These smart AR binoculars are "the first significant advancement in decades"

UPDATE: The crowdfunding campaign for the revolutionary Unistellar Envision Binoculars is now open. These revolutionary AR binoculars, made in cooperation with Nikon, superimpose augmented reality features on your view, whether you're scoping out a hiking trail or gazing at the stars.

They can do everything from overlaying a map on the scene in front of you (identifying things such as landmarks and trails) to offering guided navigation to points of interest (like showing you where Neil Armstrong landed when you look at the Moon). 

They can even lock onto a target or point of interest – such as an animal or part of the landscape – and when you hand the binos to someone else they will guide the person towards what you want to show them. Check out the video below to see exactly what Envision is capable of. 

Within 15 minutes of going live, the campaign had already racked up over 1,000 backers, and over $675,000 / £530,000 / AU$1 million towards its $2.5 million / £2.0 million / AU$3.8 million target. 

You can find out more and back the campaign over at the official Kickstarter page. 

ORIGINAL STORY (May 21 2024): Innovative smart telescope manufacturers Unistellar will expand its expertise in the field of exploration with the upcoming launch of its Envision smart binoculars, via a Kickstarter campaign. 

Unistellar is hoping that this new technology will help them become the best binoculars on the market, combining high-quality optics with augmented reality (AR) features to overlay contextual information directly onto the natural field of view at the user’s command. This offers "a personalized, intuitive, and detailed experience in every situation," according to the brand. 

Unistellar's eVscope Kickstarter campaign gathered overwhelming support in 2017, raising over $2.2 million / £1.7 million / AU$3.3 million, enabling the company to revolutionize backyard telescopes and establish smart telescopes into a new product category today – which ultimately earned the strategic support of Nikon, which invested in the company in 2023.

According to the brand, this new integrated technology is the first significant advancement in the field in decades. 

This integration enhances both night-time stargazing and adds meaning to daytime terrestrial observation, according to the brand, and "users can explore  the night sky like professional astronomers and navigate their earthly surroundings like experienced guides."

The Envision smart binoculars connect to smartphones via their companion app, providing instant access to a comprehensive database of maps and contextual information.

Unistellar was founded in Marseille, France, in 2015. Their computer-connected telescopes offer non-professional sky watchers the opportunity to look at astronomical objects at a relatively low cost.

"Continuing our endeavor to expand people's exploration capabilities, we will now offer a convenient, versatile, and portable tool that will delight explorers, day and night," says Laurent Marfisi, co-founder and CEO of Unistellar. 

"This is an exciting time at Unistellar, and for this second category-defining invention in the history of our brand, we will soon reach out to innovators and pioneers around the world through a crowdfunding campaign, as we did when we invented the eVscope, the world’s first truly smart telescope."

The Envision binoculars offer four modes of use:

Smart Scouting Mode, which creates a 3D map that overlays onto reality to enrich your field of view, indicating landmarks, water sources, trails, refuges, and points of interest during the day. Look up at the night sky after dark and the binoculars will tell you exactly what you’re looking at.

Guided Navigation Mode will take you on a tour of the night skies, and during the day similar visual clues will point you towards places of interest improving navigation in unfamiliar terrain.

Shareable Target-lock Mode means that whether it’s a camouflage lion during a safari, or a twinkling star in the night sky, you can lock the binoculars on specific targets, enabling you to then pass them to someone else, who will be guided to the same target.

Classic Optical Mode means you can still use these as classic binoculars by turning off AR overlay and enjoying a high-quality pair of binoculars.

Register now for the early bird offer coming soon with limited quantities at only 1,000 units. The early bird price is $599, reduced from $999. 

Take a look at our guide to the best binoculars on the market. We've also rounded up the best binoculars with built-in cameras and the best binoculars for under $100.