Starport

Engineering Starport Explorer: A New Spatial Portal for Shared 3D Experiences

Traditional digital content is trapped behind flat screens and headsets. Starport identified a need for shared, physical, glasses-free 3D experiences. The company partnered with Unlimit Ventures to advance its spatial portal technology from concept into a production-ready system, arriving at AWE USA 2026, the industry’s largest AR/VR conference and expo.

Introducing: Starport Explorer

Unlimit Ventures provided end-to-end product and engineering development support behind Starport Explorer, the company’s first patented spatial portal. Explorer renders lifelike Lightform™ entities — from photoreal environments to fully animated characters — visible to groups without headsets or glasses. The system combines AI vision, voice interaction, gesture control, and spatial audio in a single freestanding unit.

The Starport Explorer spatial portal on display at an exhibition, featuring a white cylindrical base and a glowing green dome rendering a 3D alien character.

Unlimit Ventures’ Contribution

  • Product and project management to guide engineering development teams

    Mechanical engineering development:

    • Structures and mechanism design for the portal enclosure and canopy

    • CAD modeling and detail drawings

  • Electrical engineering development:

    • Component selection

    • Power and communication harnessing

    • Custom printed circuit boards

  • Software engineering development:

    • User interface development

    • Embedded controls development

  • Build and test of engineering prototypes

  • Design for manufacturing (DFM), production spool-up support, and strategy development

  • Business strategy and operations guidance as needed

A partially assembled Starport Explorer spatial portal prototype resting on a concrete floor in an industrial workshop. The device features a large white cylindrical base with a silver chevron logo and black trim at the bottom and top edges.

The Benefits of Starport Explore

  • Glasses-Free 3D: Groups view and interact with 3D content together in the room — no headset required.

  • Shared Presence: Enables telepresence, embodied AI characters, and digital art that multiple people can experience together, rather than alone.

  • Flexible Deployment: Available via purchase, rental, or lease for venues, retail, and events.

  • Cloud-Managed Content: Paired with Starport Gateway, content can be scheduled, monetized, and deployed remotely across multiple locations.

Pioneering Spatial Computing at AWE USA 2026

Led by founder Dan Miller, Starport Inc. (Irvine, CA) debuted Starport Explorer at AWE USA 2026 in Long Beach, which drew more than 5,000 attendees and 250 exhibitors for its 17th edition. Gadget Flow’s recap of the show named Starport among the standout glasses-free holographic demos, alongside Avalon Holographics and notAnImage. Starport is now engaging pilot partners, venue operators, and investors for early installations.

A man stands at the Starport booth during the AWE USA 2026 event, holding a tablet next to a Starport Explorer device displaying a 3D red character bust.

Key Features of Starport Explorer

  • Lightform™ Entities: Photoreal 3D characters and environments rendered in physical space.

  • No Headset Required: Multiple people can view and interact with the same 3D content at once.

  • AI-Powered Interaction: Reads voice commands, gestures, and vision input, paired with spatial audio for a responsive room.

  • Starport Gateway: Companion cloud platform to manage, schedule, monetize, and deploy content across locations.

    Learn more about Starport →

A close up of the Starport Explorer canopy showing a bright digital landscape of red rock formations rendered on a transparent screen within the dome structure.

PROJECT UPDATES

Logo of Unlimited Ventures with stylized U and J, and the words 'UNLIMIT' in black and 'VENTURES' in blue.

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