Vuzix partners with Plessey on next-gen AR glasses

The two companies are partnering to develop advanced display engines for Vuzix waveguide optics to enable next generation AR Smart Glasses. The combination of Vuzix' expertise and IP in smart glasses and waveguide optic technologies along with Plessey's microLED light source product family, Quanta-Brite will be the basis for a new generation of AR Smart Glasses, a press release reads. In the development of its next-gen waveguide based products, Vuzix has selected Plessey's microLED-based Quanta-Brite light engine, which delivers high efficiency with significant improvements in lumen output compared to other light sources currently available on the market. The smaller and more efficient microLED based Quanta-Brite light engine will not only result in less energy consumption and improved battery life, but also enables Vuzix to cut a significant amount of volume from the display engine. Quanta-Brite is based on Plessey's advanced and proprietary gallium-nitride-on-silicon (GaN-on-Si) technology, with an integrated monolithic array of RGB pixels with advanced micro-optical elements to create a bright, largely collimated and highly uniform light source for the illumination in advanced display engines. The resulting optical system is up to 50% smaller, lighter, simpler and cheaper than incumbent solutions and the high performance microLED emitters combined with minimal optical system losses result is significantly increased power efficiency, the release states. The combination of Vuzix' recently announced collaboration with Qualcomm around the Snapdragon XR1 platform and Plessey's Quanta-Brite microLED technology along with our next generation waveguide optics should enable Vuzix to develop powerful AR smart glasses in form factors nearly indistinguishable from regular eyeglasses.