Project description
Augmented reality technology fuses the virtual with the real world
Current virtual and augmented reality headsets contain two flat screens, creating a stereoscopic effect that gives users the illusion of depth. While looking at stereoscopic imagery, the brain receives mismatching cues between the perceived distance of the 3D virtual object (accommodation) and the focal point the eye is staring at (vergence). This vergence-accommodation conflict is known to cause eye strain, pain and nausea. The EU-funded LightField project has developed breakthrough light-field technology that creates genuine 3D virtual images that can be fused seamlessly into the real world, i.e. each eye can change focus naturally between virtual objects in the image, just like it would in the real world.
Objective
Monocular depth perception (eye accommodation) is missing in all today's virtual (VR) & augmented reality (AR) headsets & goggles. At best they provide an illusion of the 3rd dimension (depth, in this case) through stereoscopic vision using binocular cues only. Current devices use a flat display whereby each eye is forced to focus on a flat image. This results in so called vergence-accommodation visual conflict which causes an unpleasant eye strain & reduces the immersive effect of VR/AR. Research from the Samsung Mobile VR team has shown that most people with unimpaired vision start experiencing discomfort after using a VR headset longer than 20 mins. While this visual conflict is already a problem in VR applications, it is a major obstacle for AR applications, where an eye needs to focus on both the real & virtual objects at the same time.
We have developed a novel light-field display technology for VR/MR that creates genuine 3D virtual images & mixes them naturally with the real world ones. Our display technology correctly processes all information about the intensity & direction of light rays from the virtual images (by creating a light field), realistically blurs/unblurs virtual objects depending on their distance from the viewer.
Our patented technology works without eye tracking & has the potential to be scaled down to miniature form factors, effectively enabling VR/AR headsets the size of regular reading glasses.
We have started early sales of our technology closing a €50,000 deal with Samsung Mobile (KR). In 2018 we have raised €750,000 from the Swiss ICT Investor Club, Atmosclear Investments & prominent business angels.
We are currently working on bringing to the market our first product—a light-field projector for VR headsets.
We are aiming to reach €15m in revenues by 2023 & 50+ FTEs.
Fields of science
- social scienceseconomics and businessbusiness and managementbusiness models
- engineering and technologymaterials engineering
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencessoftwaresoftware applicationsvirtual reality
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencessoftwaresoftware applicationssimulation software
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1Coordinator
1024 Ecublens
Switzerland
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.