In a move to push further into the virtual and augmented reality space, Lucid VR has hired Jack McCauley as its new chief engineer heading the team working on the LucidCam and upcoming LucidCam 2. McCauley is a former co-founder and chief engineer at Oculus, and worked in the same capacity at RedOctane on the Guitar Hero franchise.

LucidCam is a 180-degree VR camera that can instantly capture 3D videos and then allow them to instantly be played back through VR headsets such as Gear VR. Previously, the capture and processing of the 3D video and images took hours to accomplish. The new system allows the process to be done on iOS and Android devices with the simple push of a button.

Lucid VR received a $2.1 million investment last year from Taiwanese manufacturer Winstron to move ahead with the pocket-sized camera. The company received an initial $116,000 in crowdfunding through Indiegogo in late 2015. 

"We are very excited to welcome Jack to the team, as his experience ramping up Oculus and its product production will help us dramatically improve our manufacturing capabilities," Lucid VR CEO and Co-founder Han Jin said in a statement. "We built our initial supply chain to address the 1000s of buyers, but demand has outstripped supply, and we are projecting millions of users worldwide. To properly scale to meet growing demand, we needed Jack because he possesses the experience, connections and know-how, and throughout his career, has proven he can address all possible scalability challenges.”

Earlier this year, Lucid revealed that the LucidCam would be the world's first true 3D reality camera for 4K 3D VR live production, offering its users an “enhanced user experience, resolution and frame rates equipped for underwater and livestream” through the LucidCam. The device will also allow users to “easily capture two 4K overlapping spheres to create depth, and broadcast it through HDM or Wi-Fi to any phone or VR headset.”

The LucidCam has a 180-degree field of view, with 32GB internal storage, and improved image stabilization. The camera is also capable of streaming 4K videos at 30fps. The unit sells for $499, with shipping expected to start next week on August 9.

“The industry incorrectly believed that 360-degree cameras were the way to go, but Lucid has simplified the user-generated content creation process with its VR180, a product that offers a revolutionary click-of-a-button system to capture content and its lightning quick processing time using a smartphone," McCauley said in a prepared statement. "LucidCam gives creators more time and greater freedom to create amazing 3D content.”