Colorado MicroDisplay Inc., a Boulder, Colo.-based supplier of microdisplays, announced it is taking orders for its CMD View Cube Optics Developer’s Kit.
The kit provides a visual interface development platform for optimizing microdisplays in display headsets, third-generation smart phones, global positioning system map readers, pagers and other devices that are viewed close to the eye, said Colorado MicroDisplay. The developer’s kit is designed to give original equipment manufacturers a faster and more cost-effective way to incorporate full-color, high-resolution and full-color motion video microdisplays into portable computing, communications and entertainment devices, said the company.
The developer’s kit includes a View Cube microdisplay module, Pro-E CAD Mechanical layouts for three optical systems, reference design for the View Cube core, applications support and supporting technical documentation. The View Cube microdisplay module includes a View Cube table-top unit, three interchangeable lenses, an analog display, an illuminator, a cable and a system-interface unit to view any content.
The product is available with a limited-use license for product prototype manufacturing.
Products developed using the CMD View Cube Kit could support a variety of content from text-based information to high-performance applications such as video conferencing on wireless networks, Internet/intranet/extranet content, multimedia titles on PCs and DVD titles on portable players. Part of the company’s vision is that mobile phones will become portable multimedia wireless thin clients. The advantage of a microdisplay in that environment is the image size is significantly larger than the actual device, facilitating the use of Internet, e-mail and other content.
The company earlier this year introduced its fingernail-sized CMD8X6P Microdisplay, a high-refresh rate, field-sequential full-color microdisplay based on Dynamic Nematic Liquid crystal on Silicon technology.
“It’s the only high-resolution, color display prototype out there,” said David Mentley, vice president of Stanford Resources Inc., a San Jose, Calif.-based market research firm for the electronic display market.
The market for microdisplays in communications devices has not yet arrived, but manufacturers could begin implementing between next year and 2001, according to Mentley.
“There are no applications right now,” said Mentley. “It’s hard to think of a compelling need or application for that product.”
But with the emergence of third-generation technologies and increasing bandwidth, a lot of potential lies in displays for communications devices including faxes, e-mail, pagers and full-featured cellular phones, he said.
The benefit of using a microdisplay with communications devices is that it “ultimately is the most robust interface,” said Mentley.
“The View Cube Kit leverages years of CMD display technology, mechanical engineering, optics and human-factors experience to greatly reduce the time and cost of developing a microdisplay solution,” said Mark Willner, president and chief executive officer of Colorado MicroDisplay. “With this kit, we can partner with OEM customers throughout the product-development cycle to help save months of optics and mechanical engineering time.”
Colorado MicroDisplay will begin shipping the kit Oct. 15. The developer’s kit is priced at $25,000 for the complete View Cube Developer’s Kit package, or $20,000 for customers that have purchased the basic hardware included in the previously introduced SVGA Display Evaluation Kit.
Colorado MicroDisplay is a privately held company founded two years ago to develop and commercialize microdisplay technologies for communications, computing and entertainment products. The company has completed two rounds of financing totaling $15 million.
