This special track will cover all aspects of wearable displays including product and process design, user applications, wearable system integration, and display technologies. Benefiting from low-power RF, MCU, advanced displays, and a well-established mobile infrastructure, wearables have emerged as one of the most active fields in the technological world. Being the most mobile and personal form of technology to the users, wearable devices present many possibilities, but at the same time many uncertainties.

WEARABLE AR/VR APPLICATIONS

Tuesday, May 24

3:40–5:10 pm

Room 103

The market for near-to-eye computers (including AR and VR smart glasses) is projected to be approximately $30 billion in 2026. How the market for eye-worn wearables is expected to evolve in the next decade will be focused on.

H. Zervos
IDTechEx, Inc.,
Boston, MA, USA

To be widely adopted, smart headsets should be fashionable, comfortable, and provide useful apps. Technologies that are necessary for smart headsets but not available from smart phones, including microdisplays, small optics, high-energy-density batteries, and a reliable voice interface, will be discussed.

H. K. Choi
Kopin Corp., Westborough, MA, USA

An easy-to-wear eyeglasses-type wearable device that utilizes a multi-mirror array (MMA) to reflect the image, transmitted from a small projection unit within the frame, to the wearer’s eye has been developed. It provides the wearer with a digital image while maintaining clear visibility and is light and comfortable to minimize fatigue.

T. Tsuruyama,
S. Uehara,
M. Baba
Toshiba Corp., Kawasaki, Japan

A novel approach to LCD backlighting that allows for the generation of dynamic light fields through a single LCD panel is introduced. The backlight is based on diffractive nanostructures that are 90% transparent. Full control over the spatio-angular parameters of the light field has been achieved, providing new opportunities for the design of naked-eye 3D displays, head-up displays, and near-to-eye AR/VR systems.

F. Aieta,
S. Vo,
M. Ma,
A. Niederberger,
D. Fattal
Leia, Inc., Menlo Park, CA, USA

Retinal Imaging Laser Eyewear contains a miniature laser projector inside the frame which provides the wearer with digital image information through the pupil using the retina as a screen. This compact universal-design eyewear features a “focus-free” and "augmented-reality" image independent of the wearers’ visual acuity and point of focus.

M. Sugawara,
M. Suzuki,
N. Miyauchi
QDLaser, Inc., Kanagawa, Japan

WEARABLE DEVICES AND DISPLAYS

Thursday, May 26

9:00 –10:20 am

Room 103

Key considerations for display panels for various wearable devices will be outlined. Different display technologies were reviewed in regards to their suitability for wearable applications.

G. Xu,
L. Pan,
K. Y. Ko,
W. Shen,
W. Wang
Huawei, Inc., Shenzhen, P. R. China

A true circular 1.39-in. AMOLED for wearable application has been developed. It fulfills most requirements of wearable displays such as true circular active area, high resolution, high-picture quality, stylish format, and low power consumption

J. J. Lih,
T.-H. Wang
AU Optronics Corp., Hsinchu, Taiwan, ROC

The value of a low-power display impacting the system-level enhancement of a smart watch platform for different uses will be discussed. It has been shown that both low-power displays and high-energy-density battery technology are critical for longevity of the wearable device.

K. Parikh,
K. Ahmed,
N. Matsumura,
D. Gottardo,
R. Cancel,
B. Girvin,
R. Woodbeck
Intel Corp., Santa Clara, CA, USA

Advanced color EPD platforms have been developed, further expanding the wearable and mobile applications that can be addressed by EPD. The latest technology advancements as well as various new applications where these technologies are being adopted and targeted will be reviewed.

M. McCreary
E Ink Corp., Billerica, MA, USA

WEARABLE/ STRETCHABLE DISPLAYS/SENSORS

Thursday, May 26

10:40 am –12:00pm

Room 103

A. P. Gerratt,
H. O. Michaud,
S. Gupta,
S. P. Lacour
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

For applications such as smart textiles, car interiors, etc., non-flat randomly shaped displays are a desired feature. A technology using PCB-type Cu conductors was previously developed. Here, sputtered thin films were used as interconnects, yielding fine-pitch stretchable displays.

R. Verplancke,
M. Cauwe,
S. Van Put,
J. Vanfleteren,
H. De Smet
IMEC and Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

E. C. P. Smits,
R. Kusters,
G. van Heck,
J. van den Brand
Holst Centre / TNO, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

M. Murata,
H. Ohmae,
Y. Tomita,
H. Nakata
Panasonic Corp., Moriguchi, Japan

Flexible and stretchable electrodes have been fabricated by a printing method based on a Ag NWs/PDM S composite. Stable conductivity was achieved after an initial stretching/releasing cycle in a large range of tensile strain (0–50%).Printed stretchable circuits integrating commercial ICs have been demonstrated for wearable applications.

W. Yuan,
W. Gu,
J. Lin,
Z. Cui
Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou, P. R. China

A novel all-ink-jet-printed wearable information display has been demonstrated. A variety of key technologies were developed including ink-jet-printed stretchable interconnects, direct chip-bonding, and printable crossover for high-level system integration. As a conceptual demonstration, a stretchable 4-digit 7-segment display was implemented, and it operates well under ~15% biaxial strain.

B. Lee,
J. Byun,
E. Oh,
H. Kim,
S. Kim,
Y. Hong
Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea

OLED WEARABLE DISPLAYS

Thursday, May 26

3:10 –4:30 pm

Room 103

The world’s first directly patterned full-color OLED microdisplay with >2600 ppi will be presented. This display is built on a 1920 x 1200-pixel CMOS backplane and uses RGB emitters, eliminating the need for color filters. This technology results in very-high-luminance microdisplays ideally suited for wearable AR and VR applications.

A. Ghosh,
E. P. Donoghue,
I. Khayrullin,
T. Ali,
I. Wacyk,
K. Tice,
F. Vazan,
L. Sziklas
eMagin Corp., Hopewell Junction, NY, USA
D. Fellowes,
R. Draper
U.S. Army RDECOM CERDEC, Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate, Fort Belvoir, VA, USA

A low-cost hybrid thin-film-encapsulation (TFE) structure was developed for flexible AMOLED displays. It was demonstrated as a reliable technology and was utilized on a 1.25-in. truly circular flexible display. In addition, when the optical properties of the TFE structure were optimized, display quality improved.

C-H. Yang,
P. Yin,
J. H. Tao,
J-C. Hsiao,
M-T. Lee,
H-H. Lu,
Y-H. Lin
AU Optronics Corp., Hsinchu, Taiwan, ROC

The design of a circular display from the basic form of an existing rectangular display will be discussed. It requires a new design method because space along the diagonal directions is narrower than that for existing rectangular displays.

D-S. Jung,
S-M. Song,
H-K. Kang,
N-W. Kim,
J-H. Sim,
B-W. Shin,
C-D. Kim,
B-K. Kim,
M-K. Kim
LG Display Co., Ltd., Gyeonggi-do, South Korea

A 1.26-in. circular plastic-based AMOLED display has been developed for wearable application. By locating the gate drivers in the active area and expending the active area outside the circuit area of the panel, a display with a true circular shape and 1-mm slim border has been successfully realized.

L-F. Lin,
C-H. Tu,
K-R. Jen,
Y-C. Chen,
C-K. Ma,
P-Y. Wang,
Y-C. Huang,
K-H. Lin,
H-H. Wu,
C-H. Yang,
S-T. Ho,
J-H. Lin,
C-C. Wu,
C-Y. Yu,
M-C. Hsu,
C-M. Ko,
W-T. Wang,
C-K. Chen,
Y-H. Lin
AU Optronics Corp., Hsinchu, Taiwan, ROC