Himax's Front-Lit(TM) LCoS is the Biggest Breakthrough When it Comes to Head-mounted Displays

At the SID Display Week Conference that is held in San Diego, Himax showed off their latest proprietary and patented liquid crystal on silicon technology, Front-Lit(TM) LCoS. Front-Lit(™) is an ultra-compact and extremely power-efficient optical engine.
 


Himax Technologies has managed to create a very power-efficient and ultra-compact optical engine by integrating two major components into the display module itself. The two components that were integrated includes the LED illumination system and the polarization beam spitter.
 
The result of integrating the components are a reduction in size and an increase in power efficiency. There are also some other benefits that came with integrating the two components. The new design simplifies the assembly process, and that can help lower manufacturing time and costs.
 
Now, you're probably wondering if the new optical engine / display is the same quality as the one that is currently integrated into Google Glass. Well, it is actually better. Front-Lit(TM) LCoS produces over 10,000 nits of brightness and more than 50 nits/mW efficiency. That is the highest recorded ratio in the entire industry, which means it's the biggest breakthrough the world has had when it comes to head mounted displays.
 
How does this benefit smart glasses consumers? 
Himax said that a lot of people at the conference were showing interest, so it shouldn't be too long before we see this technology appear in future smart glasses and other head-mounted devices. When this technology starts to be used, consumers will benefit in some ways.
Some of the things that consumers will see from this includes better battery life, lower costs, and less heat. Let me explain:

• Better Battery Life: This technology is very power-efficient which should help add a little bit more usage time to a battery charge. It may not be a lot, but as bad as battery life is with smart glasses, any additional time that can be gained is awesome.
• Lower Costs: These displays take less time to manufacture and are cheaper to manufacture, so at the end of the day a consumer should see a slight price reduction on smart glasses.
• Less Heat: Less power, less heat.

I doubt we will see this technology implemented into smart glasses immediately, but we should see it at some point soon. Maybe in a few months or so, but not today. Still very cool stuff!