NewSight Reality, Inc. (NSR) unveiled the next-generation version of its Transparent Optical Module (TOM) 2.0—an augmented reality (AR)-based technology—during Vision Expo East this weekend.
Let’s start with NSR.
Based in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, NewSight Reality is a developer of AR-based display / optics—near-eye display technology.
With a reported 22 issued and pending patents within the U.S. and across the globe, the company has been contracted with the U.S. Department of Defense’s U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) Directorate of Science and Technology.
The goal of the contract: to develop and test a prototype of its TOM, according to the company.
Now explain TOM.
The original TOM is a proprietary near-eye display designed as a single thin, lightweight package intended to serve as an alternative solution for creating AR / mixed-reality (MR) displays and optics.
How: By bypassing the need for traditional optical combiners, the technology “replaces the light engine and optical engine with a single multi-layer hermetically sealed transparent module,” per NSR.
Even further: Calibration is only needed once—during the manufacturing process.
What kind of light does it provide?
With micro-light-emitting diode (LED) display technology, TOM is intended to provide over “80% transparency and high light efficiency” as a direct result of the module’s direct transparent display (in close vicinity to the eyes).
And its design?
The display has a thickness of anywhere from 1.0 mm to 2.0 mm and a weight of ~2 grams.
The result: A module that can be curved to the front surface base curve of an ophthalmic lens as well as integrated into an eyewear lens for monocular or binocular AR/MR eyewear.
So what does this 2.0 version offer?
TOM 2.0 features:
- Stray light shielding solution
- Based on a new patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for NSR’s tubular stray light invention, designed to specifically focus light efficiently toward the user’s eye. Details on that patent here.
- Active micro-lens topics
- Switchable micro-lens design that preserves transparency and “demonstrably increases power efficiency”
Give me some other highlights.
According to NSR, the new version also includes:
- Improved power efficiency
- Scalable platform for a variety of markets
- Intended for AR product mass adoption
So … where can I find this?
Click here to learn more.
See here for more Vision Expo East coverage.
Vision Expo East is being held at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City, New York, from March 14-17, 2024.