Microvision LiDAR Demonstration Video

Fusion -- found on Reddit

This seems to support the notion that Qualper was a smokescreen for some other company. What exactly is going on, I have no idea. 

This has the trademark 1920 x 720 Sony module resolution.

I'm dubious that this is anything more than someone floating a trial balloon, or hunting ad clicks.

LeMonde Numérique ( Source )  
Author/owner Twitter
LemondNumerique WhoIS information

Listed on Website - we'll see if it exists soon enough. (I checked about 10 different and common products -- top listed, and no product posted is available.)

Reddit MVIS Discussion

Techniquement, le smartphone Fusion s’appuie sur un processeur MediaTek MTK6753 octo-core cadencé à 1,5 GHz associé à 2 Go de mémoire vive et 32 Go d’espace de stockage interne extensibles via une carte mémoire micro SD. Il a un écran de 5 pouces affichant une définition Full HD. L’image projetée adopte une définition de 1920x720 pixels.

Le smartphone Fusion dispose d’un appareil photo numérique de 8 MP avec flash LED au dos et d’un autre capteur de 5 MP en façade. Il embarque une batterie d’une capacité de 4000 mAh. Le fabricant ne précise pas l’autonomie en mode vidéoprojection. Un test complet pourrait nous en dire plus…


Technically, the Fusion smartphone is based on a 1.5 GHz MTK6753 October-core MediaTek processor coupled with 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal storage space expandable via a micro SD memory card. It has a 5-inch screen displaying a Full HD definition. The projected image adopts a resolution of 1920x720 pixels.  (Sony Original Release)

The Fusion smartphone features an 8MP digital camera with LED flash on the back and another 5MP sensor on the front. It has a battery with a capacity of 4000 mAh. The manufacturer does not specify the autonomy in video projection mode. A full test could tell us more ...

Projected Reality -- Cool Prototype

Microvision had a game gun a few years ago, that did something similar, and described this kind of use.

But someone apparently made their own prototype. Cool Stuff.

MS Downgrades HIMX, The Street Acknowledges Microvision - Updated

It's been my experience (whether right or not I'm not sure) that The Street's articles can be difficult to re-locate or disappear. So, I've pulled the whole article out for posting here.

Himax was the key display provider for Google Glass, and an apparent supplier to Hololens -- although word was that Hololens was going elsewhere as well. (That was referenced here, I will update when I find the link.)

Thanks Joe

Morgan Stanley Downgrades Himax Technologies (HIMX) to Underweight Amid Growing Competition

(Updated - February 6, 2017 1:23 PM EST)

Morgan Stanley downgraded Himax Technologies (NASDAQ: HIMX) from Equalweight to Underweight with a $4 price target (down from $6), implying 24% downside.

Analyst Charlie Chan said New AR smart glasses are adopting micro display technology other than Himax's LCoS. This could jeopardize the company's leadership in this market in the long term.

Chan said while the stock is down 49% since September 1, 2016, it could de-rate further if its leading position in micro displays gets challenged.

"We now see further threats to the dominance in micro display technology of LCoS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon)," Chan commented. "Vuzix, one of the leading vendors of AR smart glasses, won the CES Innovation Awards for its Blade 3000 and M3000, which incorporates DLP technology from Texas Instruments. DLP generally has the disadvantage of bigger form factor vs. LCoS, yet our read from Vuzix’s press release suggests that this has been overcome. In addition, MicroVision, the solutions provider for laser MEMS micro display technology, became one of Vuzix's key suppliers starting from 2015."

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Himax Technologies click here. For more ratings news on Himax Technologies click here.

Shares of Himax Technologies closed at $5.24 yesterday.


Barrons Blog

Morgan Stanley analyst Charlie Chan says Himax’s display technology is no longer cutting edge, current customer Microsoft (MSFT) is going to cut orders, and its December quarter earnings may disappoint. Chan wrote:

We now see further threats to the dominance in micro display technology of LCoS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon). Vuzix, one of the leading vendors of AR smart glasses, won the CES Innovation Awards for its Blade 3000 and M3000, which incorporates DLP technology from Texas Instruments (see Exhibit 1). DLP generally has the disadvantage of bigger form factor vs. LCoS, yet our read from Vuzix’s press release suggests that this has been overcome. In addition, MicroVision, the solutions provider for laser MEMS micro display technology, became one of Vuzix’s key suppliers starting from 2015.

iPhone8 to use STM Time of Flight Sensor?

A lot of these rumors come to nothing -- this one has more weight than most in that it's being reported in a number of places, and that it's very specific.

Something to watch.

It's also interesting that Ming-Chi-Kuo blew it on his last estimate. Maybe Apple is taking a little more control of what leaks and what doesn't. This guy has had Apple dead to rights for a long time, but didn't get it this time.

WCCfTech

 Today, we’ve got some news about the sensors that Apple will use on the device. European manufacturer STM released its earnings lately and the manufacturer saw a massive increase in Capex. Interested? Take a look below to find out more.

The iPhone 8 Will Use Latest Time-of-Flight Sensors Manufactured By STM Suggest Analysts

With each passing day, our smartphones get more and more complicated. The huge array of components and sensors which tick under the hood ensure that users get a seamless and fruitful experience out of their devices. Now, Apple’s got similar plans for the iPhone 8. The teardown of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus by Chipworks unveiled a host of components ticking under the hood.

Out of these, one was STMicro’s ToF sensor, which helps the iPhone carry out a variety of tasks. It helps the device to gauge the distance between the camera sensor and the photographic object. Dubbed as Time-of-Flight, the sensor achieves this completely independently of the reflected light’s level.Now, after the iPhone 7, Apple will also include the sensor in this year’s iPhone 8.

PicoP Scanning Engine Target Specifications

Got this from a friend.

Interesting specs, the date is up there.  

The Size of Our Market

I have no idea if MVIS will ever be in Apple. It does seem like a good fit though.

This reference is only for size of market. Apple is about 10% of the smart phone market, they are apparently about 30% of the tablet market.

Both types of devices are places PicoP could show up. It's a big market.


MarketingLand

All product lines posted increases. Across the board it was Apple’s best quarter; however, the iPad was the weakest of the product lines in terms of analyst expectations. Here are numbers:

• iPhones: 78.3 million units, $54.4 billion in revenue
• iPad: 13.1 million units, $5.5 billion in revenue
• Macs: 5.4 million units, $7.2 billion in revenue
• Services (including Apple Pay, Apple Care): $7.2 billion in revenue
• Other (including Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products): $4 billion in revenue

Tablet Market - Forbes

The numbers come from IDC's latest report that looks at tablet device sales. It covers the second calendar quarter of 2016, and shows that worldwide tablet sales stand at 38.7 million devices, a 12.3 percent year-on-year drop.

Augmented Reality in Industry

Augmented Reality improvement in productivity.

There will also be projected onto the surface applications.  Boeing

This kind of productivity improvement is where HUGE money gets made.

There is going to be a lot of demand for near eye displays. 


IndustryWeek

The tipping point, Ryan said, was a large project, sustained over three months in 2012, that introduced “digital storyboarding, a kind of mobile (virtual reality) solution” that cut down on the need for the massive drawings used for reference throughout the yard: “When we bring in a new generation of shipbuilders, giving them a drawing that’s three feet wide, two feet tall and a foot thick is not how they’re going to want to go to work.” Of course, the digital storyboarding also demonstrated a 35% cost reduction in the construction of one craft over those three months, which helped spark the overall shift toward digital.

****

Since then, Ryan said, “we’ve fielded more than 50 projects into our industrial waterfront using augmented reality to reduce cost, improve quality, improve safety, and reduce schedule—the four pillars.”

****

AR has a learning curve, like any developing technology, and jumping in by ordering dozens of smart helmets, smart glasses, or even tablets, makes about as much sense as installing a new IIoT plan without a whit of research. Using the hardware might feel like second nature, but it’s not.

Motomods vs. Project ARA -- Developer kits

Some insight about Motorola's MotoMods. Some good stuff about developer kits and encouraging small developers to get involved.

gadgets.ndtv.com

McDonnell is quite dismissive about Ara. "They didn’t really think about the consumer at all," says McDonnell. "Their whole idea was based around technology, what can you do, but not what the customer wants."

"They wanted to do things like change the specs but that doesn’t really change the consumer experience," he adds. "It was exciting for developers, but they got the priority wrong. I think with LG and Friends - they wanted you to switch off your phone to change parts, and it was a whole process, who is going to do that?"

****

The way to create and sell a module is straightforward - buy an MDK from Motorola, prototype your idea, and follow the self-certification procedures. Once that's done, Motorola will verify your plans, and then it sells you a license as an official Mod. Motorola can also help developers find partners for manufacturing and distribution of the Mods, and would help with marketing too, McDonnell adds.

But would small developers in India want to commit precious funds to buy an MDK to start with? "As of now we're distributing the MDK to people who register with us," says Sharma. "We will need a project outline to determine how feasible your idea is, and if it looks like it can be done, then we'll give you an MDK." And in a few months, Motorola also plans to launch a Mod Store, to help highlight all these new products - a bit like Apple showcases MFi products.

Goldman's view of the future.

A little bit of a view of the future from Goldman Sachs

Interesting how a little company called Microvision fits into big parts of what they're about.

CAE Healthcare

CAE Makes Multimillion dollar flight simulators for aircrew training. (I used to get to play with those.)

That a company dedicated to training and simulation is taking on Hololens is, in my opinion, an excellent development for AR.

Whether or not we have a place in Hololens, great results for the space will be good for Microvision.


CAE HealthCare

CAE Healthcare announces first mixed reality ultrasound simulation solution with Microsoft HoloLens
Orlando, U.S. & Montreal, Canada – January 27, 2017 – On the eve of the International Meeting on Simulation in Healthcare (IMSH) in Orlando, Florida, the largest medical simulation conference, CAE Healthcare announced the release of CAE VimedixAR, an ultrasound training simulator integrated with the Microsoft HoloLens, the world’s first self-contained holographic computer. CAE Healthcare will be the first company to bring a commercial Microsoft HoloLens application to the medical simulation market.
VimedixAR delivers an unprecedented simulation-based training experience, allowing learners to interact and move freely within a clinical training environment that is augmented with holograms. For the first time, students will be able to examine 3D anatomy inside the body of the Vimedix manikin. As learners practice scanning an animated heart, lungs or abdomen, they will observe in real-time how the ultrasound beam cuts through anatomy to generate a ultrasound image.
Learners can elevate the VimedixAR hologram above the body to gain an understanding of human anatomy and how its circulatory, respiratory and skeletal structures are integrated. The hologram of the heart, for example, can be isolated and enlarged, rotated, and turned as it floats at eye level. If a learner is struggling to understand a concept, he or she will be able to walk around the hologram to gain a different perspective.
“We are on the cusp of a new frontier in simulation for healthcare,” said Dr. Robert Amyot, president of CAE Healthcare. “Augmented and virtual reality can accelerate learning and provide shared training experiences in a more immersive and engaging clinical learning environment. Our engineering team is just beginning to explore possibilities with the Microsoft HoloLens, and we look forward to offering it as a key training solutions technology to our industry partners.”
The CAE Healthcare team has already begun to develop training prototypes with the medical device industry that incorporate the Microsoft HoloLens and are expected to accelerate professional education for new technologies. With CAE Healthcare’s virtual views of human anatomy and the Microsoft HoloLens, physicians will be able to practice placing cardiac devices or implants with speed and precision before they perform procedures on real patients.
“At Microsoft our goal with HoloLens and mixed reality is to help customers visualize and interact with 3D content in ways that offer new possibilities for creation, collaboration and consumption of information,” said Lorraine Bardeen, General Manager, Microsoft HoloLens and Windows Experiences. “It is inspiring to see how CAE is integrating HoloLens into its healthcare simulation portfolio, and we are excited about the opportunities mixed reality presents to revolutionize the future of patient education and training through the use of holographic computing.”
The VimedixAR module with Microsoft HoloLens will be available for presale and during the IMSH conference and online. For more information, visit caehealthcare.com/hololens

About CAE Healthcare
CAE Healthcare offers cutting-edge learning tools to healthcare students and professionals, allowing them to develop practical experience through risk-free simulation training before treating real patients. CAE Healthcare's full spectrum of simulation solutions includes surgical and imaging simulation, curriculum, the LearningSpace audiovisual and center management platform and highly realistic adult, pediatric and baby patient simulators. Today, approximately 9,000 CAE Healthcare simulators and audiovisual solutions are in use worldwide by medical schools, nursing schools, hospitals, defence forces and other entities. www.cae.com/healthcare
About CAE
CAE (NYSE: CAE; TSX: CAE) is a global leader in the delivery of training for the civil aviation, defence and security, and healthcare markets. We design and integrate the industry's most comprehensive training solutions, anchored by the knowledge and expertise of our 8,000 employees, our world-leading simulation technologies and a track record of service and technology innovation spanning seven decades. Our global presence is the broadest in the industry, with 160 sites and training locations in 35 countries, including our joint venture operations, and the world's largest installed base of flight simulators. Each year, we train more than 120,000 civil and defence crewmembers, as well as thousands of healthcare professionals. 

GE Augmented Reality Competition.

Three to five years, everyone using a wearable device.

Very interesting Article


ITWorldCanada

Everything manufactured more recently can be made with a digital twin without much added effort, he adds. But what about that locomotive engine that you only service every 10 years? As more machines are modelled for digital twins from inception, it will make more sense to have AR tools ready to service them.

In just three to five years, Boris says he can’t imagine a person on the plant floor that doesn’t have a wearable device to help them do the job. If you think that sounds unlikely, just consider how you’d react if you were told 10 years ago that everyone on the plant floor would be using an Apple-made tablet.

“Now everyone on the plant floor has an iPad in their hands,” Boris says.

If the ROI is as good as Jenkins says for Upskill’s Skylight system, CIOs will be racing to deploy the technology. Efficiency increases from 30 to 50 per cent the first time that a worker uses the technology – before they’re even accustomed to it, Jenkins says. Companies that adopt Skylight commonly see a 30 per cent increase in quality output and 20 per cent better resource utilization.

Those are numbers worthy of a pilot project, or four.

Read more: http://www.itworldcanada.com/article/how-ge-spurred-augmented-reality-pilots-with-an-internal-wearables-challenge/390130#ixzz4Wyet0ZwW
or visit http://www.itworldcanada.com for more Canadian IT News 

Interesting Report on STM

There is some familiar language in here, some interesting timing. 

The position of the quote marks is important. It is a mixture of reporting facts and reporting conjecture...

This is what STM did with Microvision at CES

Barron's Blog

Reuters

Yahoo News

Franco-Italian chipmaker STMicroelectronics posted in-line 2016 results on Thursday, driven by solid phone and car part sales and improved factory utilization, while setting out a plan to boost plant capacity that could fuel revenue later in 2017.

Europe's third largest semiconductor company said it had won a deal with an unnamed customer that can generate "substantial revenues" in the second half of the year, which analysts believe are tied to parts for upcoming Apple iPhones.

The next generation iPhone 8 line is expected to be released by Apple in the back half of 2017.

Liberum analyst Janardan Menon said ST's latest results reflect demand from automakers and phones such as the Apple iPhone 7, including "time of flight" proximity sensors that also measure ranges between a phone camera and objects in its view.

"This is likely to be a new product in the iPhone 8, in addition to on-going shipments of the time-of-flight sensor," Menon advised clients. "We expect STM's strong revenue growth to convert into rising margins and further multiple expansion," he said, referring to factors justifying a higher stock price.

ST Chief Executive Carlo Bozotti declined to comment on who was behind the new customer contract. "We cannot say more," he told analysts on a conference call. "We cannot give more color." Apple demands suppliers never reveal its contracts.

Sharp holds Key to Foxconn's Restructuring

Look at that cute little guy.

Something interesting will come of this relationship.


Asia Nikkei

At a press conference in Taipei on Sunday, Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou boasted about Sharp's improved financial results and reiterated that the purpose of the takeover is vertical integration.

Gou has asked Sharp to increase the number of new products and strengthen its brand. He hopes that accomplishing these goals, coupled with Foxconn's cost competitiveness and finances, will lead to something like South Korea's Samsung Electronics.

That is what he means by vertical integration.

With Foxconn's growth as a contract electronics assembler now reaching its limit, the key to a structural overhaul is Sharp.

One of the earliest fruits of the integration could become visible in Shenzhen. On Jan. 19, Sharp opened a research and development center for home appliances in the southern Chinese city.

Shenzhen is Foxconn's main production base, and the company plans to further strengthen functions there to help develop products for its major clients, including Apple. The new Sharp center will be an addition to Foxconn's already sprawling Shenzhen ecosystem.

The Carl Zeiss Glasses

I don't believe that Apple is going AR this year. 

But this video is interesting. First -- they showed it at CES - last year. 

Note that they say this is only about the optics, and doesn't have a projector yet.

Why they didn't show it this year is interesting, but I don't think that nervous behavior if Apple is mentioned is an indicator that it's going to be in Apple products soon.


This article seems to think it's a foregone conclusion that Apple is doing AR with Carl Zeiss. I'm dubious about that.

EnStars -- More at the source.

5G On the way

More bandwidth for streaming video will be a big deal for adoption of PicoP and Augmented Reality.


5G Chips on the way

Qualcomm and Intel are expected to launch chipset solutions for 5G equipment supporting 28GHz frequency band in the second half of 2017, while Samsung Electronics is also likely to release comparable chips during the same period, said the sources.

Intel, Qualcomm, Samsung and HiSilicon Technologies are also expected to release chips for 3.5GHz frequency band, added the sources, noting that the 28GHz and 3.5GHz are the two frequency bands to be available for 5G services.

Vuzix taking a shot at Google & Microsoft

This is very much a company to watch. We know they get displays from Microvision (According to Vuzix financial documents) 

The Blade3000 does look like something that people will wear and even wear in public. (Nothing else passes that test) -- so it's something to watch. It is getting attention in the right places.


Entrepreneur

With two titans and a unicorn startup leaving their footprints in the AR field, how can the much smaller Vuzix compete? By aiming lower, says founder and CEO Paul Travers.

"We come from the perspective of practical," he told me at the company's CES booth. "We don't think you need to land the whale. It's a different approach than most companies."

Indeed, its newest device, the Blade 3000, may just be the first piece of AR hardware to be adapted by tech enthusiasts since the Google Glass. The company is aiming to introduce it to the market for under $1,000 this year, with the price dropping to under $500 in 2018. And unlike the $1,500 Google Glass, which had a design that resembled a one-eyed cyborg, the Blade 3000 looks like a pair of Oakley sunglasses.

***

Vuzix, which was founded in 1997, holds more than 41 patents and has 10 additional patents pending, according to its website. It received a $24.8 million investment from Intel in 2015. Travers had worked at Eastman Kodak but said he left after many of his projects were killed by the company. He first started a business making sound cards in a basement and then sold it.

And even though Vuzix has been around for two decades, he still doesn't consider the company successful.

"If you want to succeed at being an entrepreneur, you just have to not quit, have tenacity," Travers said. "You've got to be willing to hang through the hard stuff."

Learn music theory - Hololens

Many ways to use this tool to learn and increase human productivity and creativity. It will be a winner.

Hololens Reality News

• Improvisation: Understanding music theory to the degree that a player can improvise a melody that fits in a certain key is a tough skill to master. It is also a skill that is generally not part of normal music curriculum, but is needed when playing with others.
• Virtual Hand: Many people on this planet are visual learners, even for things like music. Being able to watch someone or, in this case, a hologram, play or chord or a phrase before trying yourself can be a great boon.
• Virtual Band: As mentioned above, having a virtual band to practice your improvisational skills give the user an open environment to learn and hone their skills—without the need to pay a group of people to help.

Sanbots.

HD Projector in this thing -- apparently they've been selling these things -- 70,000? I'm not sure I trust that number yet.

And has the Sony Signature.

According to QIHAN, more than 70,000 Sanbots are currently being used in the market, and 5000 Sanbots will be commercially available in the US for a base price of $12,000.

Engineering.com -- Sanbot

Micromax's Phones will cause disruption

Over the summer, we were told during the conference call that we would get a regional player releasing a product in the fall. That was delayed.

Diwali is the Indian gift-giving season, happens in the fall.

They did some tweaking of the currency in India in the fall (Demonetization). 

Now they're going to be disrupting at the high end and the low end. 


EconomicTimes.indiaTimes  -- more at the source.

Q) But with Chinese brands putting in top dollars and you holding back, you are losing market share which will be difficult to regain later? 

It is not about losing ground. It is all about what at what time. If we start doing the same thing, we start burning the same amount of money. We wanted to do it (launches) right after Diwali. But post Diwali, demonetization happened. Now we will be coming up with products that are high end and also products which are in the lower end segment. We will cause disruption at both spots.