Spex, which is a division of eSight, has a very specific objective in developing VR systems and that is to help those that are suffering from visual problems and, in particular, macular degeneration. In this condition, the central portion of people’s vision deteriorates. The company uses a camera to capture what would be in the region that has deteriorated and on the head set, the image is moved so that it can be viewed with the parts of the eye that are still usable.
The firm has its own OLED-based AR headset that is used for this application. The camera is a 21.5 megapixel unit and it has 24x zoom while the OLED microdisplay has 1024 x 768 resolution. The latency from camera is said to be 70ms. The system can support bidirectional audio and video and it is a complete Android-based system although there is an HDMI input on the glasses.
The company highlighted its ‘Bioptic Tilt’ mechanism which can be used when the glasses are tilted up out of the line of eyesight. The OLEDs block the vision so are visible in any lighting conditions.
Although the glasses were being promoted for vision improvement, the company is also happy to supply the glasses for more mainstream AR applications.
Spex is developing systems to help those with poor vision. Image:Meko
