Powered By Blogger

Saturday, May 31, 2014


#4: Jason Jerald on VR latency, simulator sickness & presence + Conference highlights from 3DUI, IEEE VR, Neurogaming & SIGGRAPH : In other words Oculus' Latency Expert hasn't the slightest sense of surety that Simulator Sickness can ever be conquered

40 Minutes on if interested. Goal apparently is to make fewer people less sick. Not sure that's going to get the cattle to Abilene.

http://voicesofvr.com/jason-jerald-on-vr-latency-simulator-sickness-presence-conference-highlights-from-3dui-ieee-vr-neurogaming-siggraph/

In the Vein of recent stories like DARPA Weaponizes Oculus Rift, Oculus Rift helps Norwegian Army to drive Tank and Dying Granny uses Oculus Rift to walk outside again


Samsung Oculus VR headset: neat, but not unique


Another slot-in HMD, this would be about the 10th Version of this stupid idea. $20 worth of plastic and Fresnel Lenses, compared to Oculus a cheap way to get sick.

http://www.slashgear.com/samsung-oculus-vr-headset-neat-but-not-unique-30331142/


http://venturebeat.com/2014/05/30/samsung-rumored-to-be-working-on-vr-headset-with-oculus/


The company said to be negotiating with Google to supply OLED Microdisplays for the next generation of Google Glass


From a distance the company seems inert. 51% of the company is owned by Photonis Holding who bought in as the company was on the verge of shutting it's doors. The only company I'm sure they supply is DEP Imaging which is a subsidiary of Microoled's parent company. Photonis claims NASA, US Army, Navy, various NATO Defense Ministries as customers but I sure as hell can't come up with one piece of kit from these that use Microoled displays.
 eMagin CEO Sculley has on many occasions dismissed Microoled as a viable competitor.  Headscratcher.

http://www.microoled.net/

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Um...yes : The Awkward Face of Google Glass


Krishna Help Us


The Election of Mr. Modi has once more raised that the possibility that a Raytheon & Lockheed Javelin FGM Deal with Indian MOD might be on again, after an on-again, off-again, on-again, off-again, on-again, off-again series of failed talks between these entities. Please make it stop.

Research and Markets: OLED Microdisplay Market Report 2014

Reading this report, you'll learn all about:

- Why OLED microdisplays are better than LCD or DLP ones 

- The disadvantages of OLED microdisplays
- What kind of displays are available on the market today
- New technologies on the horizon

http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/gx9xjm/oled_microdisplay

Six15 JTAC Kit (eMagin Inside)




ARC4 Augmented Reality Technology

Why DARPA’s Augmented Reality Software Is Better Than Google Glass : So that's why ULTRAVIS looks like Q-Warrior


http://www.defenseone.com/technology/2014/05/why-darpas-augmented-reality-software-better-google-glass/85291/?oref=d-skybox

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" "Call me Ishmael" and soon a line that will be branded into the minds of men from the Gospel According to Luckey, the Hagiography continues, a stunning revelation, "He decided to wear flip-flops."

this is just a stratagem VR God uses so when he throws up it's not on his shoes.


"Palmer Luckey likes to go barefoot. However, when he met the men who would become his business partners in Oculus VR, a company that was recently sold to Facebook for $2 billion, he decided to wear flip-flops." 

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/news/palmer-luckey-and-the-virtual-reality-resurrection-16834760

Head Mounted Display (HMD) Market by Products, Components, Applications & Geography - Global Analysis and Forecast to 2020

http://www.electronics.ca/store/head-mounted-display-hmd-market-analysis.html

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

If a certain company had an employee who at a previous job oversaw the development of a strategic system that

guaranteed tactical superiority in degraded visual environments for Dismounted Soldiers and now after two generations of that program is overseeing a much more advanced system that enhances and extends that superiority a wise and prudent manager would not say "the teeniest thing about what he is doing."

"I Can't Go On!" *pukes* THE STACKS on the Oculus Rift : Not just this developer bud, every developer, at 18:00 Minute Mark he describes the "fun" he had playing Stacks

Not Waterproof yet and likes to use Google Glass outdoors? A Big Hmm...OLED displays could accomadate on both counts




Brin also talked about how he prefers to use Google Glass outside and when asked about it being waterproof, he simply teased that it’s not waterproof “yet.” The Google cofounder and head Google X leader is still on stage at the event and we’re live blogging it all right here. He just unveiled a self-driving car with no steering wheel, so who knows what’s next. 

http://9to5google.com/2014/05/27/sergey-brin-google-glass-will-be-a-commercial-product-this-year-give-or-take/


Thanks Opt, now we know DRS is the recipient of the April shipments


BAE Systems, DRS Technologies Win Army Contracts for Night-Vision Technology

Revenge of the mx officer X 10 with the Complications the F-35 Presents to Maintenance Crews and the HMDS is the most complicated system on the plane

Friday, May 23, 2014

Head Mounted Display (HMD) Market worth $12.28 Billion by 2020

Some the Prominent players in the global Head Mounted Display (HMD) Market are:
  • BAE Systems Plc. (France)
  • Elbit System Limited (U.K.)
  • Emagin Corp. (U.S.)
  • Epson Corp. (Japan)
  • Kopin Corp. (U.S.)
  • Optis North America (U.S.)
http://us7.campaign-archive2.com/?u=580d152b50b736d2f1ff6cb45&id=8b1957c09e&e=6e5239e2da

Buy Ron's Book


Hopefully there's no Sports Illustrated Curse about being on the Cover.

http://www.oled-info.com/services/market-reports/microdisplays/


Sure, this looks like something you could plug into a Cell Phone

Galaxy S 5 -- Water Resistance

At the Needham Conference

eMagin CEO Sculley was asked, I paraphrase, "if anyone was interested in their prior art or IP?," Sculley, "not so much IP, only manufacturing processes." he has mentioned on a few occasions that when they "visit certain companies they bring a headset, plug it into a cellphone and fire it up." The live broadcast of the Needham Conference allowed for one last question from the attendees and it was "Is Samsung a competitor?", Sculley answered "No", this last bit was cut off the replay. At the same Conference  Sculley was asked "if OLEDs could be made as cheaply as LCD". Sculley answered "Yes even cheaper and if you don't believe me ask Samsung and they will tell you the same." Recently rehired for two more years VP of Business Development, Jerry Carollo who designed small form factor HMDs for Intevac has made numerous trips to Korea, destination unknown. Early reports are calling this Samsung device a VR Headset which is a result of being infected with the deadly virus Oculovirus Vomitus, are calling this a rival to the DiveMask, no way, this something portable, power efficient and is much likely to be a Media Viewer along the lines of the Zeiss Cinemizer OLED.

Samsung to invest $24b in facilities

http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20140521001294

Samsung sees profits fall in chips, displays


Unlike LG Display, which is focusing on large-sized OLEDs and LCDs with ultra high-definition (UHD) picture quality, Samsung is pushing strategies to sell more OLED panels for various mobile products. 

Samsung is making a VR headset for its phones and tablets: Getting Goosebumps

http://www.engadget.com/2014/05/22/samsung-vr-headset/

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Army to Equip Soldiers With New Sensors for Night Targeting: Heard scuttlebutt that these contracts have escalated to over a $Billion

ENVG III + FWS (eMagin Inside)

http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/archive/2014/April/Pages/ArmytoEquipSoldiersWithNewSensorsforNightTargeting.aspx

Under SecArmy Carson stresses network modernization, thanks troops at Fort Bliss

http://www.army.mil/article/126240/Under_SecArmy_Carson_stresses_network_modernization__thanks_troops_at_Fort_Bliss/

With E3 Around the Bend It's Time to Drag the Fortaleza Rumors Out of Cold Storage


http://sm1ttysm1t.com/xbox-ones-price-drop-just-harbinger-larger-announcement-fortaleza-coming-soon/

If Anyone Within the Sound of My Voice Is Going to eMagin's Annual Meeting

it may be useful to get their take on the challenges of Simulator Sickness in Marketing the Next Generation of Head Mounted Displays.

In light of this newfound recognition of Simulator Sickness and It's Effects It's Safe To Say... Oculus is


As Dismounted Soldier Training System is Set To Expand Into Homeland Security, State Dept, Healthcare and Probably the Machine Gun Wielding Rambos at the Dept of Agriculture: Living in a House of Mirrors: Intelligent Decisions Taps Dexter Conrad to Join Training & Simulation Team

This is odd in light of the Call for White Papers on reducing Sim Sickness but there it is.

"He will be responsible for expanding ID’s training and simulation program within the Department of Defense and in civilian agencies including the Department of Homeland Security and Department of State, as well as the healthcare space.
ID’s creativity and entrepreneurial drive has led the global solution provider into the training and simulation market, identifying a need for a fully immersive, transportable combat training system that allows squads located across the country to train together virtually using repeatable combat scenarios. To serve this demand, ID developed the Dismounted Soldier Training System (DSTS), a program of record with the U.S. Army that has trained as many as 37,000 U.S. soldiers per year."

"Yes please, I'll have the Crow"


New reports of Simulator Sickness in DSTS causing low usage rates.

https://www.fbo.gov/index?id=969ca79bde59fcbde82a9b69b76d4783

Better Stuff, More Quickly: McRaven: SOCOM Cannot Backslide After Afghanistan


"Wherever SOCOM’s missions are after Afghanistan — service leaders have said the military will overall shift its focus to the Asia-Pacific and Africa regions — SOF must be well equipped with the latest technology, McRaven said.

He touted the command’s ability to rapidly acquire cutting edge technology and slice through the red tape that other services often have to face."

http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/blog/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=1512#.U3y2oHEUqgs.twitter

DARPA Presumably Will Be Sending Royalty Checks To BAE, Indistinguishable From Q-Warrior, Form Apparently Follows Function: DARPA’s ULTRA-Vis Augments Reality For Foot Troops


Waveguide, no indication of Display type, no bud it is nothing like the Oculus Rift in performance, technology or purpose.

http://breakingdefense.com/2014/05/darpas-wearable-display-augments-reality-for-foot-troops/

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

ZeniMax v Oculus Complaint_As Filed_21-May-2014

http://www.scribd.com/doc/225491347/ZeniMax-v-Oculus-Complaint-As-Filed-21-May-2014

Pay the man...

Feelgood Story of the Day: ZeniMax Sues Oculus And Palmer Luckey: "Don't worry General Luckey, your Zombie Army of Cheeto Dust Encrusted (erp) Basement Dwellers Have Your Back"


http://techcrunch.com/2014/05/21/zenimax-sues-oculus-and-palmer-luckey/

No shit Sherlock: If eMagin and Vuvix were the VR Pioneers Oculus and their minions are Custer and the 7th Cavalry: When you die in VR, you could get sick in real life: The challenges of Eve: Valkyrie

They died with their Dive Mask on.


"It can be hard to read text while wearing a virtual reality headset, and at any rate reading information takes a few fractions of a second that you don’t want to give up in battle. "It’s better to use symbols; everything is moving so fast it’s better to be able to instantly recognize things," O’Brien said.
They also found out it’s disorienting when your virtual body doesn’t match what your real body is doing. Your brain doesn’t know how to deal with your in-game avatar moving its arms and flipping switches while your real arms remain stationary. Imagine phantom limb syndrome, but in reverse.
The trick is to create something that makes the player uncomfortable and unsettled, but without making them feel physically ill. Dying in the game should be shocking, but not to the extent that it makes one unable to play. They're even discussing how to explain the minimum system requirements to play the game, as things become very uncomfortable when played under 60 frames-per-second. You don't need to just be able to run the game, but to run it smoothly to avoid sickness in the player."

http://www.polygon.com/2014/5/14/5716632/eve-valkyrie-oculus-morpheus-sickness

USAF seeks new helmet-mounted display for unnamed aircraft



http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/usaf-seeks-new-helmet-mounted-display-for-unnamed-aircraft-397267/

Turn your mobile into a VIRTUAL REALITY HEADSET: £40 harness uses phone's sensors to track movement and play games "Damn, I could have spent 40 Euro and not $2 Billion to make one of these!"


Poland's entry into the Dive Mask HMD sweepstakes.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2634943/Turn-mobile-VIRTUAL-REALITY-HEADSET-40-harness-uses-phones-sensors-track-movement-play-games.html

Samsung Gear Blink to rival Google Glass

http://www.thedrum.com/news/2014/05/21/samsung-gear-blink-rival-google-glass

The Hagiography of the Idiot Savant and The Vomit Machine Rolls On, what a Bunch of Melodramatic Bullshit: Opening: "As he flew from Orange County to Seattle..." How about "In a World where somebody would pay you $2 Billion for a Cellphone Display Duct taped to your head..."




with a Big Lie stirred into the gruel. Never was Simulator Sickness a problem for Vuzix or eMagin. It IS a huge problem for the Oculus Rift, one that cannot be overcome as currently designed.

http://www.wired.com/2014/05/oculus-rift-4/




Special Operations Forces may get 'Iron Man' suit



http://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Special-Operations-Forces-may-get-Iron-Man-suit-5494521.php

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Pay The Man

Binoc for Exelis ISS, eMagin Inside to Combine Night Vision With Data and Video Transmission and Recording

Rosen and Hughes Get a Free Trip To Paris and all I get is a lousy share price


http://www.eurosatory.com/

http://www.eurosatory.com/Portals/0/Documents/PDF/exhibitorslistregisteredatthisdate.pdf

The Previous PR reporting the stop shipment to three defense companies

for connection problems related to a wire bond issue could have been read as indicating ONE display was found with this problem, now we know it was, to a least one customer, a "few" failures out of "many thousands shipped." Many thousands shipped to one customer, this customer is customer #1 to whom displays are currently being shipped. "Many" means a large number. I have no idea what the requirements are for customer #3 and their need for a display that can handle "high environmental requirements". The only way his two statements make sense is if a Special Operator leaves his device in a hot car in the summer. Or, one can surmise, just being in Yemen or Syria is like being in a hot car in the summer. But I've never heard of heat causing system failures in these theaters with these devices before.

"As we announced during the first quarter, we received notifications to stop shipments from three customers pending a review of possible interconnect problems. Our investigation says that the three customers have a similar issue, but each resulted from different mechanisms. One customer had a few failures over many thousands of displays shipped. This was our largest display volume, largest runner.

And obviously the customer is interested in using OLED or safe to say you would not call that company a customer. That statement indicates that the customer is new to the device they are building or use a different display system in a currently fielded device. Neither of those possibilities give me the slightest inkling what the hell the device is he is talking about.


""The third customer has a very high environmental requirement that goes beyond our maximum rating. However, the customer is very interested in using OLED.

Head Mounted Display (HMD) Market worth $12.28 Billion by 2020

The major company profiles in the report are - BAE Systems Plc. (France), Elbit System Limited (U.K.), Emagin Corp. (U.S.), Epson Corp. (Japan), Kopin Corp. (U.S.), Optis North America (U.S.), Rockwell Collins Inc. (U.S.), Sony Corp. (Japan), Thales Group (France), Systems Technology Incorporated (U.S.)


http://www.finanznachrichten.de/nachrichten-2014-05/30334677-head-mounted-display-hmd-market-worth-dollar-12-28-billion-by-2020-008.htm

The Effort to reinvent the broken wheel limps on...


http://venturebeat.com/2014/05/19/the-post-oculus-boom-survios-raises-4m-round-for-free-moving-virtual-reality/

Changing Missions Means New Equipment Needs for Special Operators May 2014 By Stew Magnuson

"Special operators are also big customers for night vision goggles. An ideal pair would fuse night vision with thermal sensors and be digital rather than analog, he said."

They are coming from Intevac with eMagin OLED displays. Demoed at SPIEDSS in Baltimore week before last.


http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/archive/2014/May/Pages/ChangingMissionsMeansNewEquipmentNeedsforSpecialOperators.aspx

EasyJet Plans To Deploy Unmanned Aircraft To Inspect Fleet

http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/2014-05-19/easyjet-plans-deploy-unmanned-aircraft-inspect-fleet

Monday, May 19, 2014

Looks like there are some Remington 2020s on the Workbench as of April 30


http://impactnews.com/austin-metro/round-rock-pflugerville-hutto/trackingpoint/

Didn't take long to walk that back, yeah it's probably muscular but binocular rivalry, low res and contrast contribute to eyestrain

http://www.businessinsider.com/google-glass-consultant-eye-discomfort-2014-5#ixzz32AxEpRzD

Google’s Eye Doctor Admits Glass Can Cause Pain The headset makes your eye do things it was never meant to do, ophthalmologist says: Uh-oh, just wait until they get around to Oculus

Pioneers always get arrows in their ass.

http://betabeat.com/2014/05/googles-eye-doctor-admits-glass-can-cause-pain/

Tobii Glasses 2 - New Generation Wearable Eye Tracker

Rockwell Collins To Debut Helmet Mounted Display System For F-35 At CANSEC 2014

http://blogs.ottawacitizen.com/2014/05/17/rockwell-collins-to-debut-helmet-mounted-display-system-for-f-35-at-cansec-2014/

So much for Perritt Management, they took a powder

http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/eman/institutional-holdings/decreased?page=2

but there are some newbies as well

http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/eman/institutional-holdings

Chris Grayson at Giganti offers some interesting speculation on the pending Beats acquisition by Apple

and the possibility that headphones could be a head mounted display- media platform with music as the hook. Very clever if true. Headphones solves a lot of ergonomic problems, stability, not seen as invasive like Glass, multi-media, secure to the person, very interesting concept.

http://gigantico.squarespace.com/

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Rumor: Remington is ditching the 2020

moderately priced PGF System they licensed from TrackingPoint (eMagin Inside). In addition to fleeing Cuomo in New York "We are going to Texas and you can go to Hell", Remington is having a shitload of problems, recall of the 700 one notable example, apparently they could not effectively market the 2020, ah well, it's real future is in the military unless DARPA finally get's OneShot together but that one looks a little dated though already.

The next version of Google Glass is reportedly already in development Google Glass 2 is in the works

and it would seem that Google is forging ahead with LCOS displays with the report that Crystal Tech will supply improved coating for Gen II Glass.  I note that before eMagin's presentation at Sidoti CEO Sculley was not the least bit shy about invoking the words "Google Glass" on many occasions in public and at least one private presentation I'm aware of. Since Sidoti and the recent CC it's been instead "High Brightness Display" as the plug-in for the former terminology. In the recent report Mr. Sculley indicated new investor interest in their "High Brightness Displays." Remember transpose a few letters in eMagin and you get eNigma.

http://www.techradar.com/us/news/portable-devices/the-next-version-of-google-glass-is-reportedly-already-in-development-1248697

I'm so proud eMagin made this list: Apple Faced More Patent Lawsuits Than Any Other Company in 2013: To Big to Fail, No, Big Enough to Sue, Yes!

http://mashable.com/2014/05/17/apple-patent-lawsuit/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss

"because you can’t immerse people as much in the environment then if you don’t have the entire real world blocked out,” Quarles said:NSF Spends $195K to Study Cybersickness in Virtual Reality Physical Rehab

That's like saying "How can I drown you if you don't let me submerge your nose AND mouth!"
When will they figure out this fully immersive "Presence" that the genius supposedly discovered is at best a delusion and at worst a hoax. Certain people want this so badly they refuse to accept the obvious.

"In virtual reality physical therapy, patients could wear goggles, or even be placed in front of a big screen, Quarles said. In some cases, patients use a fully immersive head-mounted display, which can be problematic, because it can make those with disabilities more susceptible to falls.
“It’s similar to what happens when if you have balance issues and you close your eyes, then there’s a significantly higher chance that you’re just gonna fall over and not necessarily realize that you’re falling over,” he said.
“So one of the things is we have to unblock the periphery or the sides of the head mounted display, which is kind of annoying, because you can’t immerse people as much in the environment then if you don’t have the entire real world blocked out,” Quarles said."

Friday, May 16, 2014

When I saw it I was hoping Google had hired Carollo away : EMAGIN CORP FILES (8-K) Disclosing Change in Directors or Principal Officers, Financial Statements and Exhibits

http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2014/05/16/7833827.htm

Google acquires Word Lens app recently featured in Apple’s iPhone ad “Powerful”

yes, let's start Buyout Wars. This would be handy with AR Glasses in places like, oh Tokyo for example.

http://9to5mac.com/2014/05/16/google-acquires-word-lens-app-recently-featured-in-apples-iphone-ad-powerful/

Let's evolve into AMOLED displays shall we?

eMagin CEO Sculley mentioned Medical Application for A/R Glasses at the recent CC: Google Glass handed out to medical students at UC Irvine

http://www.cnet.com/news/google-glass-handed-out-to-all-medical-students-at-uc-irvine/

Staff Shakeup In Google’s Glass Division


http://wearableworldnews.com/2014/05/16/staff-shakeup-googles-glass-division/

Oculus picks up Google Glass lead engineer Adrian Wong : In the Land of the Blind the One-Eyed Man is King: Did he jump or was he pushed? Google applying gallons of Windex to Glass



http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/217908/Oculus_picks_up_Google_Glass_lead_engineer_Adrian_Wong.php

Revisit Fraunhofer's PR on High Brightness OLED Microdisplays

acquires a little more je ne c'est quoi, piquancy?, savor? in light of the fact that Fraunhofer and eMagin have a Gentleman's Bet on who will get accomplish the Direct Pattern High Brightness Display first. I wonder if Vegas has a prop wager on this, no, maybe the Irish Bookies. No Pete Rose complications, eMagin bet on themselves.

Fraunhofer COMEDD in collaboration with its partner Orthogonal Inc. (Rochester, NY) explores novel approach for OLED micro-structuring, which is called Orthogonal Photolithography. "Orthogonal Photolithography is a patented technology, which allows direct patterning of organic material on CMOS-backplanes.", explains Dr. Alexander Zakhidov, leader of the development group. "So, high-resolution OLED microdisplays for head-mounted displays and data eye-glasses with brightness of 5000 cd/m² are now possible." Such high brightness micro-displays are required for augmented reality applications where the virtual image has to blend in smoothly with the daylight environment."

Persistent Vision:Wearable tech like Google Glass heralds bright future for newspapers

http://www.siliconrepublic.com/digital-life/item/36467-wearable-tech-like-google-g

As long as it has a crappy display this effort is literally, it seems, trying to put lipstick on a pig.


https://plus.google.com/+GoogleGlass/posts/gUYZEZGsQ6H

Thursday, May 15, 2014

No HMD but VR for Military Training will continue to grow

How Google Glass and smartwatches are poised to disrupt medicine

http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/features/interactive-design/how-google-glass-smartwatches-are-poised-disrupt-medicine/

$18B Market for Enterprise Wearables by 2019 Wednesday, May 14, 2014 | ABI Research

http://www.pcbdesign007.com/pages/zone.cgi?a=100399

Kopin Patent: BLUETOOTH OR OTHER WIRELESS INTERFACE WITH POWER MANAGEMENT FOR HEAD MOUNTED DISPLAY

http://appft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PG01&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=%2220140132507%22.PGNR.&OS=DN/20140132507&RS=DN/20140132507

30 AR Glasses, that sounds familiar, any of you interested in an OLED Display?, just call 425-284-5220 and ask for Mr. Sculley


Samsung Gear Glass smart glasses launching in September?

http://www.whatmobile.net/2014/05/14/samsung-gear-glass-smart-glasses-launching-september/

“VIRTSIM” From Motion Reality Provides Virtual Reality Physical Environment Simulator (eMagin HMD)


http://healthysimulation.com/5424/virtsim-from-motion-reality-provides-virtual-reality-physical-environment-simulator/

LogicGlass

Smart glasses show the road to take

http://www.cnet.com/news/smart-glasses-show-the-road-to-take/

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Well said



"The problem of virtual reality lies in its uniqueness. It is made so that it can be amended in any way and taste, virtual reality, amuse us, fills our day, delivers us everything we need. With just a few clicks and we little by little become passive limited individual who lives in the virtual world, because it can be a world created by our ideals and visions, and can be more easily modified than the real world. Not all people reach this stage of addiction, but at this rate soon technology and virtualization will become an indispensable part of life for all people with access to them. The virtual world is so unique and perfect that we live in him and thus forget what actually constitutes the real world."

Trying to think of applications for Microdisplays in Head Mounted Display that require greater operating temperature than what is currently available in eMagin Displays


Where are the environmental conditions more harsh than the deserts of the Middle East or the Mountains of Afghanistan or a submerged Thermal Weapons Sight in the Philippine jungle? eMagin mentioned a company who required a display that had more stringent environmental requirements than they could spec out but still wanted OLED displays. Honeywell is a current eMagin customer who make a system called Fire Warrior which is a direct view monocular display, not nearly the FOV or availble symbology in a mask like above. How about high contrast and brightness while looking at an out of control fire? An AR system like this would definitely enhance Situational Awareness. A possibility where wide operating range is imperative. Just a guess.

http://www.tuvie.com/c-thru-smoke-diving-helmet-future-vision-of-fire-fighting-equipment-by-omer-haciomeroglu/

You ain't seen nothing yet Alex, this gentleman is easily impressed

The second most expensive single component in Google Glass is also its most defining feature: its head-mounted liquid-crystal on silicon (LCOS) projector display. IHS said it estimates the cost of the Himax Technologies LCOS projection element made by Taiwan's Himax Technologies at US$20, accounting for 15% of the total Glass BOM.
"The LCOS display is the sine qua non of the Glass," Rassweiler noted. "Just as e-readers wouldn't exist without their e-Ink screens, Glass wouldn't be possible without the LCOS display. The display is pretty slick, providing a near-eye viewing experience that must be seen to be believed."

Augmented reality. What is augmented reality?

CEO Sculley's Remarks: eMagin CC : The text is hard to read but if you feel like wading through it

eMagin (EMAN) Q1 2014 Results Earnings Conference Call May 13, 2014 4:45 PM ET
Andrew Sculley - Chief Executive Officer and President
Thanks, Paul, and thank you, everyone, for being on the call today. I’ll begin with some corporate highlights, and then Paul will discuss our financial results. Following Paul’s remarks, I’ll update you on recent developments, and we’ll open the call up for questions.
As we announced during the first quarter, we received notifications to stop shipments from three customers pending a review of possible interconnect problems. Our investigation says that the three customers have a similar issue, but each resulted from different mechanisms. One customer had a few failures over many thousands of displays shipped. This was our largest display volume, largest runner.
Even though this was likely a low-risk variation, we’ve taken steps to implement improvements in our processes. These improvements involve new equipment for more accurate material placement and new materials. We have resumed shipments to this customer.
Shipments to the second customer are expected to resume in late June. We’re working on the qualification of the new processes that I mentioned for this customer. The third customer has a very high environmental requirement that goes beyond our maximum rating. However, the customer is very interested in using OLED.
We’re implementing the improvements I mentioned before, and are working to make the interconnect fit this demanding environmental profile. We expect to meet these needs in late July. Please note that this very difficult environmental requirement has not been a problem for our OLED and OLED seal system, which confirms our confidence in these systems.
I’ll mention here that we’re implementing our improved seal system. This seal system has passed the test of 85 degrees Centigrade - that’s about 180 degrees Fahrenheit - and 85% relative humidity, for 1,000 hours. We’re aware of one well-known OLED company that has stated that a test of 60 degrees Centigrade, or 140 degrees Fahrenheit, and 90% relative humidity for 100 hours, results in a 9-year life.
Thanks, Paul. As a reminder for those of you who are new to imagine, our active matrix OLED microdisplay technology - and sometimes you see that written in the industry as AMOLED - this technology leads the industry in a number of important areas. First, we offered the highest brightness in both monochrome green and also yellow, I should mention, and color. These displays have very high contrast, even at the extreme end of the luminance.
These high luminance displays have the advantage of lower power for normal luminance and longer life times. That is, a 5x improvement in power and a 13x improvement in lifetime for the monochrome displays running at a normal luminance.
As we have mentioned before, we are working on an ultrahigh brightness color display. For reference, the highest high-brightness color display we have today, called the XLS, is rated at 1,000 candelas per meter squared, or [nits]. And just as a reminder, your television is probably 350 nits, or if it’s a very bright one, maybe 450.
The new technology, this ultrahigh brightness color, will be above 5,000 nits. Today, we are working on a low resolution demonstration that we expect during this half of the year. Next will be high-resolution prototypes that we expect to be available in the second half of the year.
We’ve already demonstrated our technique of patterning for two colors, so we feel confident that this is a successful path forward. We are very excited about this. Our progression for our technology is illustrated by these new technologies. Often, we produce new products for military use. Today, fighter jets and helicopter pilot helmets use monochrome green displays. Our displays will work very well here, because of the high contrast.
Today, the fighter pilots use LCOS displays, which is liquid crystal on silicon, and they’ve complained about the LCOS displays that are in the helmets today. They’ve asked the military to eliminate the green glow when the display is turned up bright. This screen glow is the result of relatively low contrast, and by that I mean very simply, when the display is running brightly, you can’t turn off precisely all the other pixels, so everything appears a little greenish.
And that’s because the contrast ratio of an LCOS display is about 1,000:1 at best. Our monochrome green display has a 50,000:1 contrast ratio. That is, you can turn off the pixels, even when it’s running at 17,000 nits and above. And it also has about 100,000:1 contrast ratio at normal luminance. Again, these fighter pilots want to see these very bright icons during the day, and they want to see night vision at night, so you have to have a full range with these displays.
To our knowledge, this performance beats any display in use today. The companies working on avionic helmets have also asked us for color, hence our ultra brightness color displays will work for these avionics applications. But here, we need to continue to extend the brightness range for color beyond 10,000 nits. You’ll recall earlier I said our first displays will be 5,000 nits and above.
Outside the military, there are many companies working on augmented reality near-eye applications. You may have heard at least of one company, if you follow microdisplays. At CES earlier this year, we saw about 30 companies discussing their augmented reality near-eye headsets. Our color displays of 5,000-plus nits will work well here.
Many of the current headsets use LCOS displays, and for consumer applications, they will experience the same issue that the fighter pilots do, caused by low contrast, hence our color displays with their outstanding contrast, low power, and great environmental stability will have a great advantage here too.
I should mention that as far as we know, no other OLED companies can produce ultrahigh brightness color displays of 5,000-plus nits, and at our very small pixel sizes. To the best of our knowledge, the other microdisplay companies do not have a viable direct patterning technique for OLED, and the companies producing cellphone or TV sized OLED displays cannot pattern the OLED at our small pixel sizes. We are uniquely qualified to advance in this market for ultrahigh brightness displays.
Now, I’d like to update you on our other progress. We have a digital SVGA display that we’re discussing with customers. This display will provide our customers with all of the advantages of the latest technology we have built into our digital displays, including things like automatic correction over luminance and temperature for color, full dynamic range for low luminance, and the virtual elimination of motion artifacts.
This display will ultimately take the place of our SVGA Plus display, which is our largest seller today. It is in qualification testing and we expect to release it for production this quarter. We already have delivered prototypes to a number of customers who are looking at the display for their next-generation equipment.
The SXGA096 is a 9.6 micron SXGA, hence it is smaller than our current SXGA. Its size is about the same as our SVGA Plus. Again, that’s our current major selling display. This means that ultimately it will be similar in cost, but at a higher resolution. We have samples that we are evaluating. Our customers are also interested in looking at these.
On the last earnings call, I mentioned that we have delayed the SXGA096 to capture a contract to build a custom display, and we, fourth quarter, successfully built this custom display. It’s in the hands of the customer for evaluation with an ultrahigh brightness OLED structure and the customer’s evaluations are going well. We anticipate the customer and we taking the next steps on this display.
Our color OLED XLS technology provides the highest brightness for color OLED microdisplay available in the marketplace today. It provides, as I mentioned earlier, 1,000 nits in full color, and is capable of a contrast ratio of 100,000:1. This allows our customers to use our display in see-through, augmented reality applications for military such as training and simulation, as well as commercial apps such as gaming, wearables, etc.
We have made some recent improvements in this structure. We never rest here. We’ve made these improvements that extend its lifetime. The full qualification of these displays with the new lifetime chemistry products remains on track for completion in the third quarter. We see very strong interest in this display from customers.
As a reminder, this OLED stack technology is available to all of our resolutions, from the VGA all the way up to the WUSGA. One other very important customer need for this very high brightness display is we have some customers that have outstanding optics in every facet, except they’re inefficient, and therefore the very high brightness OLED takes care of that inefficiency.
Not only is it high brightness, but it’s also power efficient, so it matches well with an inefficient optic. Of course, it matches well with an efficient optic.
We continued deliveries of microdisplay products to more than 85 domestic and international customers. These include display shipments for the FELIN soldier modernization program in France, BAE’s OASYS FLIR in Sweden for three industrial thermal camera electronic viewfinders, and BCF’s technology in Scotland, for ultrasound goggles for a large animal veterinarian.
We continue to see strong demand for OLED microdisplays in our key market segments over the next few years. We anticipate higher average revenue for quarters going forward in 2014 than we saw this quarter, based on successful implementation and resolution of the stop ship orders, and continued improvements in manufacturing processes, and also the new products we’re introducing.
Last week, we presented at the Sidoti Microcap Conference. We saw interest in the investment community in our ultrahigh brightness display potential for augmented reality applications and other applications. Those applications can obviously both be for not only augmented reality in the military, but consumer applications, and also avionics.

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

No Forktrucks this time but CEO Sculley's weird throwaway line this CC was...

when discussing operating temperature range versus other Microdisplay manufacturers said " eMagin Display could operate in a mobile device that could tolerate a hot car in the summer." Presumably it's a non-removable device integrated into the car so what the hell is he talking about, a Heads Up Display? But I don't think of that as being mobile. As always inscrutable.

Total Pageviews