collaboration with Nikon, with an advanced high-luminance, high-contrast Augmented Reality (AR) projection system that dynamically overlays contextual information directly into the binoculars’ natural optical field of view, enriching what you’re seeing with a wealth of data for a more accurate understanding of your environment. They also feature a Smart Scouting Mode consisting of a 3D map overlay that provides detailed contextual information about different landmarks within the field of view, plus celestial objects above you, a Shareable Target-Lock Mode that allows users to lock the binoculars onto any target and pass them to friends, who’ll be precisely guided to it for a shared experience, a Guided Navigation Mode for which the app gives you visual cues during daytime that guide you to sought-after points of interest or suggest stars, comets, and other celestial objects to explore during nighttime, and a Classic Optical Mode that switches off the AR overlay to make them work like a regular pair of high-quality binoculars.
They also boast GPS, Bluetooth and database connectivity for a database containing billions of topographic nodes and millions of cartographic items, including mountains, hills, trails, landmarks, water sources and various celestial objects, making users able to explore landscapes like professional guides and stargaze like seasoned astronomers. The binoculars offer around 5 hours battery and are designed to be seamlessly integrated with a smartphone via the ENVISION App, which provides an intuitive interface for selecting points of interest, accessing the database, and receiving guided tours.
Designed by the same pioneering company known for what are rated to be the world’s most advanced and user-friendly smart telescopes, Unistellar’s ENVISION smart binoculars mark a significant leap forward in optical technology.
The ENVISION have recently taken Kickstarter by storm, for which Unistellar’s Crowfunding campaign has already raised more than $1.5 million in just the first 24 hours of launch. The company’s target crowdfunding goal of $2.5 million will allow for the mass production of these cutting-edge smart binoculars.
Below you can find a more detailed description of everything these cutting-edge smart binoculars have to offer you, from their optical specifications to their AR integrations and innovative AR features.
DESIGN & SPECS
Starting with the binoculars’ overall design, know that these smart binoculars are designed for ease of use, as they have a compact form factor and are also fairly lightweight, weighing just 2.65 lbs. (1.2 kg).
The Unistellar ENVISION also sport an ultra-modern design, pack a very high-quality construction, and are also equipped with a durable neck strap.
Moving on to the main components that comprise these smart binoculars. For their lenses, the Unistellar ENVISION come equipped with a set of high-quality multicoated optics developed in collaboration with Nikon which were thoroughly designed to deliver a sharp and clear view.
The binoculars’ lenses are built of a BAC4 fully multicoated optical glass and are installed in a Porro architecture, meaning two prism segments are used, which correct the image using total internal reflection by deflecting the light path by 180° per segment, while at the boundary surfaces of the prisms, the light ray is not broken, but instead reflected at a specific angle of incidence.
The binoculars’ optics are rated to offer up to 10x magnification power and have a 50mm aperture (in diameter), which for the latter is the ideal size to let in enough light at night for a crystal-clear view of the night sky.
The binoculars are also equipped with retractable eyecups, which makes them perfect for people wearing glasses.
What’s more is that the Unistellar ENVISION also leverage an advanced high-luminance, high-contrast Augmented Reality (AR) projection system that merges AR data with your real-world view by projecting and dynamically overlaying contextual information directly into the binoculars’ natural optical field of view, enriching what you’re seeing with a wealth of data for a more accurate understanding of your environment.
Lastly, the binoculars also come together with a carrying bag.
INTERFACE / BUILT-IN CONTROLS
For controlling the binoculars’ operation and enabling their augmented reality (AR) features, the Unistellar ENVISION also integrate built-in controls, which can be found at their top side.
Located at the left side, there are a Previous and Next buttons for cycling through the binoculars different AR Modes, and between those, a Validation button for validating the currently selected mode (or for requesting detailed information when using their Guided Navigation Mode).
Integrated at the right side, there’s a Target-Lock button for locking the position of a particular target in your field of view (for their Shareable Target-Lock Mode), followed by a AR On/Off button for enabling and disabling the binoculars’ AR overlay.
NOTABLE FUNCTIONALITIES
As for the ENVISION’s augmented reality (AR) features, note that these smart binoculars feature four (x4) different modes:
- Smart Scouting Mode – enables the display of a 3D map overlay that provides detailed contextual information about different landmarks within the user’s field of view (during daytime) while also showing you an accurate estimate of the distance from each landmark, plus information related to celestial objects above you (during nighttime).
- Shareable Target-Lock Mode – allows users to lock the binoculars onto any target and pass them to their friends, who’ll be precisely guided to it for a shared experience.
- Guided Navigation Mode – the app gives you visual cues during daytime that guide you to sought-after points of interest or suggest stars, comets, and other celestial objects to explore during nighttime.
- Classic Optical Mode – switches off the AR overlay to make them work like a regular pair of high-quality binoculars.
CONNECTIVITY
When it comes to their connectivity, these smart binoculars boast GPS connectivity and are also equipped with inertial measurement units (IMU). This particular configuration guarantees that users can always have a precise positioning and low-drift orientation by having the binoculars’ Augmented Reality Precision Orientation System merging data from gyroscopes, gravity and the earth’s magnetic field.
In addition, the binoculars also utilize Bluetooth connectivity for pairing with their mobile app.
More importantly, they also feature database connectivity for a dedicated extensive map database containing a plethora of topographic nodes and millions of cartographic items. More specifically, this database contains over 1 million terrestrial targets, including mountains and peaks, hills, trails, landmarks, water sources such as water springs and lakes, caves, and hundreds of thousands of ways and shelters, as well as over 1,000 celestial objects, including star clusters, nebulae, galaxies, comets, asterisms and more, plus a whopping 200,000 visible stars.
Thanks to that, users are able to explore landscapes like professional guides and stargaze like seasoned astronomers.
BATTERY & BATTERY LIFE
For their battery power, these smart binoculars come equipped with a built-in rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery that offers users around 5 hours of battery life, which allows for approximately 1000 binocular engagements per charge.
THE SMARTPHONE COMPANION APP – The ENVISION App
The Unistellar ENVISION can also be seamlessly integrated with a smartphone via the ENVISION App (available to download for free for both iOS and Android devices), through which you’re offered a vivid, intuitive, and highly detailed experience, on Earth and beyond.
Via the ENVISION App, users are provided with an intuitive interface through which they can select points of interest, access the map database, and even receive guided tours.
PRICING & AVAILABILITY
If you’re interested in getting the Unistellar ENVISION, all you have to do is pledge a minimum of $699 to Unistellar’s Kickstarter Crowdfunding Campaign (saves you $500 from the binoculars’ future retailing price of $1199).
Each set comes with ENVISION Smart Binoculars, along with a neck strap and carrying bag, plus a free lifetime subscription to the Terrestrial and Celestial databases.
