Stereolabs has announced Linq, an MR HMD designed to enable inside-out tracking for mobile. Linq will launch for select developers and partners in early 2017 before moving to a wider release later in the year. The developer version will be tethered to a Windows or Linux computer.

Linq uses a special version of Stereolabs’ ZED stereo camera that replicates the way human vision works and perceives the world. The built-in camera scans the environment in real-time and provides inside-out world-scale positional tracking without the need for any external sensor. This means that Linq will work both indoors and outdoors.

There is certainly a gap in AR, VR and MR markets for inside-out positional tracking. The requirement of external sensors seen in most VR/AR HMDs ultimately limits the scale in which experiences can take place. Stereolabs hopes to remedy the problem of static hardware with Linq, after taking their first shot at it with their Gear VR + ZED combination earlier on in the year. The main challenge the company faces is latency, which is the focus between now and the developer kit release.