Vision of the future

Bulky displays and eyestrain are commonly associated with computing, but that could soon be the thing of the past.Companies have begun addressing this need with what are called micro displays. As the name implies, micro displays are small displays, about the size of a semiconductor chip or a thumbnail. However, the picture projected by a micro display is anything but small. Built-in optics enlarge the image from 10 to 1,000 times. The result is a miniature device that can create the same image as a bulky TV set or monitor, but consumes only 400 milliwatts of power–about a tenth of what’s used in a standard laptop display. The implementation can come in the form of a pair of glasses, with two micro displays built in. The image produced by this is equivalent to that of a 19" display at 2.5 feet.Among the three major technologies popular today, the most promising one–LCOS or Liquid Crystal on Silicon–works by switching liquid-crystal material from transparent to opaque and back by altering the voltage applied to it. In many ways, LCOS is like a magnified miniature LCD.However, there are problems to be solved before these products can be picked up off the shelf–such as the unwanted magnification of screen defects.Further information is available at: http://www.inviso.com/, http://www.kopin.com/, http://www.mcgweb.com/, http://www.microdisplay.com/, http://www.ti.com/.