Brain Trust compares Microvision to a biotech.

Last night, before the investor meeting in Redmond, a collection of investors -- representing lots of shares -- got together for dinner.

One comment struck me, at the time and gave food for thought for the rest of the evening. 

"Microvision is a lot like a biotech." Investing in it is a lot like investing in a Biotech company. 

In that Biotech companies, investors invest a lot of money with no guarantees that it will meet approval, etc, but that if it does... the returns are huge.

Sure there haven't been earnings, but if we compare to a biotech company, this company has the equivalent of a cure for cancer -- and also a side-effect free cure for obesity --electronics version. 

The near eye display has the potential to change cure sore necks by putting the display front and center when you're standing up, and the LiDAR to prevent accidents, and serve numerous other functions by allowing machinery to see.

Not delivering income at the moment is problematic for investors, of course. But there is solid value under that. 

Sotheby's Curate

Imagine shopping for a home with AR Glasses.

The furniture you own is stored inside / or as shown in the video you can shop for things that work with it on the fly.

You enter the prospective home, and can arrange your furniture in it, and see how it looks.

Sotheby's Curate | DigitalTrends



Thanks T!

Augmented Reality potential | Final Fantasy

For some reason, gamers will exert a crazy amount of effort doing things for fun that would cost a lot to get developed. Here you see a main display, with AR displays to augment the central displays.

This could be coming to your office soon. A lot of us who deal with a lot of information, design, etc could make great use of this. 



Windows Central

Systems like the Nintendo 3DS and Wii-U also make use of extra displays to show menus, maps, and other UI elements to prevent them from interfering with the main game itself.

Microsoft has also dabbled with these sorts of features, with Xbox Smartglass. Using a phone app, some games were able to display second-screen functionality and even gameplay. An early version of Tom Clancy's The Division had a full-blown tablet companion game, allowing users to control an in-game support drone via Windows 8-based touch devices. I saw The Division's drone companion app running on a Surface 2 back at Gamescom 2014, and found it to be very impressive. Sadly, it never made it to the full game due to balancing issues. HoloLens could make these second screen experiences far more compelling.

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.

A couple of things from the Kiplinger Letter

Things to look forward to in 2017

Blazing-fast wireless service is on the way:5G, or fifth-generation wireless technology. It will revolutionize the mobile internet industry.

Web speeds will be 10 to 100 times as fast, enabling HD movie downloads in under five seconds, with lag times of less than a thousandth of a second and ultra-low-power sensors that last for years.

Expect full-fledged service by 2020 or so.Major trials will get under way next year, with AT&T and Verizon leading the early parade. Hundreds of billions of dollars will be spent yearly to update wireless infrastructures and services.

The U.S. is poised to lead in 5G adoption in the wake of rules from federal telecom regulators that unleashed huge swaths of untapped airwaves.

Life will be different in 2030

In 2030, a pair of lightweight virtual reality glasses will sell for as little as $200 to $400. They’ll help you function in your everyday world — seeing and hearing everything around you while receiving texts, interacting with talking 3-D images of people and more. Your gestures, eye movements and voice will direct the images you see in your VR glasses.

A real-estate agent might use such glasses to sell homes. Prospective buyers wearing augmented reality glasses will be able to visualize a building on an empty lot, for example — walking around it, seeing it with solar panels, etc. Doctors will wear them to read vital patient info while performing surgery. Heck, on the golf course, your glasses will tell you the distance to the hole, wind conditions, scores and more.

Wearers will even be able to lose themselves in an environment outside their surroundings. Experiences will include everything from climbing Mount Everest and visiting Mars to re-creating crime scenes and sitting down with an overseas relative in a virtual park.

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.

Scoble - Apple, Metaio, Primesense

Scoble isn't my favorite prognosticator. But Some of this is pretty interesting. IF he has put this stuff together correctly, things could get very interesting for Microvision.

I'm profoundly skeptical of a "clear" smart phone coming. (One that can pretend to be clear, less dubious) A phone that labels the world as you look at the phone is possible.

Of all the Apple news out recently the leaks prior to iPhone 7's appearance of the "smart connectors" I think those will be key soon... but watching everything.

Thanks Jason.

Scoble Facebook



The phone itself has a next-generation 3D sensor from Primesense, which Apple bought. Apple has 600 engineers working in Israel on just the sensor. It’s the 10th anniversary of the iPhone. It’s the first product introduction in Apple’s new amazing headquarters. It’s a big f**king deal and will change this industry deeply. It’ll get rid of the HTC Vive lighthouse system, too.

***

Apple’s purchase of Metaio is going to prove very key. I won’t be shocked to learn that Peter Meier, CTO there, is in charge of the next iPhone strategy and has been for years.

***

Microsoft’s execs already told me they are betting 100% on mixed reality (with its Microsoft HoloLens product). The strategy at Microsoft is “Cloud + Hololens.” That’s it. The entirety of a $455 billion company is betting on mixed reality.

***

One thing is clear to me now after coming home from meeting dozens of consumer electronics leaders at GITEX in Dubai (the middle east’s biggest consumer electronics show): the next three years will see more new technologies and more new products released than we’ve seen in possibly human history. The investments being made are staggering and major companies (and leaders) will see their legacies made or destroyed in a very short time.

This guy, I find to be more believable...

Mashable - Ulanoff  -- Much more at source
Found here

Apple will do something with Augmented Reality.

That’s not rumor or innuendo. Apple CEO Tim Cook repeatedly expressed his strong interest in the technology over the more isolating virtual reality over the last 12 months. Apple acquired an AR company over a year ago. And 2017 promises to be a very big year for the iPhone. Why wouldn’t Apple bring its own brand of mixed reality to its flagship product?

That all makes sense.

***

In car

Apple’s plans to build an Apple Car may have gone up in smoke, but its interest in transportation is likely undiminished.

I’ve long assumed that Apple’s strongest vehicular interests reside in interfaces. What if the new iPhone uses its AR to change your perspective on the road, so you can see the name of the highway and your direction laid out in front of you? If Apple squeezes a laser projector inside the iPhone 8, it could project the AR information onto your windshield.

Wild? Yes. Unlikely? Sure, but probably more likely than Apple AR Glasses.

The Future with Hololens

Thanks Mike.

Haven't had a focused look at this yet, but Mike sends good stuff.

When you invest in something, think "how is this going to make people's lives better?" Then, be a part of that.

"When I finally get to the point of building it, I build it once."


Joe Sent me a link to the Hololens Commercial Suite site that had these videos.

Touch Surgery -- Surgical training with AR

If you're sensitive, don't press play on the video. (It's not completely gruesome, but it does show surgery.)

In AR, companies are coming up with ways to combine data collected through various means. (Combine imagery from a CAT scan, MRI and Ultrasound, display in 3D) Which according to a radiologist I asked said it would be a new degree of diagnostic awesomeness. 

More things that increase the productivity of people, and improve lives -- and Microvision's near-eye displays will be part of it. -- Don't know if they'll be in the Daqri -- but they will be in similar products.


VRFocus



To date Touch Surgery has digitized over 225 surgical procedures, and made them available to a community of over 1.5 million users. Additionally, the Touch Surgery Virtual Residency Program (VRP) is now being used in over 25 training programs to support formal training globally.

Advertising on Windshield through HUD?

Really awesome article, and I kept it all to be sure I don't lose anything.

This is another very clear example of that the business strategy isn't always obvious, and it's not necessarily a straight line. 

Owning Microvision, is like owning a pipeline company to move information, and information and advertising is the big-money commodity. I like where I am.

Thanks JT.

Toronto Star -- More at the source.

During this year's CES, Panasonic demonstrated technology that lets a driver order and pay for fast food through a head-up display in their vehicle before pulling off the road to collect it.  (ALEX WONG / GETTY IMAGES)  

By ALEX WEBBBloomberg

Sat., Jan. 14, 2017

The next frontier in digital advertising may be your car’s windshield.

The advent of connected cars is creating a new sales battleground, and using a vehicle’s windshield may be the next way to pitch more products and services to consumers. McKinsey & Co. estimates that mobile and data-driven services in vehicles will generate $1.5 trillion (U.S.) by 2030. At least part of that will be spent projecting information to drivers and passengers right before their eyes.

“When you think of a person driving and what your needs are when you’re on a typical trip, it’s food, it’s fuel and it’s rest stops,” said John Butler, a Bloomberg analyst. “Owning the inside of the car is critical, it’s really where the money is made. The real value is locked up in the ad opportunity.”

Here’s how a smart windshield may work: A driver who’s close to running out of gas would see an alert pop up that notes the fuel situation and offers to find a nearby gas station. The car’s virtual assistant offers a choice, again on the windshield, of two options, including directions to a station where the driver is eligible for a free cup of coffee — an ad placed by the gas company that fits with the driver’s buying patterns, also known by their smart car.

Panasonic Corp. demonstrated technology at CES, the consumer electronics show in Las Vegas last week, that lets a driver order and pay for fast food through a head-up display before pulling off the road to collect it. Pairing such offerings with other connected subscription services could generate hundreds of dollars in additional recurring revenue per car each year, according to Tom Gebhardt, the head of Panasonic’s automotive business in North America.

“When you start doing payments out of the vehicle, you have to secure those payments somehow, so we’re matching the facial recognition with your credit card,” he said. “We’re really investing in an integrated solution, merging the infotainment system, the instrument cluster and the heads-up display.”

Corning Inc. is starting to sell carmakers the glass used in Apple Inc.’s iPhones for windshields and in-car entertainment systems. The company said the durability and thinness of the glass means that any image projected onto it is sharper than onto a typical windshield. While the product is less than 25 centimetres wide, Corning is working to expand it to a full windshield-size display.

“They could be here in less than two years,” Corning chief technology officer Jeff Evenson said in an interview Thursday. “We’re making the car much more active to set things up for these kinds of services.”

Turning a car windshield into a billboard is part of broader efforts by automakers and tech companies to transform vehicles into connected devices. Multiple companies at CES this week have announced deals and partnerships that use software, digital voice technology and cloud computing to handle everything from automatically scheduling a maintenance appointment to ordering a takeout pizza while on the road.

Automakers such as BMW AG, Hyundai Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. already offer basic head-up displays near the windshield in some models that show information such as the vehicle’s speed. Google parent Alphabet Inc., through its Waze navigation app, suggests nearby restaurants and points of interest during your drive, as does TripAdvisor Inc. The next step is merging these two ideas: projecting points of interest onto your windshield.

Eventually mapping and navigational data could be superimposed onto the road in front of the driver, much in the way that Google Street View currently displays information about an area on a static image. BMW, Volkswagen AG and Daimler AG acquired Nokia Oyj’s HERE mapping unit in 2015 to ensure they were no longer dependent on Google for maps. Intel Corp. announced Tuesday it had acquired a 15-per-cent stake in HERE.

“This is exactly the sort of thing the high-end carmakers are promoting as part of their highly integrated, immersive ‘cockpit’ concepts,” said Richard York, an executive at chip designer ARM Holdings who is responsible for automotive sales.

The question of how the technology is regulated remains open, given concerns about driver distraction. For now, suppliers are eager to promote head-up displays as safety tools. For example, the speed and location of vehicles in a car’s blind spot might be projected onto the windshield.

“We’re going to bring the safety aspect of the vehicles” into the augmented-reality products, said Joseph Yoon, head of LG Electronics’ automotive research and development team.

Boosters also say a windshield display is a safer alternative to drivers taking their eyes off the road to glance down and tap a dashboard infotainment system or check a smartphone. For many years, BMW, Volkswagen and Jaguar Land Rover Automotive worked with Munich-based startup Metaio GmbH to investigate possible applications for augmented-reality technology in cars, according to a source familiar with Metaio’s business.

The main hurdle to superimposing an enhanced image for the driver was the “tracking problem” — establishing the direction of a driver’s gaze and adapting the image projected onto the windscreen accordingly, the person said. Metaio was acquired by Apple last year and ended its contracts with the carmakers. Panasonic’s Gebhardt said his company had mastered the technology and is seeking a customer willing to deploy it in a car.

People usually understand information presented in an augmented-reality format more quickly than on paper or a smartphone, according to Sunny Webb, who leads Accenture’s research and development efforts in augmented and virtual reality. That makes AR an appealing medium through which to present location-based ads, as well as safety and contextual information to drivers.

“Being able to overlay content in a windshield is a really interesting application,” she said. “There’s a lot of energy going into how to distribute content to passengers and drivers.”

Meanwhile, Harman International Industries Inc., the in-car infotainment systems giant in the process of being acquired by Samsung Electronics Co., is moving into head-up displays. In December, it announced an investment in Navdy Inc., a San Francisco-based maker of a projection display that sits on the dashboard in front of the windshield and provides navigation guidance, car behaviour data and smartphone alerts. The two companies will start selling a jointly branded head-up display this year.

Automotive supplier Magna International Inc. also is likely to unveil an augmented-reality product with a major German carmaker this year, according to a person familiar with the plan.

Automakers also are considering the ability to push content such as video in front of passengers in addition to mapping or road services as a way to generate more revenue from each vehicle.

“We want to have our direct customer relationship delivering premium services to them and being their direct contact,” Klaus Froehlich, BMW’s head of research and development, told reporters at CES. “That’s the clear goal for a premium car manufacturer.”

C|Net Virtual Reality Disappoints at CES

What was everyone paying attention to?

This writer seems to have his AR and his VR tangled up a bit. 

Virtual reality is something that is going to isolate people from each other. Augmented Reality should do some bringing together -- or at least not further isolate.

It's a long process though.

There's a slide show, be sure to stop at #23 and #43 -- places where PicoP and Microvision's tech can shine. Although the Panasonic Projector in an egg is a better idea. 

C|Net -- This article featured on Drudge Report -- which is mainstream media

Most VR companies at CES 2017 are talking about things few consumers will think about, like new sensor technology and software development tools. (Scott Stein, who reviews virtual reality tech for CNET, says "most of the major players in VR took CES off, and the biggest advancements needed to take VR forward -- better displays, wireless, and less bulky designs -- still haven't gotten here yet.")


From Slide #23

Endless Mission Mini and Mission One cheap and tiny PCs
Endless gets its cool cred in part from its intentions. The Endless computers are small, cheap and optimized for areas where internet access is unpredictable. This year's models have a more sophisticated design than its plastic ball. Though they don't run a standard operation system, they come piled with applications. Plus, the systems will also work with its Endless Code initiative, a preinstalled package of tutorials and tools for teenage-level prospective coders.

Slide #43

Hello Egg: Bizarre but useful kitchen helper

Essentially a weird-looking, kitchen-centric with a projector (it's a Magic 8-Ball for the 21st century), the Egg not only looks up recipes you ask for, but projects step-by-step videos to help you make them. There's a similar concept assistant from , but it's not nearly as goofy looking, which is part of Hello Egg's charm. If it rolls its eye at my cooking skills, though, it's gonna end up scrambled.

In preorder now. Entering Indigogo crowdfunding campaign in Mary 2017.

Lenovo Smart Glasses

This space is going to get more and more crowded. 

Given the Lenovo SmartCast and now the STM connection, Lenovo is certainly one of those companies to watch.

That the demand for this in industrial settings is high, and the application of this concept for gaming has been 

Lenovo C200 At ZDNet

Toymakers give AR a boost

AR for Fishing

Microsoft will support OTHER Augmented Reality Devices

So, we have been watching Microvision for Hololens, but they're going to support augmented reality with their software to support other companies devices as well.

These -- according to TheStreet will arrive in the first Quarter of 2017

Augmented Reality is already being used -- and there is demand already from Industry -- which is HUGE. The price will come down to $300 from $3000-- (Lenovo and Dell). 

When Windows Holographic OS arrives... this year.

And -- working on software to combine projection along with near eye displays.  (yes, the video uses a fixed projector, but in the wild it would need to be attached to the wearable devices.

I'm counting three times Microvision could be included in the same device.

Future is looking good to me.


WinBuzzer -- More at the source.





Holodeck closer to reality

Why Microsoft is betting on AR -- The Street

In Q1, Microsoft partners Asus, Acer, HP (HPQ) , Lenovo and Dell plan to launch a line of $300 Windows 10 headsets that will enable both virtual reality and mixed reality experiences and run on PCs costing as little as $500. At the other end of the spectrum are devices such as Microsoft's $3,000 HoloLens Development Edition goggles, which are for companies and software developers to test and build apps for.


The key to Microsoft's approach is its launch sometime in 2017 (the company has not said exactly when) of Windows Holographic, a version of Windows 10 built for mixed reality applications, via a free online update (it's available right now, though, on the HoloLens Development Edition). Companies such as Volvo and Thyssenkrupp Elevators, and institutions such as Case Western Reserve University and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory are actively using HoloLens.

********

Cincotta said developers can target mixed reality experiences destined for a range of VR, AR and mixed reality devices, and not just for the HoloLens.

According to Alexis Macklin, VR analyst at research firm Greenlight Insights, Microsoft's approach is different from what top VR and AR companies are doing. Microsoft is starting to position its VR and AR product suites as business tools that help deliver digital transformation for enterprises.

**********

Microsoft will be in a unique position when Windows 10 headsets begin shipping because those devices will support the full spectrum of mixed reality. Cincotta said it's up to each company how it designs its headset to take advantage of these emerging technologies. The headsets are expected to debut at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas next week, when consumer launch dates will also be revealed.

Ways Companies can incorporate Augmented Reality

A nice list of specific use cases. 

This is getting to be on the radar of more and more people (most still don't know.) And there are drivers for its adoption. And Microvision has a great AR patent portfolio.


PFSK.com -- More at source

• Better Customer Service

Augmented reality not only makes life easier for customer support staff of any organization, but it also helps them work smarter, and increase overall productivity. Perfect for the retail sector, augmented reality helps retailers create their own products, thus allowing customers to experience their favorite products by themselves. For example, a sales representative at a spectacles counter can utilize AR glasses to assist customers select the spectacles that best suit their appearance and style.

• Visualizing Objects

Visualizing objects through augmented reality can help professionals interact with virtual 3D models in the real world. Through the ability of visualization, augmented reality allows users to get a better sense of the finished products, rather than flat image on the screen. Instead of waiting to see your vision transform from paper, with AR, an automotive engineer drawing a plan for a new car can use an AR viewer to view 3D virtual parts, based on which they can easily manipulate and refine the parts to get the right design.

• Remote Guidance

Many people, such as engineers, salesman, etc., often spend maximum time working onsite, and at some point in time they face situations where they need a helping hand back from the office. Here is where augmented reality can come in handy and provide professionals with relevant information, like manuals or instructions, which helps them efficiently solve the specific task in front of them. Instead of a salesman visiting door-to-door selling products, they can utilize an AR viewer to help customers understand products and its utility.

• Relationship Building

Augmented reality allow businesses the opportunity to develop their own products, improve user engagement, and build a long-lasting relationship with their customers. A viable marketing option, augmented reality helps organizations increase the scope of their business and inculcate a sense of mutual loyalty among the customers. For example, a travel company can make use of AR glasses to help customers experience wonderful places by themselves, and ensure that the experience they are communicating comes to fruition.

• Innovative Working Methods

Besides giving a helping hand for remote guidance, augmented reality can also prove to be beneficial in improving work processes of an organization. With the functionality to recognize objects, augmented reality can change the scenario of today’s office culture, making it more productive and appealing. Instead of traveling to a site, an insurance company examining a wrecked car after an accident can make use of an AR headset to easily recognize the damage and the cost estimate for fixing it.

Illumiroom still on the Radar at Microsoft

Much of what we have seen in the past is still there -- 

This kind of projection can be done with regular projectors, but to ensure that everything is in focus, (I'm pretty sure) would cost a lot more computing horsepower than simply having an always in focus laser projector.

This does look like a LOT more fun than a lot of other things they've come up with.

For regular movies and shows --- could be a lot more immersive by hinting at surroundings... (A forest, city, farm or bar scene could be changed so that you feel like you're actually THERE.)



UniversityHerald



Xbox Two Hardware

Microsoft has already acquired Illumiroom, a proof-of-concept projector system that can augment the area surrounding the TV to reflect what's being seen on the console. This hardware akin to the Surround Sound only in visual form may befeatured in the Xbox Two according to Tech Radar.

However, Microsoft claimed that the hardware is too costly for mass production in Xbox One. To have it in Xbox 2 may push the price higher, an impractical move for Microsoft right now especially with the delayed arrival of the console.

Oculus Rooms and Parties

I don't know if this is what was intended when Oculus was purchased by Facebook, but it does look interesting, and will probably have some popularity.

Augmented is going to be more popular, because it won't replace your surroundings and isolate you from the people you're with.

UploadVR -- More at the source

Rooms and Parties are significant steps for the Oculus ecosystem for a few key reasons. The first is that they finally put your friends list to better use. Since launch, the Oculus Home friends list has been evolving toward usefulness. Oculus Rift owners have been giving their buddy list a workout with the addition of more and more multiplayer games, but these two new social experiences are some of the biggest use cases yet for your friends on Gear VR.

It also seems that Oculus and Facebook are in an active state of iteration with their social platforms. Oculus Social released with a few things to do (trivia, social theaters, etc.) but that platform has largely stagnated since release. The feature overlap with Oculus Social and Oculus Rooms leads one to believe that Rooms is the new poster child for pure social interaction on the Oculus platform.

Parties is also the first time Oculus and Facebook are allowing their customers to user a VR platform as a general communications tool. Third party creators like AltspaceVR have been doing this for a while now, but this is the first time that the folks in Menlo Park are taking a similar approach.

Augmented Reality Game Companies to Watch

When a new technology emerges, one of the biggest problems is often having an ecosystem where is it useful.  --- if the technology to deliver an AR experience popped onto the scene ten years ago, people would have been impressed with it, but wouldn't have had anything to do with it.

AR is interesting in that there is a place for it to land right away.

And massive growth is expected... 

"According to research firm International Data Corporation (IDC), the AR/VR market will grow from $5.2 billion this year to over $162 billion in 2020.  IDC forecasts that more than half of worldwide AR/VR revenues will be generated by hardware."

5 AR Games companies to watch

Zombies! Run!!   Highly rated health and fitness app on IOS.

Niantic Labs  -- Brought you the first huge AR game, Pokemon Go

Asobo Studio is a French game company that has already made a mark in the nascent augmented reality space through its partnership with Microsoft.

SixToStart.com

Analyze  -- More at the source

How well known is the market?

This is about how many people are aware of Virtual Reality. (Sony Gear VR - Oculus Rift, Google Cardboard) All the attention these things have gotten in various media -- including Sony's advertising, and most people don't know about it.

Even fewer know about Augmented reality. 

Eventually people will figure it out. NDAs are out there so that it's a surprise that results in a frenzy of buying someday soon.

Maybe they need to talk to whoever is writing and producing ads for Micromax.


Power Gaming UK

Despite 2016 seeing virtual reality break into the mainstream market, headset manufacturers such as Sony, Oculus and HTC still have a lot of work to do in order to educate the masses, according to a new study.

In the Consumer Strategies and Use Cases for Virtual and Augmented Reality white paper, released by market research firm Parks Associates, research found that 63 percent of all Americans were unfamiliar or knew nothing whatsoever about virtual reality.

Magic Leap -- Dots connecting well

Thanks Mike for your correction to my mix up.

We've been suspicious that Magic Leap was using a fiber scanning display, instead of Microvision's LBS. 

Magic leap is apparently abandoning the Fiber scanning display -- and their other option is -- 

Magic leap has been (apparently) overhyping their progress.

So, looks like we have what could be a very nice new customer. And given that we apparently have a ridiculously tiny new display engine.

Magic Leap is currently valued at about $4.5 Billion dollars. 

The biggest advantage of Microvision's 0.65 cubic centimeter projector is that it requires no lenses, but is in focus and appears normal on any surface, even those that are rough or radically curved.  EE-Times linked from this blog 


The Verge

The crux of the problem appears to be Magic Leap’s gamble on a so-called fiber scanning display, which shines a laser through a fiber optic cable that moves rapidly back and forth to draw images out of light. The company thought the fiber scanning display could be Magic Leap’s breakthrough tech, allowing it to shrink down the extremely expensive hardware used on a previous prototype — a refrigerator-sized device known internally as the “Beast.” 

According to The Information, Magic Leap still has not been able to get the fiber scanning display to work. It has since demoted it to a long-term research project. “You ultimately in engineering have to make tradeoffs,” Abovitz said in the interview. Still, the company’s latest prototype appears to be the size of a standard pair of glasses. It’s known internally as the PEQ, for product equivalent, and yet Magic Leap declined to demonstrate it for The Information. Abovitz claims it is only slightly less capable than the earlier, tethered prototypes, but denied that it now uses technology similar to the HoloLens.

The Hololens units that are out, were using the Himax display, but is changing.

"In the near-term, estimates lower component orders from a major buyer (Microsoft HoloLens). Analyst Tom Sepenzis: "AR – We believe that the primary customer is rapidly reducing orders for LCOS and WLO components. This could result in approximately $60 million in LCOS/WLO revenue in CY16, down from an expected $90+ million, and have a significant impact in CY17. Originally pegged at $270 million in potential revenue in CY17, we now expect this customer to drop off almost completely in the first half of CY17 as it looks to refine its AR products." -- Seeking Alpha HIMAX - Source (multiple sources for this.)

IB Times -- Magic Leap Videos Faked?

Apple and "Jobs Theory"

Interesting article about the way Apple thinks.... and an interesting way to look at Microvision... and what "jobs" people want done.

According to "Jobs Theory" Microvision seems to be in a very good position.

Microvision's Jobs: (The things Microvision can do.)

• Display information to assist with other jobs 
• Interact with information 
• Share our pictures with others 
• Share information with others 
• Be entertained 
• Be a touch-free interface with mobile devices
• Provide proximity sensing for all manner of machines, vehicles, etc.

All mobile and small!

9to5Mac

What is Jobs Theory?

In particular, he referenced a Harvard Business School term known as ‘jobs theory.’ This refers to jobs that people want to get done rather than Steve Jobs, but he says that Steve was very good at taking this approach.

Coined by Clay Christensen, the phrase essentially argues that Starbucks might think it’s in the business of selling coffee, but the job many of its customers want it to do is provide a meeting place for friends or a temporary office. Companies need to think not about products, but what jobs customers want to get done.

Tim Cook:

We have the strongest pipeline we’ve ever had and we’re very confident about what’s it, but we won’t talk about what’s in it. We have a strong sense of where things go and we’re very agile and able to shift where people need to.

****

We don’t know if Apple has figured out what the next jobs to be done are. But my sense in talking to them is they’ve at least identified the places they want to innovate — home automation; healthcare; and they don’t talk about it but I guess automotive; AR and VR which they do talk about, particularly augmented reality.