Microvision Wearable Display

Wearable display that can view text messages, guide you to your next destination, watch TV, play video games and much more? Microvision has been researching and developing wearable displays for nearly fifteen years. The development of the eye wear display (Nomad) has been primarily for the United States military. However, since the release of the PicoP Display Engine and ShowWX, there has been no information on their progress.

 
Microvision Eyewear Presentation 2009

In 2009, Microvision signed a one million dollar contract with Lockheed Martin in order to develop a low profile see through eyewear display. In April of 2011 (Left Picture), Microvision established a Research and Development center at Nanyang Technological University in Signapore. At the opening of the center, Microvision showcased their technology which included two types of wearable display units. Special Operations Technology Magazine, in May of 2011, within the article “Now I See’, mentions Microvisions partnership with Lockheed. The article states “The program’s objective is to build a soldier worn system that provides non-line-of-sight command and control in distributed urban operations for dismounted warfighters. Under the subcontract, Microvision will develop a daylight-readable, see-through, low-profile, ergonomic eyewear display”.

Microvision on their website states that along with business partners, they are in the process of developing see-through personal Color Eyewear. However, in the past few years there has been no updates from Microvision as to the progress they have made. Based on the recent articles and pictures presented, Microvision seems to be still working on the mobile eye wear display project, however, they are being very quiet about it.

Microvision Eyewear Presentation 2009

Microvision Color Eyewear Development Program
Microvision EyeWear Presentation 2009

Microvision Presenting at SPIE Photonics West

 MOEMS-MEMS SPIE Photonics West
21 - 26 January 2012
The Moscone Center
San Francisco, California United States


Trajectory precision of micromachined scanning mirrors for laser beam scanning pico-projector displays
Paper 8254-1 of Conference 8254
Date: Tuesday, 24 January 2012
Time: 8:20 AM – 8:45 AM
Author(s): Wyatt O. Davis, Michael Beard, Robert Jackson, Microvision, Inc. (United States)

College Cures: Microvision ShowWX+ HDMI &WOWee One Speaker Review

College Cures: Microvision ShowWX+ HDMI &WOWee One Speaker Review
...This thing is the real deal, I am a satisfied user and am thrilled to have both the MicroVision SHOWWX+ projector and the WOWee One speakers in my toolbox. For me, post-college life finds these products useful in office presentations, sales meetings and when I offer WordPress training to my clients. I recommend both products highly and will thoroughly enjoy them for a long time to come.

Microvison Projects a Touch Screen Onto Anything

Microvison Projects a Touch Screen Onto Anything
Long before anyone had heard the word "pico projector" — and undoubtedly, many still haven't — the engineers at Microvision were slaving away on their Rube Goldberg-esque invention. Not just a tiny projector, it is a tiny laser projector - meaning it can produce incredibly rich colors without the need to focus. A laser is always focused...In developing its mind-blowing technology, Microvision has taken the hard route into mini projectors. While it was wrestling the huge challenges of laser projection, companies including 3M and Texas Instruments came to market by the comparatively easier route of miniaturizing the innards from standard projectors. While projectors have been popping up in phones and cameras for years, Microvision has just recently been getting its technology into mainstream products. But with the capability for bonus features such as touch-screen interfaces, as well as 3D, maybe the hard route to more sophisticated tech will finally pay off.

Hands-on with MicroVision PicoP Gen2

Hands-on with MicroVision PicoP Gen2
I’ve said before that CES 2012 is the stage where we receive a look into the future of gaming. While at the show, I saw some very impressive tech such as eye tracking which could make for some very interesting games. However, gesture controls are still very relevant in the gaming space. In fact, some would argue gesture-based gaming without controllers is just getting started. During my time at CES, I got to check out how MicroVision’s recently announced PicoP Gen2 laser display engine can give you control of a game using nothing but your index finger...

Best Gadgets and Technology at CES

T3: Best Gadgets and Technology at CES - PicoMagic
Your Power Point struggling days could soon be over courtesy of the PicoMagic apps that project a touchscreen display on your nearest available wall space. Using a PicoP Gen 2 HD laser display engine to deliver multi-user 3D displays, you can replace an old fashioned whiteboard with a virtual interactive one. It’s also primed for gamers who want to get a little closer to the action. Wall sized Angry Birds anyone?

WoWee Vue

 
WoWee One VUE

 Its confirmed, the WoWee One VUE contains the Microvision PicoP Engine! 

Pioneer HUD - CES 2012

Pioneers HUD Utilizes Microvisions PicoP Engine

CES 2012: New Products That Made Us Say Wow

New Products That Made Us Say Wow
There were some things that happened here in Vegas that we hope don't stay here: new technologies and gadgets and devices that deserve an audience larger than the reported 150,000 industry folk who swarmed the Las Vegas Convention Center this week hoping to see the next big thing at the Consumer Electronics Show....

We covered this one in depth in a full-length article, but it's just so darn cool. Microvision's tiny projector (it's a little smaller than a greeting card) hooks up to your smartphone or laptop and projects whatever is on there in 720p HD. Cool enough, but where it elevates itself into the sci-fi, slap-your-forehead range is that you can stand next to the projection on the wall and control the contents of your laptop or smartphone using your fingers. You're not actually touching the wall, just waving your fingers in front of the projector. We focused on the gaming possibilities in our story about Microvision; this technology hypothetically enables you to play any video game, anywhere, on any surface. But the applications for education, public speaking, and business are endless and exciting.

Popular Science Awards Microvision - CES 2012 Product of the Future

MicroVision PicoP Gen2 HD Laser Projector
If there’s one thing we love at PopSci, it’s a pico projector. And, well, we’ve seen a lot of them over the last three years. But MicroVision’s new PicoP Gen2 is sorta the one we’ve been looking for. Not only is it the first pico to display 720p HD video, it’s also the first one we’ve seen that’s small and efficient enough to be built into more things that just standalone projectors--we’re talking projector phones that aren’t bricks and even portable gaming systems that can be standalone mobile entertainment centers.

The Age of the Pico Projector is Upon Us

The Age of the Pico Projector is Upon Us (For Real this Time)
There’s always been a lot to love about a pico projector. A palm-sized device that can port video from anything from a laptop to an iPod onto a large projected screen? Sign me up. Until now, though, picos only came is two forms: as a standalone box, or strapped onto the back of a device like a smartphone, rendering the gadget bulky and extremely power inefficient. Enter MicroVision’s PicoP Gen2 projector, debuting this week. The PicoP Gen2 is among the smallest pico system we’ve seen, and it’s incredibly power efficient--perfect for embeds in multi-function devices. Oh yeah, and it’s 720p high-def, too.

Pioneer HUD @ CES 2012

Pioneers HUD Utilizes Microvisions PicoP Engine

Turn Any Projection Into Touchscreen

Turn Any Projection Into Touchscreen
Has it always been your dream to play "Ms. Pacman" on the surface of Whistler's Mother? Have you ever dreamed of flinging an Angry Bird from the left pec of a shirtless bodybuilder to the right pec? If you could have gone through a season of "Madden NFL 2012" while playing every down on your mother's forehead at the dinner table, would you? All of these (admittedly) bizarre scenarios are hypothetical realities with MicroVision's pico projector with a touch-interactive display. It has the power to transform anything you project onto a wall from your laptop or smartphone into a touch-friendly screen. A comparatively small company based in Redmond, Wash., with a little more than 100 employees, MicroVision is the other "Micro" company in that town. But what it has introduced in Las Vegas is a product that can run with the big boys.

Check the Article for a great demo of  Mark Burson playing a touch screen helicopter game!

Microvision PicoMagic

MicroVision Prepares a Laser HD and Tactile Pico-Projector

Microvision Touch Interactive

WoWee and Microvision Join Forces

WoWee and Microvision Join Forces
In response to consumer demand, this year at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show, WOWee ONE, the pioneer in ultra-portable speakers, and MicroVision, Inc., the leader in innovative ultra-miniature laser display technology, are unveiling their collaboration to bring enhanced mobile visual and audio experiences to smartphone and tablet users in more than 120 countries. The companies are teaming together to bring customers a portable, immersive digital consumption experience, by combining WOWee ONE’s revolutionary Gel-Audio® based portable speakers with MicroVision’s award winning products based on PicoP® portable display engine technology giving users the ability to instantly share and enjoy their content with colleagues, family and friends.

WOWee ONE Launches

WOWee ONE Launches
Today at CES, WOWee ONE launched the VUE, a low-brightness, green laser-based pocket projector that can connect to iPhones, iPads, and computers and can be powered via an AC adapter. The HDCP-compliant WOWee ONE VUE has a native WVGA (848-by-480) resolution, at a 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio. The projector’s rated brightness is 15 lumens, and according to the company, its contrast ration is in excess of 5,000:1. Because its light engine is laser-based, no focusing is necessary.
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I havent found any official information that states the WOWee VUE utilizes the Microvision PicoP engine, however, the Microvision ShowWX and VUE look very similar!

WoWee VUE (Image from PCMAG)  / Microvision ShowWX+ HDMI

Microvisions PicoP Engine

Top Picture - Microvision PicoP 1st Generation 

Bottom Picture - Microvision PicoP Gen2

Microvision @ CES

Microvision is gearing up to be one of the most talked about companies at this years CES in Las Vegas. Head over to the Microvision booth at the Venetian Suite 31-231.


Microvision plans to showcase the following leading edge projection technology:

PicoP Gen2 HD: Microvision latest projection engine which utilizes direct green lasers which produces a focus free 720p image.


PicoMagic: Prototype unit which utilizes the new PicoP Gen2 HD engine.
PicoMagic Brochure 



PicoMagic - 3D and Touch Interactive: The PicoMagic will allow users to directly interact with their projected image on any surface along with 3D capability!!

Project Tuatara: Microvisions along with Intel will be displaying their newest generation gaming gun which allows users to play first and third person games on any surface

Microvision PicoP Gen2 Display Engine

MicroVision Goes Direct Green
...MicroVision's PicoP laser display technology such as infinite focus, vivid clarity and brightness uniformity, the PicoP Gen 2 HD laser display engine boasts 720p high-definition images and immersive displays up to 200-inches diagonal. MicroVision will also demonstrate new HD engine prototypes with brightness ranging from 15 to 25 lumens at CES. MicroVision plans to begin seeding early samples of the PicoP Gen2 HD laser display engine to selected OEMs for their own testing and evaluation starting in Q1 2012.

Microsoft @ Microvision

Who is Robert Mao and what is he always doing at Microvision? Robert Mao works at Microsoft Research in Redmond, Washington which is also home to Microvision's Headquarters. As some readers may already be aware, two employees at Microsoft Research, Hrvoje Benko and Scott Saponas, created the Wearable Multitouch Interaction prototype which utilizes the Microvision ShowWX projector. Based on the wearable multitouch prototype we can determine that Microvision and Microsoft created a basic partnership in the prototypes development.

So where does Robert Mao fit into this picture? Over the past few months, according to Robert Maos twitter and four square accounts, we can see he has been at Microvisions Headquarters a number of times. Today, Robert posted via his twitter account, this tweet "just posted a pic: (@ Microvision, Inc.). The picture is one of the three picture taken by Robert at Microvision's headquarters. The first two pictures don't really show anything of particular interest. The first picture shows two coffee cups, toothpicks, and plate. The second picture seems to be a laptop's keyboard and in the background we can see the coffee cup and toothpick container from the first picture. However, the third picture contains the same laptop from the second picture and what looks to be a sketch book.

Interpret the sketch as you may, but who sees a mobile device with a "projecting eye"? Or maybe its nothing and I am just seeing what I want to see and that is Microsoft create a device embedded with a Microvision PicoP Engine.

Taiwan Investment Department: Future of 3D Pico Projection and Embedded Pico Projectors

Four Future Requirements
The Department of Investment Services in Taiwan has outlined future opportunities for the Taiwan Electric Components Industry.  The department outlines four future requirements which are Display, 3D, Touch, and Charge anywhere technology devices. According to the report, the future of 3D anywhere will be provided by pico projection and forecasts that the pico projection market will grow to 5.1 million units by 2015. Microvision in September of 2011, demonstrated a 3D prototype pico projector at the Mobile Future Forward conference in Seattle. The Taiwan Department of Investment Services in their report of Embedded Pico Projectors stated several benefits of laser scanning projection vs DLP and LED, however, they list cost and safety as potential barriers. The growing reports on the future of pico projection have clearly stated that out of the three main pico projection technologies (DLP, LED, Laser), lasers deliver overall greater performance.

The New Opportunities for Taiwan Electronic Components Industry in the Future

Embedded Product of Pico Projector