4/2/2002 6:02:00 AM
BOTHELL, Wash., Apr 2, 2002 (BUSINESS WIRE) —
Unique Drive Mechanism Could Cut Power Consumption to 1/100th of Its Current Scanner; Size and Cost Reduction are Added Benefits
Microvision (Nasdaq:MVIS)
announced today that it has demonstrated, for the first time, a new “ultra-low
power” technique for scanning a beam of light to enable high-resolution
electronic displays and imaging systems.
The demonstration system makes use of a small chip that vibrates a tiny silicon
micro mirror on a two-axis hinge system, just like one used by the company in
its existing products. But the latest demonstration makes use of a new technique
to actuate the hinged assembly that requires less than 1/100th of the electrical
energy of the current system.
According to company officials, this is a significant breakthrough not only
because a scanner using this technique may require as little as 100 microwatts
(1 microwatt equals 1/millionth of a watt), but also because the technique will
potentially enable a dramatically smaller package than its current scanners, and
because the simplified drive system could also lead to substantial cost
reductions.
With its existing systems, Microvision’s unique scanning displays form an image
by rapidly scanning a beam of light into a series of horizontal lines — each
line containing hundreds of individual pixels — to build up an image in much
the same way as a television tube or CRT computer monitor. This technique,
called raster scanning, is commonly found in televisions and computer monitors
that employ scanned electron beams, but according to the company, it is not the
most efficient way to draw an image with a system that employs mechanical
scanners.
“The current scanner is very efficient in the horizontal direction, because the
mirror only has to swing back and forth to draw a straight line, so we can
re-use a lot of stored energy and ring it like a tuning fork,” said Casey
Tegreene, Microvision chief technology officer. “But, to draw a raster pattern,
the vertical axis can’t just resonate like that, it has to fly back and stop
with each scan. That requires a lot more energy than the horizontal scan.”
“We’ve understood for a long time that if we let both axes run resonant, we
could create scanners that consume next to no energy. The challenge was that
this meant getting away from a raster scanning pattern and breaking new ground
for imaging systems that order the picture elements in a completely different
sequence. That, in turn, raised questions about image quality and artifacts. Up
to now, we have been encouraged by computer models predicting that a system
incorporating our newly-developed proprietary algorithms could create very high
quality images,” said Tegreene.
“Now we have actually demonstrated this technique in a display, and this
demonstration has exceeded our expectations. We are demonstrating a display at
Super VGA (SVGA 800 x 600) resolution, which is equivalent to the resolution of
our current products. The image quality is excellent; especially given that this
is the first time that we have actually implemented the technique.”
Microvision says that its scanning displays can provide superior image quality
at a lower cost than competing miniature flat panel display technologies, and
that the new drive method offers the potential for added advantages in
applications that require very low power. Many of the applications that the
company is targeting for its miniature displays are in battery-powered, portable
devices like digital cameras, camcorders and mobile Internet devices in which
power consumption is an important feature. Tegreene pointed out that the
actuation technique also will be important to Microvision’s development of
miniature scanning laser cameras that target applications in markets ranging
from bar-code scanning, to industrial and medical imaging.
“This achievement is further evidence that Microvision’s light scanning
technology is a powerfully disruptive platform for a growing range of display
and imaging applications,” he said. “We are making great progress with the
existing scanner drive in reducing power, size and cost, and we’ve got several
approaches to creating very low power devices, but this approach holds the
potential for a quantum improvement beyond that. We’re encouraged that we can
make displays and imaging systems that are smaller, cheaper and consume less
power than anything out there and possibly sooner than we might have previously
expected. We’re not relying on this approach for any of our current product
initiatives, but it’s our job to enable our partners and customers, and to put
as much distance as we can between ourselves and the competition, over the next
several years. Developments like this demonstrate the potential of our
technology to do just that.”
About Microvision: www.microvision.com
Headquartered in Bothell, Wash., Microvision Inc. is the developer of the
patented retinal scanning display technology and a world leader in micro
miniature optical scanning technology for display and imaging applications. The
company’s technology has applications in a broad range of military, medical,
industrial, professional and consumer information products. Nomad is a trademark
of Microvision, Inc.
Forward-Looking Statement
The information set forth in this release includes “forward-looking statements”
within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended, and is subject to the safe harbor created by those sections. Certain
factors that realistically could cause results to differ materially from those
projected in the company’s forward-looking statements are set forth in the
company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, as
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
CONTACT:
Microvision Inc., Bothell
Media: Casey Tegreene, 425/415-6847
Investors: Brian Heagler, 425/415-6847
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