Amazon Breadcrumb

I've been fairly confident that Amazon is on board for some time.

Part of the story has been relayed here before.. I still won't name names, but I will say Amazon now.... (A Story That Can Now Be Told)

This is some new Sleuthing that's pretty good, how much weight you might give permissions, etc. (are they dropping a hint? I don't know.)

I know the reaction from an Amazon engineer when asking about an interactive display told me all I really needed to know.

I've also asked enough people who sell this thing that the addition of the screen is the number one requirement for the second speaker purchased.

Thank you Walt!


Microvision has a new Data Sheet

The Poached Salmon Platter seems pretty innocuous...

But it is the exact listing from The Whole Foods (wholly owned by Amazon) from Bellevue Washington... right down the street from MVIS HQ... 

Race to Replace Smart Phones

Got the heads up on this from a couple of different sources last night and this morning.

This is where we are.

Given that Microsoft is shipping... it will be happening sooner than CNBC thinks.

CNBC

Fox News

The video is from Fox news.... I've had trouble getting it to play.

****

****

Most of the biggest names in Big Tech are racing to create smart glasses that we wear everywhere and that may replace our phones.

Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Snap, Facebook Apple, Magic Leap and others are all working on some form of smart glasses or headset that will change how we view the world around us. Instead of pulling a phone out of our pockets to talk to people or interact with apps, we may do these things simply by speaking to, and looking through, a set of glasses.

There’s a race to be the first to make a set of glasses that everyone will wear, which means they have to be fashionable and sleek enough to wear all day and everywhere you go. Advocates of the technology hope that you’ll one day be able to replace every screen in your life with just one pair of smart glasses.

Samsung a new kind of display

This patent references multiple ways of delivering data to a screen -- to projecting imagery -- which is the key part of the Microvision thesis.

There is nearly endless demand to deliver imagery to consumers. They are all hungry for data, information to be delivered to them electronically. 

People also want those devices delivering data to them to be small and portable.

Microvision's tech uses lasers --- the most efficient way to produce light --- to deliver imagery to consumers. It can be small, portable, and if you want to hang it on a wall, or conceal it in plain site, it's the ticket.

Some larger devices that can be plugged in, hardwired and focused at a fixed distance may use other technology -- that's fine, there's a lot of room in the space.

When you want it tiny, portable and energy efficiency is key... MicroVision's tech rules.

Confidence is pretty high with me that at least one Major Player will use Microvision's Interactive Display. (Amazon) and also quite high that the contract that exists to produce the display only projection is Sharp/Foxconn (the world's #1 electronics maker)


Patently Mobile

Thanks Ron


Early last month the US Patent & Trademark Office published a granted patent from Samsung relating to a new kind of portable projector that could sit on a table, like our cover graphic illustrates, or be easily attached to a wall to show slides, pictures, videos or simply watch live TV. The projection system could be controlled by a smartphone or any other kind of computer such as a tablet, laptop, desktop, wearable device like a smartwatch or even a set-top-box.

(DMD / LCOS / DLP)

Furthermore, the laser scheme may include a light source that consists of a red light emitting device, a green light emitting device, and a blue light emitting device, an optical tunnel to which laser light emitted from the light source is incident, and a display device configured to project an image onto a screen using the laser light incident through the optical tunnel. The laser scheme may also include, as a projection module, a structure including a synthesis module for performing synthesis by transmitting or reflecting some colors of the laser light emitted from the light source and a speckle remover for removing speckles by irregularly changing a phase of the laser light synthesized through the synthesis module.


The sensor module may be an array of sensors that measure a physical quantity or sense an operation state of the electronic device and may convert the measured or sensed information into an electric signal. The sensor module may include, for example, a gesture sensor; a gyro sensor; an acceleration sensor;  an ultrasonic sensor; an infrared sensor; a Hall effect sensor; a proximity sensor; 140G; and an illumination sensor.

A story that can now be told

I attended a presentation during the last half of 2018, which resulted in a very interesting exchange. I haven't shared the story of it with more than a few people and then over the phone or in person. 

At some point during the last half of 2018, I attended a presentation hosted by an employee of a Seattle Tier One company. The presentation was about creating applications for a family of devices, and given primarily to independent developers.
At the end of the presentation there was a call for questions: a number of interesting questions were asked, and several were asking for details about upcoming features. Each of the questions about new features received the same response: "I'm sorry, I can't comment on any upcoming features." 

The same answer, each time, even if the potential feature would be relatively mundane and not particularly exciting.

After the third such response, I kept my hand down, knowing that my question would NOT be answered.

When all of the official presentation was complete, I realized that I did have a question that could be answered.

I approached the presenter, listened to the other people with additional questions, and when I had my chance I said, "I had a question that I know you can't answer, so I won't ask, but I have another one." 

As I took a breath to ask the good question, I heard: "That's okay, try me." 

"Okay" I said, "So when is this device getting the interactive laser display?"

The physical response to this was significant: shock, perhaps a little fear -- a definite recognition.

"You're right, I can't confirm or deny any such thing."

It appeared I'd struck a nerve, and I gave some reassurance afterwards that I wouldn't try to lay any verbal traps or tricks, and I wouldn't push for an answer. 

I never told the story here because I thought it could possibly jeopardize this person's position and future.

Recently, I contacted this person and asked if it was okay if I told the story now. A memory refresher was required, but the event was definitely remembered. "Ah, but I never confirmed or denied anything." -- and... "as long as you don't mention my name!"

So, I interpreted a reaction, which I think often speak pretty loudly. 

This person was adamant -- nothing was confirmed or denied, and DON'T USE MY NAME.

3D Personal Assistant?

This is entirely possible, and I'd be very surprised if this isn't on the radar of Amazon and Google as well.

I have experienced this in person and the effect is stunning -- 2D video of it really can't do it justice.

Their promo video might be a joke... but a 3D display in a personal assistant is completely possible -- and very likely to become a reality.

Follow the Reddit/MVIS post...



Remember -- Microvision has already been part of a working 3D projector.





NVIDIA RON (Holographic Personal Assistant)

Hololamp Videos (this blog)

Hololens news since announcement.... (will be updates)

Those of us who have been watching have a benefit now, the media isn't yet reporting where Hololens' laser scanning display is coming from.

Things will get very interesting if the tech reporters put pieces together, and then also see us at MWC with STM and Lidar  and in the Blackview Phone.

Then they'll dig a little and see interactive display...

Things could start getting REALLY interesting....

I'd REALLY like to see this and will travel to do so... if anyone can get me hands on with one, I'm there...(Alaska Airlines?)




Clearly with Epic Games participating with Hololens, this will not be an enterprise only kind of device. I believe they were included on purpose to make that case clearly.

*****

Business Insider

Epic, the creator of "Fortnite," has thrown around its considerable weight to put pressure on Apple and Google, and the 30% cut that they take from most app transactions. Now, Epic is pledging long-term support for HoloLens, citing this policy of openness as a reason why.

But in a blink-and-you-miss-it moment that may have gone overlooked, chief HoloLens inventor Alex Kipman made another, related announcement that has much larger implications for the industry: Microsoft committed to allowing anybody to operate their own app store for the HoloLens or any Windows-powered headsets like it.

It's a commitment that comes among a broad discussion about the economics of smartphone app stores. Apple, in particular, has come under scrutiny for requiring developers to fork over 30% of most App Store transactions, while also disallowing competitors to open their own alternative iOS app storefronts.

*****
 
I also very much liked their emphasis on freedom. (not going to lock you in to Microsoft browser, etc. That developers will be able to sell without being funneled through Microsoft store first.

I also love that it's for people who DO stuff -- it helps people do things. Not for sitting at a desk working on a computer, it's for taking that kind of information with you when you go out to work with your hands.

The applications I think that can take Hololens mainstream quickly is using it to teach processes. (like the person installing truck interiors during the presentation.) If that becomes as seamless as I think it will be, it will be able to immensely improve human performance, and pay for itself very quickly.



And at 1:10 they start talking about the new display at the Verge... wonder when they'll figure out the connection.

"No competition for the next two years that can come close to this level of fidelity."

IOT - Price Calculator

More than one request has been made for a price target calculator that includes smart speakers. (or for specifically smart speakers.)

This would be primarily to see the market potential of MicroVision's Interactive display.

There aren't many years of data to establish any kind of trend of only smart speakers, which makes this kind of thing problematic.

It's also too limiting. 

Many of the devices in the "Internet of things" are going to be excellent places for interactive displays: Like the smart thermostat as an example. What used to be a coil of metal with a mercury switch now has the brains of a high-end 1990's PC -- and when you can crunch that much data, it begs for a display. When you have that much intelligence on a thermostat, you can connect it to your calendar, program your days off, or set up profiles for events. Some way of programming this remotely may be common, but a way to adjust it at the source would be very useful, and desirable.

How big is the internet of things going to get? It's going to get probably gigantic, and where it goes is anyone's guess. There are a lot of strange connected devices, and nearly anything that is connected might be wanting for a screen & controller. Easier to design and manufacture than adding buttons, and complex button patterns. (Short list from the linked article: Toothbrush, flip-flops, luggage, camera for dogs, salt shaker, umbrellas, trash cans, mirror, condom(yes, sorry), toaster, liquor decanter, wine bottle, fork, etc.

Ikea is going to be launching smart blinds -- I think smart blinds are going to be very popular soon, because they could help regulate the temperature in a home, save energy, and make a place more livable.

If we take Gartner's numbers and assume that we're going to add 12 Billion smart devices in the next year.... and we get 1% adoption of smart displays in those 12 billion devices -- that could be 120 million interactive laser displays in use.

If half of them are "smart speakers" and adoption is stronger than 1% of those, the number could be much higher.

Interesting new things could appear from nowhere -- remember the smart speaker, is a very new product category, and all of a sudden everyone seems to be competing in the space. 


ZDNET

Big and getting bigger -- there are already more connected things than people in the world. Analyst Gartner calculates that around 8.4 billion IoT devices were in use in 2017, up 31 percent from 2016, and this will likely reach 20.4 billion by 2020. Total spending on IoT endpoints and services will reach almost $2tn in 2017, with two-thirds of those devices found in China, North America and Western Europe, said Gartner.

Out of that 8.4 billion devices, more than half will be consumer products like smart TVs and smart speakers. The most-used enterprise IoT devices will be smart electric meters and commercial security cameras, according to Gartner.

Upgrade Cycle at hand

I've been watching for a couple of days the rather rare event of Apple products being discounted. They do this when an upgrade cycle is at hand. Interesting, and something to watch, but that's about all.

For all of these companies to be offering discounts simultaneously -- that's even more interesting.

It's possible that they all over-produced these devices and they need to reduce inventory, or that they're trying to increase adoption. But the market for these devices isn't shrinking, it's growing rapidly.

But it looks to me like there's a new feature coming, and they're making room.

When I've talked to the people at Amazon stores, and other places that sell them, the common response is that almost always the second speaker someone buys is a speaker with a screen.


Digital Trends

Choosing what smart home products are right for you is really about choosing the right voice assistant. With Amazon Echo, Google Home, and Apple HomePod all using separate assistants, it can be difficult to decide which one is right for you. On the one hand, Amazon Alexa offers a huge range of integration. There are tons of smart plugs, smart bulbs, TVs, cars, and microwaves that work with Alexa — making it the most widely integrated of the three. On the other hand, though Google Assistant is still a bit behind, a lot of people prefer interactions with this A.I. over Alexa.

Whether you’re in the market for an Echo or a Google Home smart speaker, the price is likely going to end up playing a big role in your purchasing decision. Amazon and Walmart are both offering generous discounts on smart home bundles, speakers, and displays right now. With discounts up to $65, now is a great time to add a little extra smart to your home.

Hololens and Bricks and Mortar

Retail is struggling. But a lot of people miss it. Mixing the two could create some interesting and profitable efficiencies.



WinBuzzer

Microsoft has shown it is not quite ready to give up on the physical shopping experience just yet. For example, last year we discussed the company’s efforts to compete with Amazon Go. Microsoft is reportedly working on bringing an automated shopping experience to bricks and mortar locations.

As the company pushes more into retail, it could be Mixed Reality that changes the physical shopping experience. Of course, Microsoft has done more than most to develop Mixed Reality and make it viable in real-world scenarios.

A recent Microsoft Patent shows a method for placing shopping buttons within a virtual reality render. As you may know, Mixed Reality blends the virtual with the real, so this shopping button would interact with real world environments and objects.

"“Disclosed is a system and method for mixed reality that includes a holographic button (eg, a 3D object) that can be downloaded from a provider’s website. The holographic button allows a user in the mixed reality world to order the article by interacting with the holographic button. The user in the mixed reality world can place the holographic button near a relevant real object. Whenever the user interacts with the real object through its mixed reality (ie virtual interaction with the real object), the holographic button may appear so that the user can order the element associated with the holographic button.”"

Apple REALLY wants you to use Amazon Alexa

Not sure what to make of this yet, but it's not an expected development.

There's a lot more cooperation between these big companies than most people would expect. Foxconn, for example makes phones for a number of huge players in smartphones, including Apple and Samsung.


Motley Fool

Apple Insider

Few new product categories within consumer electronics show the type of insane growth and adoption as smart speakers. Pioneered by Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) and its sleeper hit Echo, smart speaker sales are skyrocketing as consumers place devices in multiple rooms around their homes, accessing music-streaming services and controlling smart-home gadgets. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has mostly missed out on that boom though, as its HomePod didn't launch until earlier this year and is priced at a massive premium compared to the competition.

The tech titan rarely makes cross-platform plays, but Apple Music is one of those exceptions; the service has also been available on Android for years.

Amazon Alexa Programmers Twitch Channel

Twitch

Watch VOD: Deep Dive into Three Critical Aspects of Alexa's In-Skill Purchase API from amazonalexa on www.twitch.tv

They Will advertise like crazy the first projector enabled Smart Speaker

...especially on the NFL...

This is good news, it tells us these companies are all in on the space, will be competing for market share, and will shout about their new features.




BroadcastingCable


As the holiday shopping season closes in, we took a look at TV advertising trends surrounding a hotter-than-ever product category: smart speaker/displays for the home, and in particular the Amazon Echo, Google Home and the newest to market, Facebook Portal.

Data from iSpot.tv, the real-time TV ad measurement company with attention and conversion analytics from more than eight million smart TVs, reveals an interesting common strategy: these advertisers are more likely to spend big but air fewer ads than other top-spending brands — in other words, they’re making premium TV ad buys — and all three had the biggest budgets allocated to the NFL.

Motley Fool... pay attention to Smart Speaker Market. -- UPDATED

In the right place at the right time, finally.

Google Smart Screen Walkthrough



Motley Fool

Keep an eye on this space

These tech giants' next big market focus is the home, and we're still in the early stages of this gold rush. Right now, Amazon still has a slight advantage because it was an early mover with its Echo devices, and its smart speakers remain an easy and natural way for consumers to buy products from its website.

Google is gaining ground with its Home and its Nest devices, but Facebook's Portal could hit a roadblock, given that users may have had their fill of Facebook-related privacy fiascos.

This market will be worth $138 billion by 2026, but the bigger opportunity for each of these companies is to lock users into their ecosystems, and then sell more ads or, in Amazon's case, more products.

It's clear that all three companies are looking to connected home devices to help them increase their interactions with users -- and if they do that successfully, it'll lead to more sales across their businesses.

CE PRO   --- Historic Period of Growth for Smart Homes

New Technology Led by Displays

“I have been in CE for 30 years and there is nothing more exciting than the smart home. There has never been a category that I was so skeptical about that I am now so bullish about,” commented Baker.  “Smart home is great but when all these other products are connected, it is even more exciting.”

While some integrators have soured on selling displays due to the lack of margin, Baker noted that display technology will continue to evolve and presents a strong opportunity for integrators.“The TV is not going to sit in the family room and not be connected to a bunch of other devices. It is just not going to happen,” he said, citing health and wellness is a great example of connectivity to the displays.

He specifically believes Amazon will make a big push into display connectivity because it does not have a cell phone play.

Baker believes the changing form factors of TVs – rollables, transparent and high design – will be a big new trend led by MicroLED, OLED and 5G TVs that direct stream signals (he dubs that category as Devices as a Services (DaaS))

*********************

The growth is primarily going to be driven by online spending. He noted that 6 percent of consumers are spending 75 percent of their disposable income online, but  40 percent of consumers still spend less than 10 percent of their disposable income online

“Online has not peaked at all. There are huge dollars coming,” he noted. “We are headed into a historic period of growth. We are at cusp on awesome new products.”

CC thoughts

I've received several requests for my thoughts about the CC....

The big picture answer is that I have little doubt about how big Microvision is going to be.

As I've made clear before, it's a bleeding-edge company transitioning to a leading edge company, and in those situations timing is always an issue... delays are always possible.

One of the key things in the conference call -- that some will interpret as a negative -- is that the NRE is not necessary. That means the company has done a good job anticipating the needs of OEMS... that's huge to the positive in my view -- and says that one significant situation that COULD cause a delay won't. (They have a destination for engines... if they needed to be adjusted, then they're re-engineer, test again... and possibly find the new thing comes up short... this hurdle has been bypassed.)

They also made clear that products will appear next year.

• They announced a 24 million "black box" contract. That will be revealed sometime between now and mid next year. (it's still a secret)
• They announced a display only contract.
• They have not yet announced whatever is going to happen with the interactive display contract(s?)

So, I expect an interactive display contract announcement very soon

We were also told that once the "black box" project development is complete, that Microvision can sell the results to whomever they want. (As this is the case, it is almost certainly NOT a hardware company: Software, search, social media) prime suspects are Microsoft, Google, Amazon or Facebook.

And... once the tech is in the hands of more than one player, the desire for secrecy will be turned on it's head. When you're the only one, you want to be quiet. When you're in a field of similar players, you want to be as loud as possible..... so I expect a lot of noise about MVIS very soon.

Whether or not dilution is required or a contract or other income shows up before long remains to be seen... but I think the next announcements will come fairly rapidly.

Interesting power plays in Smart Home Products

As things heat up in the space there will be some jockeying around to see which interface becomes the standard.

Eventually, if it plays out like other fields, there will become a dominant standard and then an "only standard." (Like HD DVD vs. blu ray, or Betamax vs VHS)

Something is likely to win, and some force like this from retailers may hasten the process.

StaceyOnIOT // @Gigastacey

Walmart is asking companies that want to sell smart home products to make sure those products work with Google Home. The retailer has instructed potential suppliers to ensure that their products support Google Home, and if they also support Amazon Alexa, that they make such certification visible on the side or back of their packaging.

While several people responsible for selling smart home products confirmed they had received those instructions from Walmart, two others also said that Walmart suggested that it would prefer if providers didn’t host their services on Amazon Web Services, and that the ideal smart home products shouldn’t require a hub. None of the half-dozen companies I spoke to about this topic would agree to go on the record.

Wal-Mart telling tech vendors to leave Amazon Cloud

From a consumer point of view, Walmart’s push toward Google Home doesn’t bother me. Amazon’s Alexa is currently the team to beat when it comes to building a better smart home, and I’d like to see companies respond to that challenge. Plus, it doesn’t sound like Walmart is penalizing companies that work with Amazon, which would be a step too far.

Amazon Event Today -- UPDATES

No one knows anything yet, so it's ALL speculation, (just FYI)

Live Blog Link (c|net)

Wired

Engadget

The Verge


Amazon's Alexa device event today: Here's what you need to know from CNBC


Alexa Hunches "Predictive AI.."

.... well, doesn't that sound recently familiar?

Alexa wall clock (shows timers)

Alexa "guard" devices will have "guard mode"Introducing "Echo Guard." Say something like "Alea, I'm leaving," and she'll move your Echoes into Guard mode. You'll get a notification if they hear breaking glass or the sound of an alarm.

Will also turn smart lights on and off to make it look like you're there.

Launching "Smart Screen SDK" [software development kit] Can add echo show like functionality to anything with a display. (I'll be looking for this, this will be good.)





Lenovo is bringing Alexa to their tablets.

Autos: BMW, Ford, Toyota, Buick, Chevrolet, Infiniti, Hyundai, Nissan, GMC, SEAT, Cadillac, Dodge, Mercedes, Jeep, Ram, Genesis, Mitsubishi, Kia

Bezos says some very interesting things...

Very interesting things early on.

Particularly how he decided to sell books.

Look at how many screens there are around you.

Think about how many more there will be when they're tiny, interactive, energy efficient and inexpensive.

Then buy a little more MVIS.

Voice User Interface

A week ago I attended a meetup that featured an Amazon engineer (echo show focus... yes it was fascinating... ) the presentation she gave was about how they program the device for speech recognition.

It's WAY more involved (tedious?) than programming for visuals. When you're programming a typical program you can easily lay out all of the options that you will allow for a user, and they must choose one of them. The ways all of us speak varies a lot, and that makes programming for voice recognition particularly challenging.

The programming example she used was a "skill" for choosing a dog, and Alexa asks the user "what size dog do you want?"

With a visual program, you could handle this in a variety of ways that make getting a usable answer easy: You show options: small, medium, large. You could even use a sliding scale from "tiny" to "huge."

The engineer described the difficulty of programming for voice... so they want a big dog... how do you process all the possible words for "big?" If they're doing a good job of "conversing" you're more likely to get something strange. 

{big, large, a hundred pounds, colossal, enormous, gigantic, huge, immense, massive, substantial, vast, a whale of a, ginormous, hulking, humongous, jumbo, mammoth, the size of a baby elephant, super colossal}

... and if the system is to respond, each option must be programmed into the skill...

Which makes me quite sure that visuals need to be integrated into even the best voice programmed devices -- trying to program for all of the nuances of voice communication would be extremely difficult. 

We make requests, build relationships, and get some information through speech.

We get most of our information visually. I don't ask a smart speaker for the weekly weather report, because receiving the speech necessarily requires more time -- I would use speech to request the weekly forecast if I could then SEE it -- because making the request by voice can save me time, and seeing it saves me time.

Voice plus display will save time, and be more efficient...

Medium.com

VUI allows for hands free, efficient interactions that are more ‘human’ in nature than any other form of user interface. “Speech is the fundamental means of human communication,” writes Clifford Nass, Stanford researcher and co-author of Wired for Speech, “…all cultures persuade, inform and build relationships primarily through speech.” In order to create VUI systems that work, developers need to fully understand the intricacies of human communication. Consumers expect a certain level of fluency in human idiosyncrasies, as well as a more conversational tone from the bots and virtual assistants they’re interacting with on a near-daily basis.

Natural Language Processing — we’re not currently capable of developing a VUI with an inbuilt, natural and complex understanding of human communication, not yet. Regional accents, slang, conversational nuance, sarcasm… some humans struggle with these aspects of communication, so at this point can we really expect much more from a machine?

Visual feedback — including an element of visual feedback helps to reduce the level of frustration and confusion in users who aren’t sure whether or not the device is listening to or understanding what they’re saying. Alexa’s blue light ring, for example, visually communicates the device’s current status e.g. when the device is connecting to the WIFI network, whether or not ‘do not disturb mode’ has been activated, and when Alexa is getting ready to respond to a question…etc.

Thanks Carmen O!

Samsung Smart Speaker Patent

I don't know if this was posted last year as well, but I suspect so.

So, also of note is that there have been some issues with Bixby, but recent news is that it may collaborate with Google on Bixby. 

It's also a reminder of how many moving parts there are for systems like this, and how important timing is -- the timing is very good right now.


Thank you R!

Patently Apple
Patently Apple posted a report on Wednesday titled "Samsung's President of Mobile Communications has confirmed that a Smart Speaker is in fact coming to Market." We first reported on this possibility back in early July. Samsung had also been granted design patents for a possible future smart speaker that we covered in a previous report. Then yesterday a utility patent from Samsung came to light that revealed a new radical smart speaker system in detail. The system includes a master unit designed to communicate with a series of secondary units spread throughout the home. The interactive smart speaker includes a video projector that's in sync with its digital assistant called 'Bixby.' The system is designed in a certain way to resemble the head and face of a robot which enables the device to physically move when spoken to as well as redirect video responses or the playing of video content unto a nearby wall with its built-in projector.

***

Where there is an optimal distance range or distance limit between the projector and the projection surface, the device may be able to move itself (e.g., using wheels or rollers attached to the base) to the optimal position to display the image.

Furthermore, by using the sensor, the device can find a flat, blank surface for the large-screen display mode. This will avoid visual content from being displayed on an artwork or any other surface that would not be suitable.

Microvision Interactive Smart Speaker Demo

I'm thinking we'll hear more in October.

I recognize that speaker's voice....

And.... don't forget... at the distributor.... WPG Holdings


Microvision

Today’s global smart speaker market is rapidly expanding, up 187% year over year in Q2 20182. Many companies are seeking ways to differentiate their offerings to gain market share and increase monetization of their platforms since most users use only a few simple skills that are not tied to monetization.

Some companies are starting to add physical screens to their smart speakers to increase the consumer use of the VDA. These displays make it easier for the users to interact with VDAs, especially when there are multiple choices or lists. However, the industrial design and form factor suffer as these devices start to look and act just like large tablets. In many cases, the addition of a physical screen is not an option due to space, size and cost limitations.

MicroVision’s advanced interactive display technology can produce a large, on-demand, cost-effective interactive display without growing the form factor of a typical smart speaker. Very importantly, MicroVision’s technology provides the user with a natural way to interact with the VDA and is designed to increase the monetization opportunities for platform providers. The video below highlights an example use-case with a touch interface enabled by MicroVision’s Prototype Interactive Display Engine.