A busy couple of days.

I've been hitting the brain-trust hard, getting opinions from various other people and discussing mine -- a few things that have stuck out from the last few days.... 

all my own (educated?) opinion....



CLASS 1
I suspect that the class 1 reversion mentioned in the CC is part of a multi-level situation -- not all of the parts are related to each other

A) The issue with China is significant. With relative rapidity a large number of countries decided that they were transferring manufacturing OUT of China. (Mentioned here) -- and this was mentioned during the ASM that some issues with China could pop up and cause problems. This certainly would have the potential of throwing all production into chaos and 

This could cause significant disruptions around multiple supply chains.

• This could rearrange manufacturing priorities.
• I don't know, we don't know, probably no one knows the extent of the rearrangement that will be required because of this.
• Suddenly Foxconn's weird behavior in Wisconsin makes sense... they may have been expecting that something was up and wanted to have a foothold somewhere in the US, just in case

B) It is my impression based on previous PicoP projector releases that Class 2 & 3 laser products needed individual approvals for many different countries they went to. This could be a significant impediment to rapid adoption of the tech across national boundaries

C)  there is some stated improvement in the projector brightness with Class 1 lasers.... (related to the April 2017 contract partner?)

There is no such thing as a projector that it's safe or comfortable to look into... I do not think that class1/class3 is a long-term impediment.

But what is most important to me is that they can get the most customers this way. (I'm going to watch for it in portable gaming... because this is easy to do in a dimly lit room and is a HUGE market.)  Xbox Scarlett / Sony - Xbox Partnership


Hololens (Augmented Reality)

This has ALWAYS been a CLASS 1 Laser product!!

(allegedly and possibly, in all likelihood using Microvision's near-eye display -- Laser Mems Display.)

I visited the Microsoft Store near the University Of Washington in Seattle this week. I asked to see the Hololens 2.

They didn't have one in the store, but they connected me with someone who attended the build conference and had the "opportunity" to try it.

"Well, how was it??" I asked.
"I didn't get to try it" she replied.
"What?"
"The line was 200 people long to try it. I didn't have time -- people that had tried it absolutely raved about it." she said.

Combine that with the results from Airbus and NASA... I think Microsoft has a problem... a really good one to have. The results with this thing are so fantastic that they're not going to be able to keep up.

If you approach a company with a tool that can improve their efficiency by 10-15% reliably, they're going to be really happy. 97% better? 80% better.... that is a stunning, mind-bending improvement. I'm extremely confident that this will be a run-away success. NASA , Airbus

Given patent flow, I think the next company out the gate is Apple. (remember, Microvision can sell this to whoever they want to once the development is done) 

Also tried these... not great next to Hololens, and we're pretty sure --- same field of view as an iPad mini held at arms length.

3D Computing -- the big picture

Big picture: 3D computing is going to improve productivity -- so it's going to take over computing. 

This is going to be bigger than the personal computer.

It's transforming shipbuilding --like a ship, such an industry isn't easy to turn. This isn't an improvement of a single aspect of the process, but a transformation of the process itself -- to "increase efficiency, safety and affordability."

Microvision is at the leading edge of laser scanning and AR displays.

When you're invested in something that improves efficiency, increases safety, and makes things more affordable, you shouldn't have too many worries.

SeaPowerMagazine

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding division has been named a recipient of a 2019 CIO 100 Award for adopting business-aligned IT strategies during its integration of modern technologies into shipbuilding. The ongoing initiative, known as Integrated Digital Shipbuilding (iDS), is transforming the way ships are being designed and built.

The annual awards program, sponsored by IDG’s CIO magazine and the CIO Executive Council, celebrates organizations that are using IT in innovative ways to deliver business value, optimize business processes, enable growth or improve relationships with customers.

Newport News is being recognized for its use of technology business management strategies to bolster IT cost transparency and build trust, which helped the company to embrace a digital-first mindset in adopting leading-edge technologies.

Since the company’s digital transformation began two years ago, Newport News has introduced laser scanning, augmented reality, modeling and simulation, and additive manufacturing into processes to increase efficiency, safety and affordability. The digital shipbuilding efforts also include transitioning from traditional two-dimensional paper-based instructions — the company’s primary method for conveying design data for more than a century — to digital formats. The company currently is developing digital work packages for the aircraft carrier Enterprise (CVN 80), which will be the first ship built completely paperless, and preparing to go digital with the new class of ballistic submarines, the Columbia class.

“Digital shipbuilding is the largest transformative initiative, digital or otherwise, that Newport News has embarked upon since switching from diesel to nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in the 1960s,” said Bharat Amin, Newport News’ vice president and chief information officer. “I feel proud of my team for helping to drive change and empowering shipbuilders with the tools to build today’s warships with tomorrow’s technology. It’s an exciting time to work in IT and at HII.”

The company will be recognized at the CIO 100 Symposium and Awards Ceremony on Aug. 21 in Colorado.

How will AR first be introduced to the Masses?

PARTS of the tech world know it's out there, but very little outside select audiences.

I'm a bit surprised that the announcement wasn't bigger and broadcast wider before and during MWC, but it's still coming. I'm sure some pretty smart marketing people are going to make sure they optimize the public perception at the right time.

I've been patient for a long time, I can be patient a bit longer. (And, if everything strikes paydirt at the same time things could be even more interesting for shareholders.)

Some kind of AR something will catch the public's imagination. It will be something like this.... someone will trot this or something like it over to a television studio, and the buzz will begin. 

I have no idea what will catch on and go viral.

I do expect that the Hololens version of Pokemon Go is going to happen fairly early and get a lot of attention. (Whether something else catches the public's imagination first remains to be seen.)

Hololens at CNN & other places.

What we're waiting for is for the news to start going viral. It hasn't yet.

This is still an open secret. 


CNN


Kim Komando

(If you aren't familiar with Kim Komando, she has a lot of fans a tech website, and has a syndicated radio show. This is fertile ground for attention.)

Microsoft's next-gen HoloLens

Not to be outdone by all the crazy smartphone hoopla, Microsoft also unveiled the HoloLens 2, it's follow up to the "mixed reality" glasses it announced in 2015. Like its predecessor and other augmented reality gadgets, the HoloLens 2 superimposes computer-generated images on the real world, delivering one-of-a-kind experiences. Think Iron-Man/Tony Stark-like interactions with your immediate surroundings, that's how cool and practical Mixed Reality could be.

Improving on the tech introduced by the first HoloLens, the HoloLens 2 is more powerful, better-balanced, efficient and Microsoft managed to double its field of view. Its new design with improved "thermal management" also makes it more comfortable to wear with extended use, even with users who wear glasses.

Unfortunately, the HoloLens 2 is still priced out of the regular consumer's range. Tagged at $3,500, it's still aimed at large businesses and the military. Hopefully, the HoloLens 3 will be primed for mass adoption and its price will finally be within reach of you and me,
Game Reactor

"I'm really excited to see what people end up doing with the product," Han admits. "But it's very clear that from our customer and market signal perspective we're really focused on the first-line and task workers. Look, people are going to dream with this thing, and that's really the most exciting part of it, people are going to tell us what they want to go and do, and I think the future for mixed reality and these type of devices is very promising."

Gaming and consumer versions will happen. (They made that clear during the presentation, and clearly there is interest.)