Last year's Consumer Electronics Show was clearly the year of virtual reality, but CES 2017 proved that it is now time for augmented reality to shine. The big show this year marks the realization that AR is now a tangible consumer product and no longer a futuristic idea. This reality is made possible by the HoloLamp.

The HoloLamp is a portable, projector-based, glasses-free AR system small enough it could fit on your desk and can be plugged into your PC. It has a pico projector that displays a simulated holographic image onto any surface. This means that you don't have to deal with huge headsets!

The HoloLamp includes multiple cameras that scan the projection surface topography and objects within the space. With its face tracking cameras, the system creates the hologram illusion. The portable AR system works in a way that its user sees a flat projected image as a holographic image, using its advanced computer vision techniques that warp the image. What's great about the system is that it can detect how your face is positioned to it and will adjusted for you to see the correct perspective.

According to the HoloLamp website, the HoloLamp offers a "one-to-one experience," which means it will not work with multiple people. Other than the primary spectator, anyone else's perspective would be off, as the illusion does not work unless one sees the image from the exact perspective.

"We see the world in 3D because our brain knows we live in a 3D world, but a subtle change from technology makes your brain think the 2D projections it's seeing is a real 3D object," said HoloLamp's Alan Jay.

Tom's Hardware reported that the pricing for HoloLamp augmented reality system is still unknown for now. However, the company has plans to accept international pre-orders in January after the CES event.