Hardware — Looking Glass Displays
Glasses-free 3D displays from Looking Glass Factory, specified for a small development unit and a life-size kiosk display. Prices as of 19 September 2026.
Two different technologies (important)
Looking Glass now sells two product lines, and only one is a true autostereoscopic light field:
| Light Field Display (LFD) | Hololuminescent Display (HLD) | |
|---|---|---|
| How 3D works | Renders up to ~100 views; each eye sees a different view, so the character shows real parallax | A fixed holographic volume built into the optical stack; a standard 2D 4K video is staged inside it. No per-view rendering. |
| Input | "Quilt" rendered by the Unity/Unreal plugin; heavy GPU load | Ordinary 4K HDMI/DisplayPort video, including a live Unreal window |
| Sizes | 6 in (Go), 16 in, 27 in | 16 in, 27 in, 86 in |
| Largest | 27 in (5K) | 86 in, 4K, portrait |
| Best for | Busts, objects, R&D | Life-size people in signage and kiosks |
So the only Looking Glass product big enough for a full-size figure is the 86-inch HLD, and it is not a true light field. Visitors see a 2D performance placed in a lit 3D stage with about two feet of perceived depth. It will look more present than a flat screen, but it will not show the character's face from different angles as you walk past.
Development unit (small)
| Option | Price | Use | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 in HLD (portrait, 1080p) | $2,000 | Author and preview content for the 86 in HLD with the same pipeline (Unreal output → HLD Author → display) | Buy this if the kiosk will be an 86 in HLD |
| 16 in Light Field Display (4K OLED, landscape or portrait, ~100 views, 53° cone, ~9 in depth; Unreal plugin; RTX 2070+) | $3,000 sale ($4,000 list); sold out, "ships within days" when stocked | True autostereoscopic busts and object lessons (telescope, ledger) | Optional R&D |
| Looking Glass Go (6 in, 1440 × 2560, ~100 views, 58° cone) | $199 sale ($299 list); sold out | Cheap light-field experiments, handheld demos for funders | Optional |
Deployment unit (large): 86 in Hololuminescent Display
| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Price | $20,000 list (pre-order was $15,000 with $3,000 deposit); first production run scheduled for June 2026; confirm lead time |
| Panel | 86 in, native 4K, portrait |
| Depth | About 2 ft of perceived depth |
| Thickness | Under 2.5 in; VESA mount, hangs like a flat display |
| Built in | 4K camera, IR touchscreen, microphone with echo cancellation, stereo speakers |
| Input | HDMI / DisplayPort video; digital-signage players (BrightSign, Yodeck, Scala) or a PC running our Unreal build; Raspberry Pi 4 demo player included |
| Authoring | HLD Author (framing, rotation, chroma key, shadows, lighting); black backgrounds recommended |
| Viewers | Group viewing, no eye tracking |
Is 86 inches large enough for a full-size figure?
Yes, just. In portrait, an 86 in 16:9 panel has an image area of about 75 in tall × 42 in wide (190 × 107 cm) at about 51 pixels per inch.
| Figure height | Share of screen height | Headroom |
|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 0 in (152 cm) | 80% | about 15 in |
| 5 ft 4 in (163 cm) | 85% | about 11 in |
| 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) | 88% | about 9 in |
| 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | 93% | about 5 in |
| 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | 96% | about 3 in |
| 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | 99% | about 1 in |
Conditions for life-size:
- Mount the bottom edge at or near the floor. A figure only reads as life-size if its feet are at the visitor's floor level. Confirm Looking Glass's recommended mounting height for the 86 in model, which may assume a raised mount.
- Tall figures are tight. A six-foot man fills the frame, leaving no room for gestures above the head, and a raised arm will crop. Seated or three-quarter framing works better for tall figures.
- Width is 42 in. Wide gestures, props (a telescope) or a second character will not fit at full scale; a two-character program needs two displays or a smaller scale.
- Resolution: 4K over 75 in is fine at 1.5–2 m viewing distance, softer up close.
Fit for Augmented Traveler
| Use | Verdict |
|---|---|
| Maria Mitchell kiosk (Atheneum/MMA), one figure, standing or seated | Good fit. Life-size, headset-free, group viewing, and the built-in mic and camera cover the conversational kiosk. Unreal renders the live character to a black background at 4K. |
| Object lesson (telescope, ledger) | Use a 16 or 27 in light field display beside the kiosk for true 3D objects. |
| Two-character programs (Essex, Mott × Gardner) | Two 86 in units, or a standard large display. |
| Outdoor or bright rooms | Test brightness on site; no published luminance figure. |
Compared with the kiosk options already in the budget: a 75 in commercial display is about $2,000–3,200 but flat; the 86 in HLD is $20,000 with glasses-free depth; a Proto Luma cabinet is quote-only and deeper. The HLD is the only one of the three that hangs flat on a historic interior wall.
Before buying
- Book a demo (sales@lookingglassfactory.com) with our own Unreal character at 4K on black, not their demo reel.
- Ask for: active-area dimensions, recommended mounting height for life-size, brightness, heat and power, warranty, and lead time.
- Confirm the live Unreal output path (PC → HDMI) supports our 90-second approach mode and captions.
Sources: Sources — 2026-09-19