What Display Daily thinks: I suppose the title is enough of an indication of what Display Daily thinks.
The good news is that the display industry has escaped the gravitational pull of the aforementioned black hole and is reaching escape velocity. How do I know this? Strategic investment.
There are so many MicroLED and likeminded startups promising near eye display brilliance. You know who isn’t investing in any of these startups? Yup, the display industry. Typically, big tech and big tech’s billionaires will be the most ardent investors in a startup ecosphere that promises them a shortcut to future technology. Just look at the investments being made in AI startups by the likes of Microsoft, Google, and Meta.
The display industry doesn’t boast the same profile and billionaire class as big tech, but it certainly has enough money to throw at a problem that needs addressing. It may not be as venture capital minded as it should be, but even putting that aside, it is not really investing in anything that suggests a desire to own the display tech of the future, spatial computing.
Follow the money goes two ways here: one is hell bent on finding a way to get Apple to hand out fat manufacturing contracts, and the other way is hell bent on assuming that some day all displays will be built this way and vacuuming up investor cash.
None of that is strategic. And that implies there is no AR strategy at play here. I mean, it sounds like a stretch but if you can think of a viable AR strategy built on consumer or enterprise demand/solutions then feel free to let me know.
The Alt Reality crowd are heading for purgatory, a state of limbo, and I can only assume they have some unfinished work to do before the heavens open up and let them find peace. In the meantime, I can find my own peace in sitting on my metaphorical porch and shouting, Get off my property, you pesky varmints, as I shake my metaphorical fist.
Alliance Forms to Propel Augmented Reality into Mainstream
The IEEE-ISTO AR Alliance has recently formed with the mission to accelerate the adoption and development of augmented reality (AR) technologies. As a program under the IEEE Industry Standards and Technology Organization, the alliance aims to support the growth of AR by fostering the development of technologies, components, devices, solutions, and platforms. This initiative comes as Apple’s Vision Pro headset emerges as a potential catalyst for widespread AR adoption, offering functionalities beyond gaming and entertainment, such as productivity tasks.
Chaired by Bharath Rajagopalan of STMicroelectronics, the AR Alliance sees the Vision Pro’s launch as a pivotal moment for the AR industry. Apple’s involvement is viewed as a significant validation of AR, underscoring the importance of making AR technology accessible to the average user. The alliance also emphasizes the need for industry collaboration to advance AR technology, highlighting the importance of standards and protocols for interoperability and market readiness.
Originating from the LaSAR Alliance, which focused on laser-scanning technology for AR displays, the AR Alliance has expanded its scope to address the broader needs of the AR market. Member organizations, including Corning, Dispelix, Essilor Luxottica, Microoled, and OptoFidelity, are collaborating on challenges such as image quality, connectivity, and certification standards for AR devices.
Efforts include developing uniform image quality measurement methods for AR headsets, establishing connectivity protocols for light AR glasses, and assisting the Underwriters Laboratory Technical Committee 8400 with standards for testing and certifying AR products. The alliance’s commitment to building a cooperative, industry-wide platform for AR development is encapsulated in its tagline, “Building AR Together.”
