Vuzix announces optical technology breakthrough for smart glasses

Waveguide optics are a revolutionary new way of moving light within smart glasses and are a fraction of the size and weight of conventional prism-based optics used in competing wearable smart devices. Waveguide optics also deliver a much wider field of view for the user.

As opposed to requiring large optics to focus and create the virtual image, Waveguide optics use a 1.4mm thin “window” (operating similar to a fiber optic) with a tiny input pupil that is expanded using a hologram in front of the eye. Since the light is not bent through bulk material as in conventional optics, this technology is said to provide a significant improvement in mass, weight, volume, simplicity and overall optical performance.

The technology was originally developed by Nokia and licensed to Vuzix. Vuzix integrated it with its own waveguide technology and developed other improvements for its release into Vuzix products. The first Vuzix product to use the revolutionary Waveguide technology is the M2000AR for Enterprise. This monocular solution, which is available immediately, is the first of many planned waveguide-based solutions for 2014 – it is also ruggedized for industrial applications. The M2000AR also includes a 720p display and a 1080p camera, an HDMI Interface, and electronic sunglass “tint”. It deliver 30° field of view and can be used in daylight with up to 8,000 nits of brightness. It also comes with other features such as integrated head tracking, an integrated compass, an anodized aluminum alloy enclosure and is powered by a rechargeable lithium ion battery. The M2000AR will be demonstrated at CES 2014.