Wearable Technology

Innovation roadmap for wearable sensor technology

Innovation roadmap for XR headsets.

Mira Reality, a startup that built the only Made for Apple certified AR headset, has been acquired by Apple for its IP, customers and existing AR content ecosystem.

Quantum technology is experiencing a period of hype in 2023, with a lot of focus on quantum computing. However, investment is also going towards the development of quantum sensing and timing solutions - including quantum magnetic field sensors. This sector includes a wide range of both established and research phase, bench-top and chip-scale technologies. In this premium article, IDTechEx overviews new technologies and/or market opportunities of hardware approaches with chip-scale potential - SQUIDs, TMRs, OPMs and N-V centers.

On June 5th, Apple ended years of speculation and finally announced a mixed reality (MR) headset. The US$3499 Vision Pro headset confirmed some expectations and confounded others. IDTechEx has been tracking the mixed, augmented and virtual reality markets since 2015, with reports on headsets and accessories and optics available now and a report on displays for AR/VR soon to be released. This insight into the AR/VR industry and associated technologies provides context to IDTechEx's initial analysis of Apple's headset design philosophy.

Innovation roadmap for the readiness level of printed semiconductors (organic and perovskite applications).

Innovation roadmap for electrophoretic/ electrochromic displays.

Innovation roadmap for the printed/flexible electronics hype cycle.

Innovation roadmap for flexible integrated circuits.

OQmented is a fabless developer of laser beam scanning (LBS) systems, focusing on displays for augmented reality (AR) devices and 3D sensing for consumer electronics. The Fraunhofer ISIT spinout uses hermetically sealed MEMS mirror systems enabling high resolution RGB augmented reality near to the eye displays or ultra-fast 3D depth scanning, ideally designed for mobile devices by achieving the lowest power consumption with its double resonant Lissajous scanning. The company is based in Itzehoe, Germany.

Propel LLC is a US-based company developing performance-driven textile-based products.

Oorym is commercializing the Simple Planaric Substrate (SPS), an optical waveguide combiner that it says is simpler and more efficient than other forms of reflective waveguide. The SPS can be configured to a wide range of use cases, with augmented reality and heads up displays being major applications.

Tess Skyrme, Technology Analyst at IDTechEx, met the Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer, Danial Mosaid, of Phantom Technology at Cambridge Tech Week 2023.

MICROOLED is a French developer and manufacturer of near-eye display optical modules based on its OLED-on-silicon microdisplays. These are used for military, medical and augmented reality applications. It emphasizes low power consumption in its system architecture.

MICLEDI is a Belgian early-stage firm which develops microLED microdisplays for the augmented reality (AR) market. These are intended for integration with waveguide optics. The imec spin-out's displays are designed on a 300mm wafer platform for complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) manufacturing compatibility.

IDUN Technologies is developing neural interface technology, using in-ear EEG. Tess Skyrme, Technology Analyst at IDTechEx, interviewed CEO, Simon Bachmann.

The Metaverse Standards Forum is intended as the place for communication between stakeholders to create recommendations for standards to make an interoperable metaverse possible. The Khronos Group-founded organization counts almost 2500 companies as members. IDTechEx spoke to its chair, Neil Trevett, about the Forum's goals and work to date.

TriLite is a developer and manufacturer of laser beam scanning (LBS) projectors, targeted especially for use in consumer augmented reality (AR) glasses. TriLite's Trixel 3 projector is extremely compact to fit in the arm of glasses, uses a single bi-axial MEMS mirror, and does not require external relay optics. The Vienna, Austria based firm has developed innovative machine learning-based software to simplify calibration and control, reducing production costs and increasing manufacturing yields.

This premium article provides an introduction to laser beam scanning (LBS) displays for augmented reality (AR).