OmniVision Technologies, Inc. has today announced that it has collaborated with Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute Company Limited (ASTRI) to develop a reference design for production-ready augmented reality (AR) glasses. The AR glasses combine OmniVision’s lightweight and power-efficient OP02220, the industry’s only single-chip, 1080p high definition (HD) liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) display with integrated driver and memory buffer, with ASTRI’s reference design, which integrates optics and system electronics that provide a 60-degree-wide field of view.
The AR market is at an early stage and growing rapidly. OmniVision and ASTRI created this reference design with a view to help that acceleration of development and eventually look towards consumer adoption of AR head-mounted displays (HMDs).
“Customers are looking for a complete turnkey reference design solution for AR glasses with Wi-Fi connectivity to any mobile device or PC,” said Sam Yoshikawa, LCOS marketing manager at OmniVision. “We partnered with ASTRI because they are an early adopter of AR technology and they have strong expertise in AR design. The collaboration allows us to rapidly bring our high-resolution LCOS display to the AR market as part of a qualified reference design.”
ASTRI’s wireless reference design will offer OEMs and ODMs the opportunity to license the technology, obtain a prototype and accelerate their product launch. As stated above, ASTRI’s optics design allows for a 60-degree field of view but also integrates 802.11ac Wi-Fi connectivity.
The reference design leverages OmniVision’s OP02220 LCOS display and OV9282 image sensor to enable inside-out tracking such as simultaneous localisation and mapping (SLAM), 3D room scanning, and hand and tool tracking. The OP02220 enables a smaller form factor with up to 40% lower power consumption compared with display systems using two or three separate driver and memory-buffer chips. The OV9282 is built on OmniVision’s high-speed OmniPixel3-GS pixel technology to capture 1280 x 800 pixel images at 120 frames per second (FPS) with low latency.
“ASTRI’s intelligent AR projection solution offers advanced optics with uniquely varied FOV, as well as high resolution and brightness. Through this partnership, our advanced optical and sensing capabilities join the high-performance image sensor and LCOS solutions from OmniVision – offering the consumers an extraordinary product experience. The OP02220, for example, is the perfect fit for ASTRI’s reference design because it offers industry-leading LCOS display capabilities in a compact form factor with extremely low power consumption,” said Kenny Chan, Senior Manager at ASTRI. “ASTRI’s ‘Smart Optics’ display and sensing technology solutions, and this particular reference design, enable OEMs and ODMs to rapidly bring leading-edge AR glasses to the market.”
This joint reference design and all specified components are now available. A prototype is being demonstrated at OmniVision’s private suite at CES 2018, Las Vegas, and VRFocus will keep you updated with all the latest details on the future of this reference design.
via Mint VR