nir-vana innovation network

A holographic display utilises light diffraction to create digital three-dimensional images with high level of realism and accurate depth perception. In displays using CGH, digital content is integrated seamlessly into the real world. This allows for an easy interaction with virtual objects, and prevents eye strain and visual fatigue, prevalent in today's Augmented Reality (AR) devices and 3D screens.
Holographic displays are distinguished from other forms of AR and 3D displays in that they do not rely on stereoscopy, which is a common cause of headaches and limited adoption of immersive consumer electronics. The realistic depth perception, providing long-term viewing comfort, makes CGH a perfect display technology for next generation smartglasses and AR headsets. However, holography is not limited to head-worn devices. CGH, with high brightness and low power usage, provides major benefits to head-up displays (HUD), in the automotive and retail use cases, and 3D screens, from laptops to stand-alone applications.
There is little doubt that holography – the pinnacle of display technologies - will transform how we view and interact with the world. Recently, major technical difficulties that limited the commercial adoption of CGH have been overcome, making it a viable display technology for consumer electronics.
A startup from a world-renowned UK university developed software for real-time generation of CGH projections, using off-the-shelf compute platforms including Nvidia and Arm GPUs. The company offers an SDK and proprietary hardware designs, which provide ODMs/OEMs with a complete toolset for prototyping and manufacturing of holographic devices. The picture below shows a holographic scene viewed through one of the company’s prototypes. The virtual images have a depth of field (objects that are in focus look sharp but not the ones further or nearer), which is missing from the current generation of AR and 3D screens.
The company has filed over 10 patents in the areas of CGH and its applications, and its technology is advancing continuously thanks to the world-class team of optical engineers, software developers and mathematicians. The company is involved in a range of projects, from early-stage R&D through to development of consumer-ready products, with ODMs and OEMs. They collaborate with components manufacturers, in areas of optics, micro-display and semiconductors. Their partner ecosystem includes companies such as NVIDIA, Arm, Himax Displays and iView, providing a validated supply chain and know-how to ODMs and OEMs working on CGH display applications. The company is open to technical cooperation and licensing of its technology for applications in AR wearables, automotive HUDs, medical display, consumer electronics and gaming, for devices ranging from smart glasses to large area displays.

Advantages & innovations

The company’s proprietary algorithms, that are part of the SDK, allow for generating high quality, three-dimensional holographic projections in real-time. For the first time, holographic display is a commercially and technically viable solution for use in consumer devices, as demonstrated by prototypes developed by the company.

Stage of development

Available for demonstration

Partner sought

Type of partner sought: industry Specific area of partner sought: optics, display, original device, and equipment manufacturers, consumer electronics manufacturers, automotive tier 2 manufacturers. Role of partner sought: to cooperate on the technical development of new components and devices, to integrate mutual solutions into hardware designs, and to take them to the market under license.