Open-Source Mixed Reality Headset
2023
Why spend $3,500 on a HoloLens?
Overview
HoloKit is an award-winning open-source Mixed Reality (MR) toolkit that transforms your smartphone into an affordable optical see-through augmented reality headset designed for spatial computing enthusiasts. It aims to serve as the Mixed Reality equivalent of Arduino, offering a cost-effective alternative to feature-rich but expensive options like Vision Pro and HoloLens. HoloKit X is an optical see-through mixed reality headset launched in 2022. It has received the Red Dot Design Award and the iF Design Award, representing a high-quality enhancement from our original concept, HoloKit 1 — a cardboard prototype introduced in 2017.
This toolkit is ideal for hackers, designers, and artists interested in hands-on spatial computing projects, such as combining the Internet of Things with mixed reality, thanks to its open-source nature. It's also beneficial for students learning mixed reality development on a budget, as well as for researchers who wish to customize their setup and fully utilize Apple's ARKit for immersive, multiplayer experiences. Furthermore, museums and exhibitions can use HoloKit to offer mixed reality experiences to large audiences, taking advantage of its affordability and adaptability.
HoloKit was created by Botao Amber Hu and is currently maintained as an open-source project by Reality Design Lab.
A toolkit for making realities
HoloKit X combines an iPhone with an optical see-through viewer. The phone runs the experience while the viewer lets participants see virtual content alongside the people and objects around them. The HoloKit app and developer resources connect the hardware to a collection of shared experiences and tools for creating new ones.
For design education, the project couples the headset with authoring tools so that students can prototype and demonstrate mixed-reality ideas. The 2024 UbiComp demonstration documents three classroom and research case studies, organized around affordability, agility, and extensibility. Education paper.
The lab uses the toolkit across different kinds of encounter: MOFA explores asymmetric multiplayer games, Cell Space combines dance and biosignals, and EchoVision adapts the viewer into a handheld bat mask. These projects treat the headset as a component that can be repurposed through software, physical form, and interaction design.
Publications
Botao Amber Hu, Yuchen Zhang, Yilan Elan Tao, and Tongzhou Yu. 2024. "HoloKit: Demonstrating an Open-Source Smartphone-Based Mixed Reality Headset for Mixed Reality Design Education". In Adjunct Proceedings of the 2024 ACM International Joint Conference on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing & the 2024 ACM International Symposium on Wearable Computing (UbiComp/ISWC '24 Adjunct). Demo. 🏆 Best Demo Award.* Read more
Exhibitions
ISWC 2024 Demonstration. "HoloKit X". Melbourne, Australia.
Awards
A’Design Award. "HoloKit X", Silver in Wearable Technologies Design
iF Design Award. "HoloKit X", Winner in Product/Gaming Hardware/VR/AR
Red Dot Design Award. "HoloKit X", Winner of Product Design
Core77 Design Awards. "HoloKit X", Notable in Consumer Technology
Core77 Design Awards. "HoloKit X", Runner up in Emerging Technology
Webby Awards. "HoloKit X", Nominee in Technical Achievement / Metaverse, Immersive & Virtual
SXSW Award. "HoloKit X", Nominee in Innovative Design
Media and Talks
CNET: HoloKit X Showed Me How an iPhone Can Turn Into an AR Headset for $129 Read more
WIRED: The HoloKit X Headset Advances Hands-Free AR on iPhones Read more
ZDNET: This remarkable iPhone-powered headset gave me a glimpse into Apple's AR future Read more
Stuff: HoloKit X turns your iPhone into a $129 AR headset Read more
Credits
Concept Designer: Botao Amber Hu
User Experience Designer: Yilan Tao
Interaction Engineer: Yuchen Zhang
Technical Artist: Sizheng Hao
Project contributors: Botao Amber Hu, Yuchen Zhang, Sizheng Hao, Yilan Tao, Xiuhua Tang