Analysis: Exclude Magic Leap vs. Unavailable Technologies

What kind of display technology does Magic Leap use in the end, at least what kind of display technology is used in their video? Xiao Bian believes that the video itself has eliminated a series of possibilities, and then came up with a possible technology. Tip: Not the fiber laser scans mentioned in multiple Magic Leap patents and articles.

Some people think that Magic Leap may deliberately publish misleading videos to prevent us from digging out related information, but Xiao Bian is skeptical. The display technologies shown in the video are absolutely likely to be the real technologies used in their prototype products. Someone told Xiao Bian that Magic Leap uses a series of different levels of systems, so the technology shown in the video may be possible and may not appear in future products.

Therefore, with these issues, the scientific and technological worker Karl Guttag (hereinafter referred to as "I" or "we") began to analyze. The following is a screenshot from the video "A New Morining" uploaded by Magic Leap. At the time, the user in the video was panning the head and the camera. Because the camera and the display operate asynchronously and/or at different frame rates, the panning causes momentary (time-based) frame shutter artifacts that appear as partial phantoms (as indicated by the green arrow on the leftmost red circle). ). This frame, along with other artifacts that you didn't notice when you played the video, revealed a lot of information about the display technology used to generate the image.

Please pay attention to the red circle on the left, and you will notice ghosting/ghosting in the area indicated by the green arrow. This is where the camera captures its screen refresh. Also in the red circle to the right of the screenshot, you will notice that the lowest three ring signs appear ghosting, but the first one at the top does not (the second one has a weak second ghost). In contrast, the lamp arm of the middle circle does not appear ghost phenomenon, which confirms that this is a phenomenon generated during image generation processing.

In addition to the above screenshots, we also analyzed two videos, "ILMxLAB and 'Lost Droids' Mixed Reality Test" and the earliest "Magic Leap Demo." Magic Leap said that these videos were "recorded directly through Magic Leap's technology... without using special effects or compositing effects." We want to make sure there are no other ghosts that might point to other display technologies.

Based on the above screenshots and other video evidence, I think that the following display technologies can be excluded:

1. Laser Fiber Scanning Display: Magic Leap's patents and related articles have all seen one or more fiber scanning technologies (and their technical director was already big in this technology before joining Magic Leap. Cattle). The fiber-optic scanning displays will be scanned spirally (or if they are arranged in a spiral array) at the "flyback/blank" time, returning to the starting point. This blanking will show a black diagonal and/or flicker in the video (similar to old-style cathode ray tubes that show horizontal black retrace lines). In addition, if it is fiber laser scanning, you will see laser speckle, but in fact we did not find it. Even if the image is out of focus, laser speckles will appear. In the above screenshots and videos there is no evidence that they have used the laser, and there is a scanning process that will appear blank. According to my research on laser beam scanning, neither a still frame nor a video has found a scanning process in which a retrace occurs.

2. Field Sequential DLP (Field-sequential Digital Light Processing), or LCOS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon): In the video or in any of the photos I have taken, I have not noticed field-sequence color scrolling, flashing or flickering. The so-called field sequential display means that only one color can be displayed at a time. When these fast color gamut changes exceed the camera's scan/shutter process, we see color differences, and/or flickering, not a simple ghosting. This is critical because it has been reported that WonderVision, which produces field sequential LCOS equipment, is producing a projection engine for Magic Leap. Therefore, Magic Leap is either using Qijing Optoelectronics products or is changing the technology used. I have watched DLP and LCOS monitors for many years and have direct viewing, there are many different types of videos and cameras. But I did not find field-sequential color imaging in Magic Leap's video.

3. Laser Beam Scanning with a mirror: As with cathode ray tubes and fiber scans, blanking/retarding occurs between two frames, but it disappears over time. The reason I included this technology is simply to make the options more complete.

The following are the display technologies that Magic Leap may use:

1. Mico-OLED (approximately 10 companies currently know to produce the display): Use of micro-OLEDs on silicon or similar substrates. The tech blog OLED-info has listed companies that are known to produce this display panel. (Epson was recently added to this list, and I guess Samsung and other vendors are doing R&D internally). I think the reason Magic Leap might use a miniature OLED is that it is small enough to embed an image in a waveguide for a small head display; it has the display characteristics disclosed in the above video and images.

2. Transmissive Color Filter HTPS (transmissive color filter high-temperature polysilicon) (Epson): When Epson is still producing transmissive color filters HTPS devices, their heads have turned to use micro OLED panels. In addition, although Meta's first-generation products use Epson's HTPS, they have switched to using large-sized OLED panels (with a very large spherical reflector combiner). This technique has challenges in achieving higher resolution and size.

3. Transmissive Color Filter LCOS (Kopin): Kopin is the only company that produces LCOS screens with transmissive color filters, but they are not as active as Epson, and they are achieving more. There are difficulties in high resolution and size.

4. Color Filter LCOS: I joined this because of the completeness of the form because it is unlikely to be this technique. In theory it can produce images, but this usually has a lower contrast (images lack transparency and opacity) and color saturation, but this partnership is for suppliers of Wonder Photo, because they have produced color filters LCOS equipment.

5, large-size LCD or OLED: This will show that Magic Leap is developing a large-size head display, similar to the Meta 2 head. I tend to exclude this technology because it differs from Magic Leap's patents and their public statements. The reason I mention this technique is simply that it can generate the images in the above video.

So, I believe "Champion" is a miniature OLED

By eliminating the law, including removing the "possible but unlikely" technology, we have only one option left, a tiny OLED display device.

Before I started any rigorous analysis, I didn't favor which technology. I also guessed at the beginning that it might be field sequential color imaging or scanning (fiber/beam) because I did not find indicative artifacts in the video. But then I noticed the screenshot above, so I'm sure if the camera catches an instant artifact, then the camera will catch other artifacts.