VR - Page 20

Sony revealed that the HMZ-T1 OLED HMD will arrive in the US in November 2011 - for around $799. The HMZ-T1 is a head mounted display featuring dual 1280x720 0.7" OLED microdisplays - offering the same experience as watching a 750" display from 20 meters. The unit comes with an external processor box offering HDMI intput and output (you cannot use the HMD without the processor box).

Ron Mertens from OLED-Info.com recently had the opportunity to interview Susan Jones, eMagin's Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer.

eMagin is engaged in the design, development, manufacturing and marketing of virtual imaging products that utilize OLEDs, OLED-on-silicon micro displays and information technology solutions. Focused on Micro displays, eMagin is selling its micro displays to companies that incorporate them into products such as cameras, army helmets or headsets, etc.

Q: First of all, thank you for accepting to do this interview session with us... Let's begin. What kind of OLED microdisplays are you currently selling?

eMagin is currently selling SVGA+ OLED and OLED-XL microdisplays that have 852x600 color triad pixels, SVGA 3D OLED and OLED-XL microdisplays that have 800x600 color triad pixels. We also just announced the availability of a limited number of interface design and reference kits with prototypes of our new SVGA 3DS OLED-XL microdisplay that is the same resolution as the SVGA-3D, but with a much smaller diagonal.

Sensics today announced the commercial availability of the piSight TM, a high-end panoramic virtual reality (VR) display system that delivers an unprecedented feeling of space and mass in a lightweight head-mounted display. The product of nearly a decade of research supported by NASA and a global car company, piSight uses a breakthrough patented optical design that provides for a 3D wrap-around visual sensation with 150° field of view, 2200x1200 pixels per eye in full color.

The head-mounted display weighs only 2 lbs (1 Kg) and includes an integrated six-degree motion tracker for a fully-immersive VR experience. It uses 24 eMagin OLED microdisplays.

With funding from the Naval Research Office, Virtually Better designed "Virtual Iraq" to support exposure therapy of anxiety disorders resulting from the high-stress environment. The treatment involves exposing the patient to a virtual environment containing the feared situation rather than taking the patient into the actual environment or having the patient imagine the stimulus. The virtual environment is controlled by the therapist through a computer keyboard ensuring full control of the exposure to the programmed situations. Virtual reality exposure treatment allows the therapist to manipulate situations to best suit the individual patient during a standard therapy hour (usually 45-50 minutes) and within the confines of the therapist's office.

Virtually Better chose to include eMagin's Z800 3DVisor as the medium for delivering the VR exposure. "It delivered the level of immersion we needed for successful treatments," said Ken Graaf, chief executive officer, Virtually Better. "The combination of the OLED displays delivering 3D stereovision and the wide field of view were a natural fit for the simulations we have been developing." Besides "Virtual Iraq," Virtually Better applications currently include Virtual Airplane, Virtual Audiences, Virtual Heights, Virtual Storm, and Virtual Vietnam. Built on the eMagin's proven OLED technology base, the Z800 3DVisor provides full-color, 360-degree, 3D stereovision through its state-of-the-art head tracking and SVGA 3D OLED microdisplays. With stereo earbuds and a noise-canceling microphone, the Visor enables group training scenarios as well as individual-based training and therapy sessions.