A press conference at the 2019 NAB Show was used to launch the Immersive Digital Experiences Alliance (IDEA). Its mission is to create a suite of royalty-free specifications that address all immersive media formats, including emerging light field technology. Founding members, including CableLabs, Charter Communications, Light Field Lab Inc, Otoy, and Visby, created IDEA to […]
A Tour of the Vuzix Waveguide Factory
By Chris Chinnock I recently had the opportunity to meet with Vuzix CEO Paul Travers and get a tour of their waveguide manufacturing and AR headset assembly facility in Rochester, New York. These waveguides are the key optical element in their new Blade AR headsets. I am aware of only a few companies that have […]
INT is a New Player for High-Density Displays
by Chris Chinnock, Insight Media I recently had a chance to speak with executives from a new company, Taiwan-based INT Tech, which is short for Innovation and Transformation. They are a technology development house that has created AMOLED displays on glass with an industry-leading 2228 pixels per inch (ppi). That’s in the range of AMOLED […]
Microsoft Scores with $480M Hololens Army Contract
by Chris Chinnock, Insight Media Microsoft announced they have received a $480M contract from the U.S. Army to develop special versions of their Hololens device dubbed the Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS). The contract calls for the delivery of 2550 units in the next two years, but options could enable the Army to purchase up […]
Is Better Supply Chain Coordination the Key to AR/VR Adoption?
by Chris Chinnock, Insight Media Adoption of VR has been a rocky road. Early estimates of headset sales fell by the wayside, although they are respectable in the low millions range. The same can be said of the AR market where early consumer enthusiasm is giving way a belief that enterprise applications will lead the […]
BOE, Olightek and Kopin form JV for OLED-on-Silicon Manufacturing
One of the display technologies that is being used in Virtual Reality (VR) headsets is OLED-on-Silicon. Recently, a new partnership was formed between US-based Kopin and two Chinese partners: BOE and Olightek. The three have agreed to form a Joint Venture (JV) to build new state-of-the-art OLED-on-Silicon manufacturing facility in China to serve anticipated needs […]
News Appetizers for Thanksgiving
Yes, it is Thanksgiving tomorrow in the U.S. In thinking about a topic to cover for the day before Thanksgiving, I reviewed some recent news for ideas. Rather than expand on one of the topics, I thought I might summarize a few items I found of interest – and make some comments. For example, I […]
DigiLens Secures $22M from Key Strategic Partners
DigiLens, a provider of diffractive waveguide technology for Augmented Reality (AR) and Head-up Displays (HUD), announced they have closed a Series B round of investment to the tune of $22M. “The round was oversubscribed and met our key objectives of securing investment from strategic partners in the market segments we are focused on, namely AR […]
Kopin’s New OLED Microdisplay Foundry Model is Innovative
Kopin has just issued a press release that states their intention to enter the OLED microdisplay market, offering panels that will serve augmented and virtual reality applications. At CES 2017, they will announce more detail on the first panel and demonstrate it in novel optical solutions as well. I will get a sneak peak at […]