Microvision, DARPA and Augmented Reality.

From the Atlantic

Thanks for the heads up Tom!
How DARPA's Augmented Reality Software Works

Why is the military succeeding where Google Glass failed?

ALEXIS C. MADRIGALMAY 27 2014, 3:46 PM ET

32
inShare

More

DARPA

Six years ago, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) decided that they had a new dream. The agency wanted a system that would overlay digital tactical information right over the top of the physical world.
So, they created a program called Urban Leader Tactical Response, Awareness and Visualization (ULTRA-Vis) to develop a novel and sophisticated augmented reality system for use by soldiers.
Through half a decade and with the help of several military contractors, they succeeded. "To enable this capability, the program developed and integrated a light-weight, low-power holographic see-through display with a vision-enabled position and orientation tracking system," DARPA says:

Using the ULTRA-Vis system, a Soldier can visualize the location of other forces, vehicles, hazards and aircraft in the local environment even when these are not visible to the Soldier. In addition, the system can be used to communicate to the Soldier a variety of tactically significant (local) information including imagery, navigation routes, and alerts.

Full Article

The Microvision Connection

Will be looking for more recent on the Microvision connection.

Below from Here

Innovega

Innovega iOptik system

In June 2008, Innovega was co-founded by the former MicroVision employees: Randall Sprague, Steve Willey and Jerome Legerton. The company developed the iOptik eyewear display. It comprises a pair of contact lens which refocus polarized light to the pupil and allows the wearer to focus on an image that is as near as 1.25 cm to the eye, thus enabling displays to be built into normal-looking glasses without the bulky optics.[50] In April 2012, the company signed a contract to deliver a fully functioning prototype to the Pentagon’s research laboratory,DARPA.[51] At CES 2013, the company demonstrated a prototype of its eyewear display that features a field of view of 60 degrees or more. It also claimed that a field of view of nearly 120 degrees is already in the works.[52] The first version of Innovega's glasses are designed for military use, but it's planning a consumer version by 2014 or 2015.[53]

2014 Apple Developer Conference Schedule

Monday: 2

• Keynote
• Lunch
• Platforms State of the Union
• Apple Design Awards

Tuesday: 3

• No comment
• This one Sealed
• Shhh Can't Tell you Yet
• Managing Apple Devices
• It's Under Wraps

It goes on, with a bunch where they "just can't say" All will be revealed after the keynote on Monday, June 2 @10:00 AM Pacific Time.

Relative to the Gigantic Ad that Apple has been running... Microvision's time may be at hand.

Apple Developer Conference -- new Hardware to be announced UPDATED

Is it possible there's a link to Microvision moving it's Annual Stockholder Meeting this year to June 3??

APPLE to Unveil MYSTERY Hardware at Tech Conference.

http://nypost.com/2014/05/22/apple-to-unveil-mystery-hardware-at-tech-conference/

Just when Apple watchers figured the annual developers conference would be a snooze, there comes a juicy rumor that the tech giant has a new “mystery” product in store.

Apple, which holds its annual Worldwide Developers Conference the first week in June, will unveil new hardware at this year’s event, according to 9to5Mac, a blog devoted to all things Apple.

The report surfaced after the company sent out the schedule on Wednesday for the conference, kicking the rumor mill into high gear.

The speculation ranged from an Apple TV set to an iWatch, although a MacBook Air with Retina display was pegged as the most likely possibility by 9to5Mac.

Before the report, most Apple bloggers and analysts weren’t expecting any major hardware announcements at this year’s show.

A safe bet is that Apple will roll out a redesigned version of OS X at WWDC, in line with its normal release schedule, along with improved Maps and some new iPad features.

There is also chatter that the company could use the event to make a splashy announcement that it has reached a deal to buy Beats Electronics for more than $3 billion.

http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-to-announce-new-hardware-2014-5

Apple's big annual conference for developers, WWDC, starts June 2 with a keynote from its top executives at 1 p.m. ET. 

While most people expect the event to focus entirely on new software, Mark Gurman at 9to5Mac teased Wednesday, "Also, according to sources, Apple is planning to unveil new hardware at this year’s conference."

What will it be? We have no idea. We're expecting something minor like a MacBook Air with a high-resolution retina screen. Last year, Apple announced a new Mac Pro at WWDC. It didn't release the Mac Pro until the end of the year. 

This year, Apple is expected to update its Mac operating system to look more like the iPhone's software. It would make sense to have a sharper screen for the MacBook Air to highlight the new, sharper look of the software.

You could start getting excited about the possibility of Apple announcing the iWatch, but that would probably be a mistake. Sure, Gurman says Apple will announce a new app called "Healthbook" that collects all sorts of health and fitness data. And sure, it would make sense for Apple to roll out a hardware device that works with that app. And, sure, there's been a lot of talk about Apple doing a smart watch, but odds are against it being ready to announce the iWatch so soon. There's been very little lately on the iWatch.

Whatever Apple is planning, it's keeping it under wraps. Even developers don't know what Apple will be talking about. At WWDC, Apple executives host sessions with developers. Benjamin Mayo, another writer at 9to5Mac, tweeted out some photos of Apple's current schedule for developers at WWDC. This year it has some funny placeholder titles:

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-to-announce-new-hardware-2014-5#ixzz32OSNfCg6

http://www.cnet.com/news/sony-said-to-be-talking-to-apple-about-camera-for-new-iphone/

Apple Laser Game Controller?

Links to give some background on this concept video...

So, this is beyond merely concept. There has been some actual work being done on game controllers for Apple devices.... where that takes us, we don't know. But this would be very interesting.

Tech 2 - Apple Game Controller - Teams up with Logitech and Moga

The video Below (Only the first minute is of interest, unless you like video gaming.)



Power Shell iPhone Game Controller  (an older link)

Microsoft Announcement, May 20

http://www.extremetech.com/computing/182246-microsoft-will-announce-new-surface-on-may-20-may-switch-to-qualcomm-for-next-gen-arm-device

Microsoft has signaled that it’s going to update its Surface at an upcoming announcement on May 20 with a new Intel product. If rumors are accurate, we’ll see a new ARM device as well, possibly powered by a Qualcomm solution rather than the Nvidia SoCs that the company used for both the Surface RT and Surface 2. Surface sales were up by 50% last quarter, with total revenue of $494 million — but the Surface cost of revenue was $539 million, which keeps the entire segment in the hole.

Using Qualcomm for a new miniature Surface (possibly something in the seven to 10 inch range) makes sense for multiple reasons. While Nvidia originally planned to deploy two versions of the Tegra 4, the lower-end Tegra 4i has never shipped in volume to US customers (though the upcoming privacy-focused Blackphone will reportedly use this SoC). Microsoft was likely looking to trim power consumption and performance for its smaller device, and Qualcomm has a number of Snapdragon 600 products that could do it. That doesn’t mean Redmond is unhappy with Nvidia as a partner, but the Tegra manufacturer just may not have had a preferred solution for this segment.

.... click the link above for the full article.

Apple iPhone 6 -- August

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/apple-unveil-iphone-6-august-040909852.html

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Apple Inc (AAPL.O) will unveil the next incarnation of its popular iPhone series in August, one month earlier than industry watchers were generally expecting, Taiwanese media reported on Friday citing unidentified supply-chain sources.

A 4.7-inch screen version of the iPhone 6 will reach stores in August, the Economic Daily News reported without specifying which markets would receive the phone first.

A 5.5-inch or 5.6-inch model will be released in September, the newspaper said, as the iPhone 5 series was previously.

People involved in the supply chain had earlier confirmed to Reuters that there will be a 4.7-inch version of the iPhone 6 and a 5.5-inch version.

Together, the Economic Daily News said 80 million iPhone 6 handsets would be produced this year.

Industry watchers have said increasing the iPhone's screen size from 4 inches would help Apple regain market share from competitors such as Samsung Electronics Co Ltd , who they say have responded to consumer desire for more screen size.

Representatives for Apple could not be reached for comment.

Representatives for Taiwanese iPhone contract manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd (2317.TW) and smartphone camera lens maker Largan Precision Co Ltd , both mentioned in the Economic Daily News report, had no comment.

(Reporting by Michael Gold; Editing by Christopher Cushing)

Sony Components for Apple

http://www.cnet.com/news/sony-said-to-be-talking-to-apple-about-camera-for-new-iphone/

• by Brooke Crothers 
   @mbrookec
• February 11, 2014 1:02 PM PST
• 
  

iPhone 5S rear camera.Apple

Sony is in negotiations with Apple for supply of sensors for a "new iPhone," according to a Japan-based report.

The talks call for Sony to double the supply of camera components for a "new iPhone slated to roll out as early as next year," according to a Wednesday report in Nikkei, Japan's largest business daily.

Sony is a supplier of CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) sensors for the iPhone 5S' rear-mounted cameras, as teardowns have shown. Nikkei states that "nearly all" rear-mounted CMOS sensors for "current iPhone models" are supplied by Sony.

And Apple will "likely" switch to Sony sensors for the front-facing camera as well, Nikkei said.

Nikkei offers up some big numbers to back this up. Sony "likely supplies Apple with more than 100 million [sensors] a year, with the bulk destined for iPhones," the business daily said. But this number could double in next-gen Apple products, the report claims.

Orders from Apple can profoundly affect investment plans for companies that supply components for the iPhone and iPad. Sharp, for instance, has invested heavily in LCD manufacturing capacity in order to supply Apple with displays for its iPads.

Similarly, orders from Apple spurred Sony to acquire a plant from Japanese chipmaker Renesas Electronics, according to Nikkei.

The camera in the iPhone 5S has received kudos. The 5S uses a redesigned camera sensor (presumably from Sony) with bigger pixels for better low-light exposure, among other benefits.

Though Nikkei does not specify what new iPhone would use the sensor, rumors claim that the 8-megapixel camera in the 5S could get an upgrade with the iPhone 6.

Sony's image sensor sales (mostly CMOS sensors) are expected to reach 360 billion yen ($3.47 billion) this fiscal year, Nikkei said.

Sony has also begun to supply batteries for the iPad Air, Nikkei said. "In December, it scuttled plans to unload its battery business, instead choosing to shift toward products for mobile devices," according to the report.

What a holographic iPhone might look like

http://www.fastcodesign.com/3029967/this-is-what-a-holographic-iphone-might-look-like

Ford Heads Up Display Experience - China

Not a recent video, but haven't seen it before.

I believe the pumpkin is just a play on words with part of the tool.

It does show a use consideration for PicoP




http://article.wn.com/view/2014/04/30/Carestream_s_Newest_Image_Acquisition_MiniPACS_Software_Rece_4/

The Future of The Sony PlayStation

However they make this happen, isn't this cool?

This is the ecosystem Microvision is playing in. We might never see the kids again.





Sony PlayStation Blog (Google Translate works well.)


http://www.stealthybox.com/sony-demonstrates-augmented-reality-concepts/

Apple: exciting new product category

http://mashable.com/2014/04/29/apple-iwatch-production/

BY ADARIO STRANGE1 DAY AGO

The long-rumored wearable computer from Apple, affectionately known as the iWatch, has reportedly gone into production.

Reports of the highly anticipated device's production run cropped up in the Tuesday edition of Taiwan-based China Times.

Citing sources in Apple's supply chain in Asia, the site claims that part of the production includes advanced SiP (system-in-a-package) modules, which can contain a processor, DRAM and flash memory.

Such a module, used in mobile devices like MP3 players and smartphones, could be useful in producing a wearable computer. However the China Times report doesn't offer further technical details beyond that.

It said the device will be released in the latter half of 2014, and that production of up to 3 million devices will began in the second quarter of this year, and will increase to 14 to 15 million in the third quarter.

Although Apple CEO Tim Cook has remained mum on whether the company will release a wearable device of any kind, his statements in recent months have consistently been peppered with comments about an exciting "new category" of product the company plans to release later this year.

According to a Harris Interactive poll conducted in September, 49% of Americans believe "wearable tech is a fad." That sentiment seems to be a result of the less-than-stellar reception given to recently released devices such as the Pebble and the Galaxy Gear.

So as the evidence of an entirely new product from Apple piles up, long-time observers of the company are waiting to see if it can work its iDevice magic on the wearable-tech category.