Tiger Electronics R-Zone

Here's a video detailing how I made this model: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4V66eZDVhqM&feature=youtu.be

This is an obscure, but still cool, game system from Tiger Electronics called the R-Zone. Essentially Tiger's answer to Nintendo's Virtual Boy (which was also a stunning failure), it's a game system meant to give a Virtual Reality-like experience.

Virtual Reality my ass! This thing is a bit closer to Augmented Reality given its single eye view and transparent reflector (whereas, the Virtual Boy had a set of goggles that covered both eyes, making it a bit closer to being a Virtual Reality system). Even though the R-Zone and the Virtual Boy were somewhat ahead of their time, both systems had an unfortunate lack of compelling content, so both systems floundered in the market. Where the Virtual Boy was basically a red monochrome Game Boy system with a dual-eye display (an idea with real potential that was never realized), the R-Zone was a Tiger Electronics game system with swappable, clear LCD cartridges. In other words, it was doomed to fail. It's all one can stomach to play a handheld Tiger game--imagine having one strapped to your face!

I once built a very similar headset using an OLED screen, an Arduino Nano, and a clear acrylic cube to reflect the screen--so, even though I never used an R-Zone, I have some idea of how it would feel to wear. It's a shame that the term "Augmented Reality" wasn't in vogue back then, apart from Steve Mann's work.