Hey HN, I’ve been working on Arda ever since becoming frustrated with the poor user experience of using XR to replace my laptop, yet, having complete conviction of its role as a major computing platform. So, we started building something that we wanted to use day-to-day without the need for slow controllers, uncomfortable headsets designed for gaming, or limited ecosystems. We have since been obsessed with making the user experience better and faster and after lots of experimentation, we’re happy to be announcing the Arda I - a device that makes working in XR feel like magic.

We’re starting off by focusing on the user interface and input mechanism, hence why we’re taking off-the-shelf HMDs and adapting them for productive work (as opposed to the core gaming use case).

We’ve bootstrapped everything so far and have just opened up reservations to accelerate progress and enable our backers to replace their conventional PCs with more capable XR systems. We expect units to ship retailing at around $/£/€1500 no earlier than Q1 2023, with priority given to customers with reservations.

We’d love feedback on all fronts and I’m happy to answer any questions (technical or otherwise) about the project.

If you’re interested in helping build the future computing platform (as a cofounder, team or community member) pls reach out! Our goal is to make XR computing better and faster to use than conventional PCs. I think we’re pretty close - turning this into a fairly niche hobbyist past-time to a really useful tool for everyone. Longer-term, I think this is the correct evolutionary path towards building brain-computer interfaces, but thats for a future convo :)