Unistellar has unveiled its new Envision binoculars, which offer smart functionality akin to Swarovski's Optik AX Visio binoculars announced earlier this year. Unlike its competitor, the Envision uses augmented reality (AR) to identify and label over a million unique landmarks, including mountains, trails, and more than 200,000 celestial objects.
Founded a decade ago, the French company initially developed smart telescopes to automate the process of locating and photographing stars and planets. The Envision binoculars integrate this technology into Nikon 50mm lenses, enhanced with an AR projection system that overlays real-time contextual information.
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To fund the first prototypes, Unistellar is turning to a crowdfunding campaign, with deliveries to backers expected by late 2025. The binoculars connect to smartphones via Bluetooth, using the device's GPS and sensors to determine location. An accompanying app provides information from an extensive online database of cartographic items, including offline maps for remote areas.
The Envision's battery life is rated at five hours or 1,000 uses per charge, and the binoculars can function as regular binoculars when the battery is depleted. Another feature allows users to lock onto a target and guide others to the same view with directional indicators.
Unistellar’s Kickstarter campaign is still $1 million short of its funding goal. Early bird backers can preorder a pair for $699, compared to the expected $1,199 retail price. Delivery for the earliest backers is anticipated in November 2025. While backing a crowdfunded product carries risks, Unistellar's previous success with similar devices suggests potential reliability.
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