Hololens Restricted FOV & Microsoft Patent

Those who have been following Hololens (still a very small part of the population) have known for a while that they have a very significant usability problem with a narrow field of view. That has been addressed here a number of times. (CES Day 3) When I had the opportunity to test it, the NOMAD from Microvision outclassed everything else in terms of field of view.

The mention in this patent is very interesting, it doesn't necessarily mean any more than they absolutely know Microvision is there.

I was invited to visit Microsoft this week. (Another purpose) but I did ask about Hololens, and looked for it. It's in their visitor center, but kept under glass that was all I could see. 

Microsoft may have solved one of the biggest limitations with its HoloLens headset. Since its first unveiling, the device has suffered from a restricted field of view. A patent filing suggests a feasible way to increase the range has been developed.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/tech-and-science/technology/microsoft-might-have-solved-the-hololens-biggest-issue/article/505547#ixzz4w4atIBUG


Digital Journal
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From Patent Scope

Below from Description:

[0028] The display engine 204 can include, e.g., an image former 206, a collimating lens 208 and an illuminator 210, but is not limited thereto. The image former 206 can be implemented using a transmissive projection technology where a light source is modulated by an optically active material, and backlit with white light. These technologies are usually implemented using liquid crystal display (LCD) type displays with powerful backlights and high optical energy densities. The illuminator 210 can provide the aforementioned backlighting. The image former 206 can also be implemented using a reflective technology for which external light is reflected and modulated by an optically active material. Digital light processing (DLP), liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) and Mirasol® display technology from Qualcomm, Inc. are all examples of reflective technologies. Alternatively, the image former 206 can be implemented using an emissive technology where light is generated by a display, see for example, a PicoP™ display engine from Microvision, Inc. Another example of emissive display technology is a micro organic light emitting diode (OLED) display. Companies such as eMagin and Microoled provide examples of micro OLED displays. The image former 206, alone or in combination with the illuminator 210, can also be referred to as a micro display. The collimating lens 208 is arranged to receive a diverging display image from the image former 206, to collimate the display image, and to direct the collimated image toward the input-coupler 112 of the waveguide 100. In accordance with an embodiment, an entry pupil associated with the waveguide may be approximately the same size as an exit pupil associated with the image former 206, e.g., 5 mm or less in some embodiments, but is not limited thereto.

Thanks all the people who dig for stuff like this and post it.