VR - Page 14

Update: The LOMID project was actually launched in 2015, the post below details its interim results...

The EU launched a new project called LOMID (Large cost-effective OLED microdisplays and their applications) that aims to develop next-generation large-area OLED microdisplays for VR and AR applications. The project's partners will produce flexible OLED microdisplays sized 13 x 21 mm (about 1-inch diagonal) with a resolution of 1200x1920 (2,300 PPI).

The project is led by the Fraunhofer FEP and other partners include MicroOLED, CEA-Leti and the University of Leipzig and the University of Oxford. The project will run until 31.12.2017. The Fraunhofer will demonstrate the prototype you see above at the SID-Mid-Europe Chapter Spring Meeting.

San Francisco based Osterhout Design Group (ODG) officially announced two new AR headsets, both based on OLED microdisplays. The high-end R-9 provides a 50-degrees FOV based on a FHD (1080p) OLED microdisplay. This device is based on ODG's own Project Horizon platform, and will ship in Q2 2017 for around $1,799.

ODG R-9 headset

The R-8 offers a smaller FOV (40-degrees) and a lower resolution OLED (720p). The R-8 will ship in the second half of 2017 for "less than $1,000". Both headsets are based on Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 CPU and support Qualcomm's Snapdragon VR SDK and PTC's Vuforia AR platform.

Kopin unveiled its first OLED microdisplay called the Lightning, which features a 2048 x 2048 resolution (2k x 2k) at 1" diagonal and a fast refresh rate of 120 Hz. Kopin specifically targets VR applications for this new microdisplay.

Kopin also unveiled a new optics system, which they brand as Pantile optics which is less than 30 mm thick and can be used to make thinner and lighter VR systems. A concept Pantile optics and Lightning OLED device is shown below next to a Samsung Gear VR system.

Lenovo has unveiled a VR headset prototype that is based on Microsoft's Windows Holographic platform. The headset uses two 1440x1440 AMOLED displays and weighs just 350 grams (100 grams less than the Oculus Rift).

Lenovo aims to ships this product later in 2017, and the price will be relatively competitive at "less than $400".

Virtual Reality (VR) means a near-eye display that completely blocks the real world and replaces it with a simulated display. VR displays have been around for a long time - the first VR head mounted displays (HMD) were introduced in the 1960s, but these devices, and those devices that followed it for 50 years suffered from many problems due to primitive technology.

Everything seems to have changed in 2012, when Oculus Rift raised $2.5 million on Kickstarter to develop its VR HMD. Less than 2 years later, the company was acquired by Facebook for $2 billion, and the VR market finally emerged. A good VR experience requires a high end display that features fast response time, high resolution, power efficiency, light weight, and more. OLEDs are the perfect choice for VR displays - especially due to the technology's low latency (as opposed to LCD displays, which are notoriously slow).

Taiwan-based TrendForce says that HTC is the current leader in VR headsets - with a market share of 61.4% between April 2016 and November 2016, but the Taiwanese company will not be able to extend its lead into 2017 as it will be hit the hardest from the OLED market supply shortage.

According to TrendForce, in 2017 HTC will ship 600,000 Vive units, while Sony will ship 2.5 million PlayStation VR units and Oculus is expected to ship 1.2 million units. Other brands, all combined, will ship 800,000 units. All of these VR headsets use OLED displays.

Kopin announced that it is going to enter the OLED microdisplay market for mobile VR and AR applications. The company's first OLED microdisplays will be demonstrated at CES 2017 next month.

Kopin says it has developed a novel silicon backplane structure that will enable high-speed OLED-on-silicon microdisplays. The displays will feature an ultra-high resolution, low power and small form factor.

Synaptics announced a new display driver IC for OLED-based smartphones. The new R66452 IC supports resolutions up to 1080x2160, HDR and 90Hz refresh-rate, which means that it can be used for VR OLEDs.

The R66452 also features Synaptics' latest OLED image processing technology (including flexible digital gamma control for smooth dimming, local-area ACL for high-contrast text and high-accuracy color enhancement). It integrates RAM for low-power operation and is available in either COF packaging for flexible displays or COG packaging for rigid displays.

IHS says that flexible display shipments (mostly OLEDs) will reach 139 million units in 2017 (or 3.8% of the total display market) - an increase of 135% compared to 2016 (59 million units). In 2023 IHS sees shipments of 560 million flexible displays.

In 2017, flexible OLEDs will comprise 20% of the total OLED display market. The growth in flexible OLED adoption will be lead by smartphones - and especially Apple's next-gen iPhone. In 2016 76% of flexible OLEDs ended up in smartphones - and the remainder were used in smartwatches (mostly in Apple's Watch, probably). Next generation flexible OLED applications, including tablets, VR devices, automotive displays and OLED TVs are not expected to be significant until 2023.

Hong Kong-based Truly Semiconductors started working on its AMOLED fab in 2014, and in May 2015 estimated that production will begin in Q1 2016. The fab was delayed, and a few months later it was estimated that production will begin in September 2016.

Truly have finally announced that the fab is now online, and the company is starting AMOLED mass production. Truly published the (rather overdone and weird) video you see above - and according to the video the company is targeting smartphones, wearables, VR and automotive applications.