2/18/2004 6:36:00 AM
BOTHELL, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Feb. 18, 2004–Lumera
Corporation, a majority owned subsidiary of Microvision, Inc.
(Nasdaq:MVIS), announced the availability of its first indoor/outdoor
directional antennas for 802.11a and 802.11b/g wireless networks.
Based on a proprietary design, the LP53A and LP24A Mini Panel Antennas
combine high gain with a directional beam and virtually no
backscatter, important features for enabling improved range, security
and quality of service at very affordable prices.
Lumera says that its highly directional antennas can help
enterprises with wireless networks to improve security by containing
the network signal within a well-defined perimeter, effectively
preventing any access to the RF signal from outside the premises.
By arranging multiple antennas throughout a facility, HotSpot
operators can maximize the signal strength in each location in order
to support the maximum number of users with the highest quality of
service and at the lowest overall facility cost.
When used as a base station antenna, Lumera’s panels can increase
the range of a base station by three to four times without increasing
power.
Because of its form factor, the antennas are compact enough to be
integrated into a laptop computer and other types of consumer
electronic devices.
The antennas are aimed at the rapidly expanding wireless local
area networks (WLAN) and WiFi markets. Lumera says that its strategy
is to focus on large commercial accounts, including WiFi network
operators and systems integrators, as prospective launch customers.
Both antennas are currently being evaluated and tested by a major
global provider of wireless network services and also a major computer
manufacturer. Research analysts at the Gartner group estimate that the
number of public WiFi HotSpots in North America will increase 77% in
2004, from 28,680 HotSpots in 2003 to 50,811 this year. The Insight
Research Corporation, which provides market research and strategic
analysis to the telecom industry, estimates that $163 billion will be
spent worldwide over the next five years on WiFi services and
equipment and that worldwide WiFi revenues are expected to grow from
$7 billion in 2003 to $44 billion by 2008, a compounded annual growth
rate of 44%. The Dell’Oro Group, a market research firm specializing
in strategic analysis for the telecommunications industry, estimates
that the market for access points for WLANs will grow at a compound
annual rate of 20% over the next five years, from $431 million in 2003
to $1.1 billion in 2008.
“The wireless communications market is large and growing rapidly,
and system integrators are demanding higher levels of performance and
reliability at lower costs,” said Tom Mino, Lumera’s CEO. “We believe
that our antennas offer a unique combination of performance,
versatility and cost for wireless networks for both WLANs and HotSpot
applications and that we are well positioned to benefit from the
aggressive network build-out that is currently underway. We are now
delivering sample quantities to customers, and the feedback we have
received to date has been excellent. We are in a position to ramp up
to volume production on our 5.25 GHz antenna almost immediately, and
we believe that we’ll be in a position to begin shipping the 2.4 GHz
antenna during the next quarter.
“We intend to expand our product line by combining our low-cost
antennas with our RF phase shifters, which utilize our proprietary
nano coating polymer materials to deliver a disruptive
high-performance, low-cost smart antenna. Smart antennas improve
signal quality and range and can improve bandwidth availability and
network coverage by electronically steering and/or shaping the antenna
pattern to more precisely aim it where it is needed, thereby
increasing the efficiency and lowering the cost of building and
maintaining wireless networks. We expect to have samples available for
commercial customers later this year.”
About Lumera: http://www.lumera.com/
Lumera, a majority owned subsidiary of Microvision, Inc., is an
emerging leader in nanotechnology-based applications. The company
designs proprietary molecular structures and polymer compounds for a
broad range of electro-optic, RF and specialty coating applications.
The company also develops high-performance RF and electro-optic
devices based on its materials technology, and has developed
proprietary processes for fabricating such devices.
Devices based on Lumera’s new materials may dramatically improve
the performance and reduce the costs of smart antenna systems for the
full range of wireless communications markets, and may provide similar
improvements for electro-optic components for telecommunications,
optical computing, optical signal processing and optical
interconnects. The company has also developed materials and process
techniques that may simplify and improve the production of Organic
Light Emitting Diode (OLED) flat panel displays. The properties of
these materials have also shown promise for application in coating
materials used in wafer processing for semiconductor fabrication and
in bioassay systems. Lumera expects to sell and license its technology
in a variety of forms, including custom polymer materials, coated
wafers, and discrete and integrated component devices, both packaged
and unpackaged.
About Microvision: www.microvision.com
Headquartered in Bothell, Wash., Microvision Inc. is the world
leader in the development of high-resolution displays and imaging
systems based on the company’s proprietary silicon micro-mirror
technology. The company’s technology has applications in a broad range
of military, medical, industrial, professional and consumer products.
Microvision has been working with Canon, BMW, the Electronics
Research Lab of Volkswagen of America and others to develop a number
of display and image capture product applications based on its
proprietary scanned beam technology.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this release, including those
relating to product development, timing of product samples, product
acceptance, potential product market, product sales, ramp up of volume
production, timing of product shipments, improved product and network
performance, product applications, as well as statements containing
words like “believe,” “intend,” “may,” “expect,” and other similar
expressions, are forward-looking statements that involve a number of
risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those projected in the company’s
forward-looking statements include the following: market acceptance of
our technologies and products; our ability to obtain financing; our
financial and technical resources relative to those of our
competitors; our ability to keep up with rapid technological change;
government regulation of our technologies; our ability to enforce our
intellectual property rights and protect our proprietary technologies;
the ability to obtain additional contract awards and to develop
partnership opportunities; the timing of commercial product launches;
the ability to achieve key technical milestones in key products; and
other risk factors identified from time to time in the company’s SEC
reports, including our most recently filed Registration Statement on
Form S-3.
CONTACT: Microvision, Inc., Bothell
Matt Nichols, 425-415-6657 (media)
Brian Heagler, 425-415-6794 (investors)
SOURCE: Microvision, Inc.