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The Noble Beamsplitter

A project log for Perceptoscope

A public viewing device for mixed reality experiences in the form factor of coin-operated binoculars.

bensaxbensax 07/16/2016 at 07:420 Comments

The heart of a Perceptoscope is made of glass.

More specifically an assembly of prisms and lenses. This week I took the opportunity to experiment with some new approaches to building the crystal that sits center.

Beamsplitter cubes were always an especially difficult optical component to source at the specifications I needed. Funny enough if I glue them together, right angle prisms are fairly easy to get.

My original assembly was never really designed with manufacture in mind. I needed to think of something easily reproducible for the supply chains I could establish.

I had an idea for a new type of shell that would close around the optics to hold their alignment, so I mocked up a prototype monocle with some components I had laying around.

This should work fairly well as an approach to the final assembly. I can really optimize the optical properties quickly for a set of given components too.

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