Manufacturer and marketer of Smart Glasses and augmented reality (AR) technologies Vuzix Corporation has revealed its Vuzix Incognito technology which it describes as, “A breakthrough in optical waveguide design and performance for see-through AR smart glasses.”
The company says that its new Incognito technology can virtually eliminate the forward eye glow that’s usually associated with waveguide-based smart glasses. By utilising waveguides, Incognito is designed to work at peak performance.
According to Vuzix, the front surface light leakage, commonly found in current industry solutions for AR smart glasses along with potential haze and virtual images, is nearly eliminated with this technology.
Paul Travers, president and CEO of Vuzix said, “Vuzix Incognito technology makes the tech in a pair of AR smart glasses, or any other waveguide-based head-mounted display, virtually disappear. User privacy is greatly increased as this technology practically eliminates the ability for any other observer to know that you’re viewing displayed content on your device.”
Standard waveguide solutions
Leveraging Vuzix’s intellectual property, surpassing 325 patents and pending patents focused on displays and waveguides, the Incognito technology effectively controls internal light reflection. This feature reduces and regulates forward light leakage within a waveguide, improving low-light optical performance and further elevating Vuzix’s forward light ratio of 1:8.
“While this is a highly desirable feature for consumer use, it represents critical functionality for certain military applications, where forward light in defense situations can quickly compromise the safety of ground troops and military personnel. We look forward to incorporating Vuzix Incognito technology into both our standard and customised waveguide solutions as we concurrently begin to ramp waveguide production at our new high-volume, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in the Rochester NY area,” added Travers.
The company’s Incognito technology will also improve the contrast of virtual images in the AR glasses as well as the interaction with the external environment. Vuzix was able to accomplish these refinements with no increases in its manufacturing cost per waveguide.
Isa Muhammad is a writer and video game journalist covering many aspects of entertainment media including the film industry. He's steadily writing his way to the sharp end of journalism and enjoys staying informed. If he's not reading, playing video games or catching up on his favourite TV series, then he's probably writing about them.
