Due to an unexpected delay in production, we won’t be able to send your Lynx-R1 order this month. Our team is actively working to reduce your waiting time as much as possible.
We now estimate that all orders will be shipped in Q2 2024, and we will continue to update you on any further changes.
Really curious why they would send this out at this point in time. The PVT production should start just about now (right after Chinese New Year), so maybe it indeed started as planned and they some perspective on Q2 deliveries. Or PVT production did not start and there is yet more delay.
By the way, I wonder what ever became of the 1,000 headsets purchased by Signpost in Belgium. Is that still going to happen?
On Friday October 14th, Lynx and Signpost partnered to bring in 2023 the Mixed Reality headset Lynx R-1 to students in Belgium.
Last week pre-orders were disabled on the Lynx website, “to pave the way for the commercial debut of the Lynx-R1”. This is a somewhat strange step, as it stops any more pre-order funds going towards Lynx, at least for now.
Let’s see if indeed an option for a regular order of the R1 appears on the Lynx website soon. According to earlier communication mass production should have started by now (but the planning has been changed many times, of course).
Some of the main updates given in the 7/3/24 youtube live session (summary based on a Discord post):
The first batch of Lynx R-1 (Product Validation Testing) is expected to ship a week after the first pallet arrives at the end of March. This batch will be inspected before being shipped to customers. Following batches will probably get shipped directly from the factory.
Production was limited by financial resources, not technical or engineering issues. Lynx faced significant financial burdens and risks in mass production.
Production will be moved. To better serve a predominantly B2B market, including defense and medical industries, production is shifting from China to Vietnam.
Fundraising and Growth : After a challenging period, Lynx is entering a new phase with a supportive partner (“a very special partner”), securing the company’s future in Europe and continuing its innovative trajectory. But the partnership needs to be formalized in the coming time.
Software Development : Highlights include Unreal Engine 5 integration, OpenXR compatibility, and efforts to increase software openness and flexibility.
Future Features : Upcoming updates include HDMI casting capabilities and the development of a pipeline for users to create custom firmware versions.
80-minute discussion with Stan Larroque, CEO of Lynx, on different topics, including the future of Lynx, the XR industry and more.
Edit: just listened to this and it’s pretty interesting, if you’re into industry perspectives, headset design challenges, etc. One of the hosts is Artur Sychov, founder of Somnium Space that launched the Somnium VR-1 headset](https://somniumspace.com/), as well as led an investment round for Lynx in 2022.
Topics discussed are Apple Vision Pro, Apple vs Meta, recent (non-public) developments that suggest a very positive for the future of Lynx, design of the second-generation Lynx headset, Lynx working with HyperVision optics, “making pancakes great again”, operations at Lynx and a possible return of Palmer Lucky to XR?
Another YouTube update this monday 22 April at 18:00 (live link).
Some folks have been receiving tracking numbers for shipment of their R1 headset. Let’s see if the shipments are finally going to become regular. And if there is really any other big news.
500 headsets produced (PVT batch), received first 100 devices end of March in Paris office, 400 in “two weeks or so”. 400 will go to backers, remaining ones going to important partners (e.g. SideQuest), pre-orders, etc. Some already shipped.
Produced PVT headsets are “perfect” in terms of hardware, but they need to be re-calibrated at the Lynx office. Which takes time and thus slows delivery. More automated calibration coming for future headsets.
Latest hardware version has fixed microphone issues
Noisy fans are being worked on
Lynx as a company was nearly done in January 2024, barely made it, but in much better position now.
Partnership to be announced on 30 March, if everything goes well?
Vuforia demo being developed
Lynx will move to using StereoKit for some OS-level apps, such as the launcher, instead of current Unity-based apps
Headsets still to deliver: kickstarter less than 1000 units, 2-300 pre-orders, corporate users 6-7000 headsets. July/August expected time-frame for corporate pre-orders. Expecting to deliver 20-30.000 units before switching to next hardware product
Lynx will not work with Meta to have the just announced Horizon OS on Lynx
Possible next live-stream on 1 or 2 May
Lynx was not at the Laval Virtual conference, no time for it
They acknowledge they are really bad at communication, or don’t put enough priority on it
EC-funded XR2Industry project received 8M euros, with 5M euros being available for projects building on top of Lynx R-1, max 500kE per project (first call).
Demos of Vuforia, StereoKit and shared-space medical app to be posted tomorrow. Clip of the StereoKit demo and Vuforia demo are already on YouTube.
Yes, we ordered directly at VR Expert; I guess we were lucky!
I’ve unboxed one, and it’s quite nice to try it out. Using the virtual keyboard takes a bit to get used to. However, besides their onboarding app and a web browser, there is nothing pre-installed. I tried connecting it to eduroam, but the Wifi list shows about 20 networks all called eduroam (must be our repeaters?), and when you click on one of them it only gives you a password box, without an option to add a name or ID. I can connect it to a regular network that only requires a password though.
“Q. How long did you have to wait for your Lynx headset after the kickstarter? We have been waiting 2+ years and still no headset.
A. Oh, we ordered online in the Netherlands from VR Expert, got them just a few weeks later ”
Yikes, I hope that doesn’t mean that it authenticates against a specific physical access point (and you will need to switch when crossing from one AP to the next). Plus, it would be a real shame if the Wifi doesn’t (yet) support anything but basic authentication and not Eduroam’s use of WPA2 Enterprise.
I cannot find any additional settings or buttons related to Wifi… I’ve turned on developer mode in the settings, but that doesn’t give me anything extra. There is no update available (device says it’s up to date v1.1.10) so I guess we have to wait for that.
Nevertheless, feel free to come to Nijmegen and try out the headset!
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