5/20/2004 6:31:00 AM
Company’s Scanned Beam Displays Provide Powerful Alternatives to Conventional Displays
BOTHELL, Wash., May 20, 2004 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Microvision, Inc. (Nasdaq:MVIS), a leader in light scanning
technology, will exhibit a prototype of its new automotive head-up
display, MicroHUD(TM), and a variety of head-worn and hand-held
scanned beam displays at the Society for Information Display (SID)
International Symposium 2004 in Seattle, Wash., May 25-27. The SID
event is the premier annual international meeting of leading display
industry experts, where all aspects of information display are
presented, discussed and evaluated.
Microvision’s display products demonstrate the capabilities of the
company’s proprietary scanned beam technology to deliver superior
displays in a variety of formats with high resolution, high contrast
and excellent color saturation. Unlike conventional flat panel
displays using a matrix of pixels, Microvision’s scanned beam displays
are created with just four primary components: drive electronics,
light sources, scanner and optics. The image is created a single pixel
at a time and may be scanned directly to the eye, eliminating a
monitor or screen altogether. Highlighted as the cover feature story
in the May issue of IEEE Spectrum as the “Ultimate Display,” the low
power and elegant architecture of Microvision’s scanned beam displays
provide an extremely efficient way to deliver an image, and have the
potential to revolutionize displays for everything from cell phones
and gaming glasses to laser televisions.
Microvision will be exhibiting and demonstrating for the first
time in public its MicroHUD(TM) automotive head-up display. This
pre-production prototype laser-scanning display for automotive
applications displays navigation, performance and other vehicle
information by reflecting a very high-contrast image off the car’s
windshield, so drivers can keep their eyes focused on the road ahead.
Designed as a standard module to adapt to a wide range of vehicles,
the MicroHUD has unique abilities to meet the demanding packaging,
cost, performance and reliability requirements of the automotive
industry. Prototypes have already been delivered to OEM automakers and
Tier 1 suppliers around the world.
Additionally, the company will showcase the Nomad Expert
Technician System, which is now in commercial production and being
shipped to customers. The Nomad Expert Technician System is the
world’s only wireless wearable computer with a head-worn, head-up
display. With a unique “connect and work” capability, the Nomad Expert
Technician System enables automotive service technicians to
superimpose text and diagrams from online and Internet service manuals
directly over their workspace at the point of task, hands-free. Trials
with leading automotive companies show up to 40 percent gain in
productivity, as well as improvements in quality of work, increased
training efficiencies and rapid return on investment.
Military adaptations of the Nomad System have been deployed in
Iraq as a situational awareness display by the Army’s First Stryker
Brigade. Stryker commanders use helmet-mounted Nomads to access
tactical information from their onboard computers without taking their
eyes off the battlefield.
Microvision will also demonstrate groundbreaking scanned beam
display solutions for use in potential hand-held consumer products, as
well as full-color prototypes for military applications.
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 plans for
product development, product applications, and future product benefits
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: our ability to raise additional
capital when needed; market acceptance of our technologies and
products; our financial and technical resources relative to those of
our competitors; our ability to keep up with rapid technological
change; our dependence on the defense industry and a limited number of
government development contracts; 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; the timing of commercial product launches
and delays in product development; the ability to achieve key
technical milestones in key products; dependence on third parties to
develop, manufacture, sell and market our products; potential product
liability claims and other risk factors identified from time to time
in the company’s SEC reports, including the Company’s Annual Report on
Form 10-K filed with the SEC.
SOURCE: Microvision Inc.
Microvision, Inc., Bothell
Matt Nichols, 425-415-6657 (media)
Brian Heagler, 425-415-6794 (investors)