Microsoft is reportedly reviving its spatial communication gadgets by reinventing its display technology, according to a media source.
It has been claimed that Microsoft has submitted a fresh patent application to create a microLED display system that would improve virtual, augmented, and mixed reality (VR/AR/MR) experiences.
According to a statement from MS Power User, Microsoft’s most recent patent seeks to enhance capabilities for products like its HoloLens 2 alongside others, suggesting a possible resurgence of its research and development (R&D) initiative.
The display innovation patent was submitted by Microsoft in it, carrying on the advancements from US11688333B1, which was filed in June and approved on October 19 by the USPTO.
The inventors—Charles Walter Boecker, Barry Thompson, Jeffrey Neil Margolis, Niranjan, Chuan Pu, Achugundla Puttaswamy, and Sheethal Somesh Nayak—hope to build a display system having a display substrate and a backplane substrate.
The story claims that Microsoft intends to look at microLED displays as a way to get around some of the problems with waveguide advances, namely their weight and poor visual quality. Moreover, by using microLED displays, the HoloLens device form factors may be decreased without compromising the headgear’s excellent picture quality.
The announcement follows many patent filings by Microsoft that revealed the company was working to revive its long-rumored AR head-mounted displays (HMD), including patents for hot-swappable batteries for a forthcoming smart glasses gadget.
The patent was announced in the midst of a dispute between the leading producers of mixed reality headsets worldwide. Ahead of Meta Connect 2023, the company announced that it has teamed up with LG Electronics in South Korea to produce the Quest Pro’s replacement.
The Maeil Business Newspaper claims that Meta collaborated with the tech behemoth located in Seoul to construct micro-organic light emitting diode (micro-OLED) screens for the project that is yet unnamed, Meta Quest 4 Pro.
Furthermore, LG will provide the device’s batteries and other LG Innotech parts. Apart from providing components for the next gadget, LG will also oversee and participate in the manufacturing process for a portion of the Menlo Park-based company’s activities.
Apple has started modernising its Vision Pro headset with a replacement that is expected to cost far less compared to the expensive $3,499 retail price of the first-generation gadget, in addition to Meta’s planned Quest successor.
Apple reached an agreement with Chinese micro-OLED display producers SeeYA Technology and Best on Earth (BOE) to counteract the rising cost of upcoming headsets.
The report also said that Microsoft will look at microLED displays as a way to circumvent some of the issues with waveguide technology, such as their size and poor visual clarity. Moreover, using microLED panels might decrease the HoloLens device’s overall size while enhancing the headgear’s visual quality.
Additionally, Sony’s inability to provide more than a million micro-OLED displays—each device needing two to operate—has caused problems for Apple’s first Vision Pro rollout.
According to press sources, Apple intends to trademark a pair of smart glasses that will enable it to create and integrate augmented reality more effectively, taking the next phase towards more immersive rates of adoption.
