I wonder if the device Stoll is talking about is the latest technology, or just what is about to be shipped interim. His description of two mirrors and at least one scanner dimension of almost a full inch reminded me of this:
SEATTLE - July 28, 1998 - Microvision (NASDAQ:MVIS, MVISW) announced today that it has demonstrated a microminiature scanner that represents a breakthrough for a wide variety of next-generation display and imaging products. The development is significant because of the degree of system miniaturization it enables, and because it has the potential to afford significant production economies through the use of highly automated batch fabrication techniques. The patented device, in which optical surfaces and small hinges are formed on silicon wafers using semiconductor fabrication techniques, is an example of a technology known as microelectromechanical systems, or MEMS.
The entire component is fabricated from a small sliver of silicon - roughly half the size of a dime. The tiny scanning mirror itself is less than one square millimeter in area - smaller than the head of a pin. The microscanner is designed to scan in both horizontal and vertical directions, so that a single beam of light can be precisely steered at very high speeds to project a complete video image. While the technology will initially be used in the company's Virtual Retinal Display™ (VRD™) system, the device can also be used as an optical sensor or camera by rapidly scanning light reflected from the surface of an object onto a photoreceptor.
BTW, a guy on YAHOO! pointed out that zoom and night vision are part of the potential suite of capabilities, and I guess I have to think also that anything that can be done today by digital signal processing (image enhancement, pattern recognition, ultra-precise spectral differentiation, for example) can eventually be done within a VRD. I guess we'll be buying software updates for the VRD processor just as we now do for the PC.
Truly, an entirely new mode of perception. |
