In this article we will make a comparison between waveguides and laser to holographic combiners. In doing so we will also look at North (formerly Thalmic Labs), their business success, and their IP, and place that into the context of the greater smartglasses market, and near-eye optics IP.
What The Reader Will Gain
This article is not meant to be a scholarly treatise, but rather an accessible overview, providing the reader with a baseline understanding of the competition between waveguides and laser displays, and how advances in the field of optics are changing the landscape in the consumer smartglasses market.
Simple Displays
A “combiner,” as the name implies, combines virtual content with the user’s view of the real world. The simplest combiner is essentially a two-way mirror. It may also be referred to as a “Pepper’s Ghost” display, referencing a Vaudeville era magic trick that employed two-way mirrors. A birdbath display is one that employs a curved combiner, a trick used to expand the display’s field-of-view.
Simple beam-splitter displays were employed in early ODG glasses, such as the model R-7. A birdbath display was used in the META 2, and a miniature birdbath display was employed by ODG’s model R-9. It is also notable that ODG’s assets were put up for auction in January, and META was recently declared insolvent.
So Let’s Look Instead At Waveguides
Waveguides are employed in conjunction with a light-engine (a micro-display that projects into the optics). The light-engine feeds an input grating on one side of the waveguides. The light moves through the lens, and exits the waveguide through an output grating in front of the eye. Depending on whether the waveguide is a surface-relief or holographic waveguide, the optical elements are either engraved into the lens (subtractive), applied onto the lens (additive), or exposed within the lens as holographic mirrors.
Now Let’s Look At Laser to Holographic Combiners
Retinal lasers were pioneered in near-eye optic display systems by MicroVision, but their combiner was a more basic beam splitter. A collection of Swiss companies perfected the use of a laser reflected off of a holographic combiner, into the wearer’s eye. A holographic combiner uses a similar technique as a holographic waveguide: a series of micro-mirrors are holographically exposed into a lens, and a laser is directed—typically using a MEM Chip with a nano-scale mirror mounted on a dual-axis gimbal—to reflect the imagery into the eye.
Where Have Laser to Holographic Combiners Been Deployed?
Laser displays are “having a moment,” most notably with Focals by North—which employ a laser to holographic combiner display, and have recently launched to much fanfare and success.
After initial work by MicroVision, laser displays saw more recent advancements coming out of Switzerland. A startup named Lemoptix developed some of the most advanced micro-opto-electromechanical systems (MOEMS)—essentially a laser and nano-mirror projection system—and Composyt Light Labs then employed Lemoptix laser projector into an RGB composited near-eye optics display module. Subsequently Intel acquired the combined companies. Composyt’s early devices stumbled with color compositing, and early last year a monochrome red version based on their technology was briefly deployed by Intel under the name Vaunt. However, mere weeks later Intel dissolved their wearables business unit, and discontinued Vaunt almost as quickly as they launched.
Meanwhile, a small startup in Canada named Thalmic Labs whose most notable prior accomplishment was launching crowd-funded muscle tracking gesture control armband, discretely raised $120M from Intel Capital and Amazon’s Alexa Fund to develop laser to holographic combiner based smartglasses. They seemed an unlikely candidate… until last fall, when Thalmic rebranded as North, and launched Focals. Their color display shows that they solved the color composite registration problem that had bedeviled Composyt Light Labs’ previous implementation. North then took additional investment from the Canadian government, and after a highly successful go to market they acquired the IP behind Intel’s Vaunt glasses (principally Lemoptix and Composyt Light Lab’s laser display patents). This has consolidated most of the laser to holographic combiner IP under one roof.
Laser displays also have one clear advantage over waveguides: they’ve been shown to work within a prescription lens, and further that these lenses can be mass manufactured at scale.
Does This Mean Laser Display Tech Has Pulled Into The Lead?
Not so fast.
One issue that has always plagued near-eye optics, when built in low profile form factor, is field-of-view (FOV). Microsoft’s HoloLens is a mere ~35º FOV. Though insolvent, the META 2 has a 90º FOV, almost triple that of HoloLens… but META 2 is also staggeringly large compared to Focals by North, which are available in a consumer accessible form factor. If HoloLens’ FOV is narrow compared to META’s, then Focals by North’s FOV is positively minuscule, at ~15º. This is of course fine for the alerts use-case they have been developed for, but are far insufficient for any kind of immersive AR experience. In Focals implementation they are also monoscopic, so there will be no depth or dimensionality.
Laser displays also have another disadvantage compared to waveguides: they are “through-the-air projection,” meaning that anything that obstructs the line of sight between the laser projecting from the eye-frame’s temple, and the lens (such as hair) can obstruct the projected image. Buyer-beware, don’t wear Focals with bangs.
So Where Do Waveguides Shine?
Waveguides are enclosed, so they don’t have the obstruction issues of a lasers’ through-the-air projection system. Further, in recent months we’ve seen FOV breakthroughs in waveguide displays. Not much is known about Apple’s acquisition of Akonia Holographics, but it is clear at this point between hires, acquisitions and IP, that Apple is betting on holographic waveguides. The industry leader and pioneer of holographic waveguides, DigiLens, recently disclosed a FOV breakthrough at CES, noting that lenses with a staggering 150º FOV are imminent—the technological limitation no longer being the waveguides themselves, but in developing a light-engine of high enough resolution to drive their FOV.
This would seem to imply that laser to holographic combiner displays’ time in the limelight may be limited, but waveguides are not out of the dark yet. No one has yet demonstrated a waveguide display embedded within a prescription lens, as others have been able to show with laser projectors. Indeed, another Swiss startup named Interglass also makes a waveguide, but their principal IP concerns the robotic manufacturing of resin lens that contain embedded elements, including holographic combiners used for laser displays, not unlike those employed in Focals by North.
Getting a waveguide embedded within a prescription lens, using resin based manufacturing method is the most likely path to a consumer viable stereoscopic 3D, augmented reality smartglasses display system… and last October, North (as Thalmic Labs) was awarded a patent for just that.
A spokesperson for Interglass tells us that embedding a waveguide within a prescription lens is for them a current R&D priority, working together with “other partner companies” for which they are prohibited from disclosing. They noted an imminent patent filing that is of “a different design” than depicted by North’s prescription lens waveguide patent. Joining the competition, DigiLens noted that they too have already been awarded a patent, not for embedding a planar waveguide within a prescription lens, but rather for a “curved diffractive
Will Interglass have their own waveguide into a prescription lens and reveal a prototype before North debuts their own design? Will another player unexpectedly emerge? The race is on.
Where To Now?
The smartglasses field is narrowing. ODG has shut down, META has declared insolvency, and many more should be expect to fold in the coming year. This is not a bad thing, it is a sign that the market is maturing, and we are approaching consumer viability. Keep your eyes open, things are just getting good.
The post Waveguides vs Laser Displays: What You Need To Know To Understand The Smartglasses Market appeared first on UploadVR.
DigiLens: Finanzierung in Höhe von 25 Millionen US-Dollar für AR-Head-up-Displays
Das Unternehmen DigiLens konnte sich in einer weiteren Finanzierungsrunde neue Investments in Höhe von 25 Millionen US-Dollar zur Entwicklung seiner AR-Head-up-Displays (HUD) für Autos sichern. Zu den Investoren zählen Niantic (bekannt für Pokémon Go) und Mitsubishi Chemicals Diamond Edge Ventures.
DigiLens – Dritte Finanzierungsrunde sorgt für Investments in Höhe von 25 Millionen US-Dollar
DigiLens entwickelt Head-up-Displays, transparente Bildschirme, welche die Nutzer dank AR- und Waveguide-Technologie mit wichtigen Informationen versorgen. Besonders in Verkehrsmitteln könnten die HUDs in Zukunft eingesetzt werden. So könnten sie beispielsweise in Automobilen, Flugzeugen oder auch in Motorradhelmen Einsatz finden. Dadurch soll der Blick stets auf die Straße und nach vorne gerichtet bleiben, indem Navigationsgeräte direkt in die Frontscheibe verbaut werden. Bereits im Mai 2018 investierte Continental 25 Millionen US-Dollar in das Unternehmen und die Entwicklung holografischer Displays für Autos.
Image courtesy: DigiLens
Nun konnte sich das AR-Unternehmen in einer dritten Finanzierungsrunde weitere Investments von Niantic und Diamond Edge Ventures, einem Tochterunternehmen von Mitsubishi Chemical, sichern. Dadurch fließen weitere 25 Millionen US-Dollar in die Entwicklung der AR-Bildschirme.
Chris Pickett, CEO von DigiLens, findet freudige Worte zur neu gewonnenen Unterstützung:
“Wir freuen uns sehr, dass Niantic und MCHC zu Continental AG und unseren anderen strategischen Investoren beitreten. Diese Investments sorgen für die Stärkung unseres Ökosystems zur Unterstützung von DigiLens, seinen Lizenznehmern und den Kunden, indem die Herstellung großer Mengen von Displays zu Verbraucherpreisen ermöglicht wird, wie es durch andere Technologien unmöglich wäre.”
Durch die Kooperation mit Mitsubishi Chemical wird zudem ein neues Plastikmaterial bereitgestellt, welches zukünftig in die Waveguide-Displays verbaut wird. Dieses ist nicht nur leichter, sondern zudem kostengünstiger und deutlich bruchfester. Das Unternehmen Niantic ist bekannt für die Unterstützung von AR-Technologie, um diese weltweit in diverse Bereiche zu verbreiten. Zu den weiteren strategischen Partnern von DigiLens zählen Panasonic, Sony, Foxconn und Rockwell Collins.
(Quellen: Upload VR | DigiLens Blog | VentureBeat | Continental)
Der Beitrag DigiLens: Finanzierung in Höhe von 25 Millionen US-Dollar für AR-Head-up-Displays zuerst gesehen auf VR∙Nerds. VR·Nerds am Werk!
DigiLens Raises Funding For Holographic AR Displays From Niantic And Mitsubishi Chemical
DigiLens has raised a new round of funding from Pokemon Go maker Niantic and Mitsubishi Chemical’s Diamond Edge Ventures to develop holographic waveguide displays for augmented reality applications.
Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but it is the third round of funding for DigiLens. The investment will let Sunnyvale, California-based DigiLens continue to make quality holographic waveguide displays for global automobile, enterprise, consumer, avionics and military brands.
Previously, DigiLens raised $25 million in May from Germany’s Continental, a tech company interested in automotive applications for holographic displays. At that point, the company had raised $60 million.
“We are thrilled to have Niantic and MCHC join Continental AG and our other strategic investors,” said Chris Pickett, DigiLens CEO, in a statement. “These investments will strengthen the ecosystem of support for DigiLens, its licensees and their customers for the manufacturing of large volumes of displays at consumer price points that cannot be matched by other technologies.”
DigiLens is creating proprietary nanomaterials and core technologies for transparent, augmented reality (AR) displays for several global industries. The new relationship with Mitsubishi Chemical will result in first-of-its-kind plastic material for waveguide displays that will be lighter, less expensive and nearly unbreakable, which is especially important for eye-glass thin smart glasses and displays for smart helmets.
Niantic makes consumer AR gaming experiences with titles such as Pokemon Go, Ingress, Ingress Prime, and the forthcoming Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. Niantic CEO John Hanke has made no secret that he wants to help push augmented reality technologies forward.
“Niantic has spent years transforming the world into a game board,” said Hanke, in a statement. “DigiLens is on an amazing path, in collaboration with MCHC, to bring more affordable and accessible hardware experiences to players around the world, making it possible for characters and game play to be seamlessly woven into the real world, supported by compelling safe and lightweight plastic AR displays.”
Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings makes advanced materials, and it created Silicon Valley-based Diamond Edge Ventures in July 2018 to engage with startup companies and the venture community worldwide.
“We could not have found a better first investment than DigiLens, as it demonstrates how MCHC’s advanced technology can help create a new market through strategic partnership with a world technology leader.” said Patrick Suel, president of Diamond Edge Ventures, in a statement. “Through this investment, we also become an active participant in an AR/VR technology ecosystem projected to have broad impact across [industries], and we will accelerate adoption of a new computing platform that will benefit users worldwide”
The company has developed a photopolymer material and holographic copy process to manufacture precision diffractive optics by printing rather than traditional expensive methods like precision etching. The resultant eyeglass display has higher efficiency and wider field of view at a low cost.
DigiLens has formed strategic partnerships with other HUD and AR market leaders including Panasonic, Sony, Rockwell Collins, Continental and Foxconn.
This post by Dean Takahashi originally appeared on Venturebeat.
Tagged with: DigiLens
The post DigiLens Raises Funding For Holographic AR Displays From Niantic And Mitsubishi Chemical appeared first on UploadVR.
Toward Truly Glasses-sized AR: First Look at DigiLens’ AR HUD Reference Headset
DigiLens, a developer of transparent waveguide display technology, is creating a reference headset aimed at wide FOV AR with hand-tracking, dubbed AR HUD. The company showed the first glimpse of the headset at AWE USA 2018.
Bolstered by growing interest in wearables and augmented reality, DigiLens recently announced the closure of a $25 million Series C investment to grow the company which has developed what it says is a proprietary, low cost waveguide manufacturing process.
While the company is focused on automotive and wearable HUD devices in the near term, it’s also focusing on longer term on enabling AR headsets with more immersive fields of view. To that end, DigiLens is building a reference headset which it called ‘AR HUD’—not a product itself, but a demo aimed at other companies who may want to manufacture their own AR headsets which incorporate DigiLens’ technology.
DigiLens Founder & CTO Jonathan Waldern offered a glimpse of the device in a presentation at AWE USA 2018 earlier this month, and shared footage and photos of the AR HUD reference headset with Road to VR.
While the current AR HUD prototype has a leg up on many of the smartglasses on the market today, thanks to its 50 degree field of view (between both eyes), Waldern told me at AWE that the company plans to take the AR HUD headset toward an 80 or 90 degree field of view and next year, using a technique using multiple waveguide gratings for an expanded field of view, the company expects to achieve a 150 degree field of view in its AR reference headset. Waldern also says that such displays could be used equally well in a VR mode by simply blocking out the incoming light.
The AR HUD headset seen above is using one of Leap Motion’s ‘Rigel’ sensors, a reference product itself which brings wide field of view hand tracking to the AR HUD headset, though from the video it appears that the AR HUD currently lacks a means of positional head tracking. DigiLens says its in the process of demoing the AR HUD reference headset to potential partners.
While the reference device is quite compact compared to many available or in development AR headsets, DigiLens expects it will be able to further miniaturize the display modules on the left and right of the headset, eventually achieving a truly glasses-sized form-factor. One reason the AR HUD can be so small is that it doesn’t have on-board compute, meaning that it needs to be paired to a host device for rendering, like a computer or portable compute module that could be stored in a backpack, pocket, or on a belt.
The company also touts its high transparency optics as a crucial cultural factor in the widespread adoption of always-on AR headsets—as there’s an underlying discomfort associated with not being able to see the eyes of someone you’re interacting with—compared to other devices which have dimming elements to reduce external light to ensure their image is bright enough to be useful.
The post Toward Truly Glasses-sized AR: First Look at DigiLens’ AR HUD Reference Headset appeared first on Road to VR.
DigiLens is Developing a Waveguide Display for 150 Degree XR Headsets
DigiLens, a developer of transparent waveguide display technology, says it’s working toward a waveguide display which could bring a 150 degree field of view to AR and VR (or XR) headsets. The company expects the display will be available in 2019.
Founded in 2005, DigiLens has developed a proprietary waveguide manufacturing process which allows the company to “print” light manipulating structures (Bragg gratings) into a thin and transparent material wherein light can be guided along the optic and be made to project perpendicularly, forming an image in the user’s eye. While DigiLens isn’t the only company which makes waveguide displays, they claim that their process offers a steep cost advantage compared to competitors. The company says they’ve raised $35 million between its Series A and B investment rounds.
While DigiLens’ displays have primarily been used in HUD-like applications, the company is increasingly positioning its wares toward the growing wearable, AR, and VR industries. At AWE 2018 last week, DigiLens Founder & CTO Jonathan Waldern told me that the company expects to offer a waveguide display suitable for AR and VR headsets which could offer a 150 degree field of view between both eyes. He said that a single display could be suitable for AR and VR modes in the same headset by utilizing a liquid crystal blackout layer which can switch between transparent and opaque, something which DigiLens partner Panasonic has developed. A clip-on light blocker or other type of tinting film ought to be suitable as well.
Key to achieving such a wide field of view will be condensing the display down to a single grating, Waldern said. Until recently the company’s displays used three gratings (one each for red, green, and blue colors), but DigiLens recently announced that their latest displays can use just two gratings by splitting the green channel between the red and blue layers.
As waveguides are limited by the refractive index of the optical material, moving all colors into a single grating will allow multiple gratings to instead be used to transmit multiple slices of the image along each layer and then be aligned during projection, offering a wider field of view than a single grating could support.
While DigiLens plans to make this wide field of view waveguide display available in 2019, it will take longer until we’re likely to see it in a commercially available headset, since it will be up to another company to decide to build a headset using the display. And while DigiLens doesn’t make headsets themselves, it’s likely that it will develop a reference headset as it has done for its other displays.
With its current dual-grating display, DigiLens has partnered with smart helmet company Sena to offer its MonoHUD display (25 degree diagonal FOV) as a HUD for motorcyclists. That product will soon launch priced at $400, which DigiLens says has been made possible by a new “inkjet coating manufacturing process,” which brings improved visual quality and “significantly less cost,” so there’s hope that their wide FOV display could reach consumer price points as well.
The company is also presently developing a reference headset for what they call EyeHUD, a mono display in a glasses-like form factor that’s designed as a smartphone companion device.
The post DigiLens is Developing a Waveguide Display for 150 Degree XR Headsets appeared first on Road to VR.
DigiLens Announces New Two-Layer AR Display For Smart Helmets
DigiLens Inc, the Silicon Valley-based company that is working to revolutionize augmented reality (AR) displays have announced their highly anticipated two-layer AR waveguide display. Dubbed the MonoHUD, it is a thinner and lighter display that can be manufactured at a much faster rate and at a lower cost resulting in impressive affordability. The MonoHUD display will be used within smart helmets to provide motocycyle and bike riders with distraction-free content directly into their line of sight.
The smart helmet application of the MonoHUD display will mean that riders have access to information such as their bike speed, gear change, fuel and oil level status and more all within their line of sight. The information that can be monitored will be different for cycle and motorcycle bikes but both will be able to take advantage of map and route data, including real-time accident warnings, music and other non-distractive smartphone applications without the need to touch or look at the device.
With the new two-layer design, which replaces the original three-layer design, DigiLens will be using a new inkjet coating manufacturing process with significantly increase throughput. Both the innovation in the design and manufacturing process will lead to more parts from the manufacturing line, higher contrast and less cost compared with the last model. The high efficiency of the DigiLens waveguidle ensure riders are able to see with crystal-clear clarity along with digital content that is easy and clear even in bright outdoor environments.
“The increased quality of the two-layer display and the reduction in manufacturing complexity is crucial for our customers,” said DigiLens CEO Chris Pickett. “It lowers the production costs and allows them to get product to market quicker. We are already seeing several innovative use cases like motorcycle HUDs and are seeking developers to show us what’s next.”
Young Optics, a leading display manufacturer, is one of the first to license the Digilens MonoHUD and will be soon supplying it at high volume. Likewise, Sena, a industry leader in Bluetooth communications for motorcycle and action sports, is working with Young Optics to integrate the DigiLens display and its communication system into helmets to allow rides to view their phone and dash information directly through the display.
“We are proud to be working with the world’s top motorcycle and technology manufacturers in order to create innovative and cutting-edge solutions,” said Sena CEO Tae Kim. “By offering the MonoHUD display alongside our premium Bluetooth technology, we are giving riders a safe and next-generation riding experience and look forward to our continued work with Young Optics and DigiLens.”
The MonoHUD AR display makes use of full colour, nHD image resolution and an unobscured user field-of-view of 105 degrees, with an AR display field-of-view of 25 degrees diagonal. With a maximum brightness of 8,000 nits and up to eight hours battery life, it is one of DigiLens biggest achievements to date. VRFocus will be sure to bring you all the latest on the MonoHUB AR display in the future so stay tuned for more.
DigiLens raises $25 million For Automotive Holographic Display
DigiLens of Sunnyvale, California announced today that it has raised $25 million from Continental, a German technology company interested in the automotive application of the startup’s holographic display technology.
The deal will give Continental an 18 percent stake in DigiLens. The two companies are now jointly developing “a waveguide head-up display” (HUD) for cars. The waveguide technology also has potential for aviation and motorcycle helmets, the companies said in a press release.
The partners claim the augmented reality display increases the typical field of view for a driver while reducing the size of components needed.
“By reducing the size of head-up displays, this waveguide technology truly holds the potential to revolutionize the market,” said Thorsten-Alexander Kern, head of HUD product development at Continental and a member of the DigiLens board of directors, in a statement. “Seeing the first promising results, we are happy that we could increase our investment in DigiLens and further work together in order to bring this exciting technology on the road.”
DigiLens has now raised a total of $60 million.
This post by Chris O’Brien originally appeared on VentureBeat.
Tagged with: DigiLens
DigiLens Raises $22 Million For Consumer-Focused Augmented Reality Products
DigiLens raised an additional $22 million in a Series B investment round from Sony, Foxconn, Continental and Panasonic, along with venture investors including Alsop Louie Partners, Bold Capital, Nautilus Venture Partners and Dolby Family Ventures.
Gilman Louie, founder and managing director of Alsop Louie Partners, said the next generation display technology will be glass.
“Data on glass is a critical capability for augmented and mixed reality applications such as gaming, navigation, telepresence, education, industrial, medical and military,” Louie said. “Data on glass is being revolutionized by DigiLens’ full-color and wide field of view optics and AR-HUD breakthroughs.”
Jonathan Waldern, founder and CEO of DigiLens, told UploadVR his company will leverage these strategic relationships to bring to market several augmented reality displays and sensors for enterprise, consumer and transportation applications.
“The round is relatively modest and within that context, we already have these partnerships in place and the contractual agreements go beyond the investments,” Waldern said. “The key point is this helps us with the generic expansion of our business, but it also leaves us in a strong financial position to be alongside these new AR products over the longer term.”
DigiLens will make a “modest increase” in engineering staffing, but the company is also benefiting from the strategic relationships with these partners.
“We’re working on the partner development teams already and that opportunity is priceless in allowing us to push forward with AR technology and displays,” Waldern said.
Waldern said DigiLens has been developing the optical materials and processes to manufacture precision diffractive optics by photographically printing (not etching) the nanostructures. These electrically “Switchable Bragg Gratings” (SBG) allow for a higher efficiency and a wider field of view display in addition to the “printable” manufacturing benefit, according to the company.
“We started off in the aerospace head-up display (HUD) area and bootstrapped the company by developing material for aerospace and military applications,” Waldern said. “Having brought that to market and revolutionized the form factor of the AeroHUD with Rockwell Collins, last year we moved on to applying this technology to auto HUD applications.”
A conventional automobile HUD uses refracted objects like mirrors and lenses. That takes up a lot of space. For example, the projection system in the BMW 7 Series consumes over nine liters of space. Using its diffractive waveguide optics, the company slimmed the HUD down to a small form factor plate that offers a 15 degree to 20 degree field of view versus the standard 7 degree or 8 degrees.
“The HUD is the central human-computer interface and when you look at the instruments and dials on dashboards that have been around for hundreds of years, it’s obvious we need to move on,” Waldern said. “Having a full color HUD will harness the value of all those safety devices for the user and provide instant feedback to the driver.”
Both Continental, which is a top HUD supplier for many car companies, and Panasonic, which has a huge radio and cockpit instrumentation business with companies like GM and Tesla, will help distribute DigiLens’ technology.
“We believe augmented reality HUDs will not only enhance driver safety, but also accelerate automated driving acceptance by enhancing the driver’s confidence in what the car actually sees and knows,” said Helmut Matschi, head of the interior division at Continental, in a prepared statement. “The large AR-HUD display will help keep drivers safe by putting critical travel information at eye level and allowing them to see what the robot car sees.”
Waldern said it will be a few years before this Auto-HUD technology hits the consumer market because of strong regulatory and safety tests and procedures.
Looking even further ahead as autonomous cars become more mainstream, Walderns believes AR technology will play an important role in giving consumers confidence in handing the control of the vehicle over to a robot.
“Auto manufacturers are seeing a wide field of AR-HUD as an important confidence booster in providing visual feedback that the robot car is in control,” Waldern said. “Graphics will change on the HUD as it detects various things around you like a truck in your blind spot. Graphics reinforcement can make the transition from driver to car and back more seamless.”
After partnering with BMW last year on MotoHUD, DigiLens is preparing a roll out for its AR helmet technology in the second half of 2017. That technology brings the full instrumentation of the motorcycle into the field of view of the driver so he or she can theoretically do everything from take phone calls to play Pokemon Go while driving, although Waldern doesn’t recommend playing video games on the road.
“We’re seeing electric bikes and scooters coming through that will need these helmets, so it’s not just for motorcycles,” Waldern said.
DigiLens’ is also working on EyeHUD, which is an eyeglass version of the technology in a small form factor for AR smartglasses.
“We’re teaming with Sony in the wearable smartglass market because their group has been working on this for 10 years now,” Waldern said. “Sony showed Tom Hanks wearing AR glasses at CES five years ago. They have a clear corporate dedication to this technology.”
Hiroshi Mukawa, general manager of the AR Eyeglass Program at Sony, said in a prepared statement the use of DigiLens waveguide technology will help in developin cutting-edge lenses that are much thinner and more transparent than any smart glass on the market today. FoxConn is interested in eyeglass displays for next generation mobile devices, but Waldern said they’re also interested in how they can advance productivity through robotics in manufacturing.
“Augmented reality is a challenge, in part, because the devices are restrained by the laws of physics and not Moore’s Law,” said G. Chen, CTO at Foxconn, in a prepared statement. “We think diffractive optics holds the key to AR, but writing millions of tiny optic structures is best done photographically, using nano self-assembly, not expensive precision etching like HoloLens. We need to break the manufacturing price barrier. With DigiLens waveguide diffractive optics, they seem to have overcome the most nagging technical problems and we see a very bright future for them.”
Over the next couple years DigiLens AR technology will impact both the consumer and enterprise markets across multiple sectors.