While the virtual reality headsets like the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift are quite impressive already, there is no doubt that the technology will be developing rapidly, becoming more immersive, lighter, and less intrusive. Leap Motion, a company known for their motion tracking software and cameras has close ties with many of the larger VR manufacturers, and this last week the company’s CTO David Holz spoke a bit about his vision for future VR/AR headsets, based on some of the discussions he’s had with various big-name manufacturers. While Leap Motion likely won’t be producing hardware for these future headsets, it is very possible that their software could play an integral part in future generations VR and AR products.

Holz discussed some of the technology that may be found in third generation headsets of the future, and while he didn’t say when such technology would be available, my guess is perhaps 5–7 years. These third generation headsets will likely be transparent, look a lot like a pair of sunglasses, be extremely light weight and rely on Holographic OLED displays which will be able to switch between both AR(transparent) and VR(opaque) capabilities.

“They’re slightly funny-colored,” he said as he described these future headsets. “But they’re pretty reasonable, something that I might wear all day, all the time. And that’s something that, to me personally, is the most exciting. That’s getting into the age of AR… I’m seeing lots of things ahead of everybody. Behind the scenes, these things are starting to appear more and more.”