Augmented Reality Startup Replaced Its Employees Desks with 3-D Holograms

The office of the future is in the mountains—or anywhere else, really.

Meta, a Silicon Valley startup, wants to replace computer monitors with 3-D holograms projected onto smart glasses. It’s starting this revolution at its own office, testing the technology on its employees.

The startup’s augmented reality headsets overlay digital items in the real world and allow the wearer to manipulate them like any physical object. Users can browse the web, send emails, and write sticky notes with their hands instead of clicking a mouse or typing on a keyboard.

Meta replaced its computer monitors in its office with its own AR headset. (Meta)

Meron Gribetz, Meta’s CEO and founder, is out to destroy what he calls the”tyranny of the office,” Bloomberg reports. Gribetz wants to make fossils out of cubicles, starting with all the accessories associated with a desktop: monitors, mice, and keyboards.

To demonstrate its use and test the product, Meta has been replacing its workers’ computer monitors with its AR gear. Dubbed the Meta 2, the $949 headset is also used by architects, developers, designers, and auto manufacturers. According to Bloomberg, the company expects to sell 10,000 by the end of 2017. It received $50 million in funding last year from investors like Lenovo.