size of vr lcd panel brands

The size of current VR headsets is primarily dictated by what field of view current lenses can achieve (without uncorrectable distortion) with a given panel size. The smaller the panel, the more difficult this is.

The Oculus Quest, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, HTC Vive Pro, and HTC Vive Cosmos all use dual panels between 3.4 and 3.6 inches diagonal. Other headsets like PlayStation VR and Oculus Rift S use a single panel, but these panels occupy essentially the same total space.

The company statesthat it is “used in VR glasses that have already been introduced to the market”. Given the above size, resolution, and panel type (and that the refresh rate is within the max) the only known headset on the market this could be is Huawei VR Glass.

These smaller panels, alongside pancake lenses (a fundamentally different design to all other headsets currently on the market), enable the incredibly small size of the Huawei VR Glass.

However, keep in mind that that product doesn’t have built in positional tracking or cameras. If these panels are used for a position tracked PC VR headset the size would likely be larger. And of course if they were used in an Oculus Quest competitor it would need to be much larger to house a battery and compute hardware.

The relatively standard resolution and use of LCD may make this panel significantly cheaper than high resolution OLED microdisplay alternatives like what Panasonic showed at CES. Huawei’s product is only officially available in China, for the equivalent of roughly $430.

It’s important to note, however, that when we tried Huawei VR Glass at CES we noted that it has a narrower field of view than typical. It may require a larger design to solve this.

Most current VR headsets are not comfortable to wear for extended periods of time. For some, they are even uncomfortable after a matter of minutes. This can be because they push a relatively heavy weight against the sinuses, where humans are particularly sensitive to pressure.

The weight’s fundamental cause is the the size of the panels currently available and the lenses used with them. Smaller panels of the same resolution are more difficult to produce, and more difficult to magnify over a large field of view. But JDI appears to have solved the first hurdle and Huawei demonstrated that the second can be shipped too (with a few tradeoffs).

With smaller panels, and suitable pancake lenses, VR could soon start to become a more comfortable medium that people can spend hours in without wanting the bulky heavy box off their face. Current VR might one day be looked back on like we look at the earliest cellular telephones or CRT monitors.

Whether this display system paradigm will stay in the realm of media viewers or come to gaming focused headsets is yet to be seen, but we’ll keep a close eye on JDI and companies likely to use its new panels.

Japan Display Inc (JDI) is one of the world’s largest display providers, formed 10 years ago as a merger of the LCD manufacturing divisions of Sony, Toshiba and Hitachi. Innolux is Taiwan’s largest LCD producer.

Both new displays are roughly 2.27 inch diagonal, with a refresh rate of 90 Hz and resolution of 3240×3240 – equating to 2016 pixels per inch. The identical specs are likely due to a patent cross licensing agreement between JDI and Innolux.

This isn’t the first 3K LCD panel we’ve seen presented by display providers. At 2019’s Display Week AUO presented a 3456×3456 LCD panel with more than 2000 backlight elements to support HDR. However, that panel was larger (2.9 inch) and we haven’t heard anything about it since. In fact, AUO’s booth at this year’s Display Week didn’t feature any VR-sized panels at all.

JDI currently supplies the 2K (2160×2160) panel used in HP’s Reverb headsets. It’s 2.9 inches diagonal, so these new 3K panels are simultaneously smaller and much higher resolution.

The 2.27 inch size makes it suitable for use in compact headsets which use pancake lenses. At Display Week I tried Innolux’s panel paired with pancake lenses that appear to be identical to HTC’s Vive Flow. The clarity & sharpness was beyond anything I’ve tried before – even the Varjo Aero. While through-the-lens camera shots are far from representative of what’s seen by the human eye, here’s a short clip showing the demo imagery to give you a rough idea of the visual quality:

Neither JDI nor Innolux revealed if they have a customer yet, but if this does reach products we could be in store for a new generation of compact ultra high resolution VR headsets.

Panox Display provides a customized cover glass/touch panel service. We supply cover glass from Gorilla, AGC, and Panda, which all have excellent optical performance. We also supply driver ICs from Goodix and Focaltech.

The functions of our boards include, but are not limited to, adjustment of brightness, sound output, touch interface, extra data transmission, and gyroscope.

VR/AR The product contains Micro OLED display modules and Fast LCD modules, with sizes ranging from 0.39 inches to 5.5 inches. It features high resolution, fast response and high refresh rates, and can be applied in a variety of micro display scenarios.

Standalone – devices that have all necessary components to provide virtual reality experiences integrated into the headset. Mainstream standalone VR platforms include:

Oculus Mobile SDK, developed by Oculus VR for its own standalone headsets and the Samsung Gear VR. (The SDK has been deprecated in favor of OpenXR, released in July 2021.)

Tethered – headsets that act as a display device to another device, like a PC or a video game console, to provide a virtual reality experience. Mainstream tethered VR platforms include:

SteamVR, part of the Steam service by Valve. The SteamVR platform uses the OpenVR SDK to support headsets from multiple manufacturers, including HTC, Windows Mixed Reality headset manufacturers, and Valve themselves. A list of supported video games can be found here.

The following tables compare general and technical information for a selection of popular retail head-mounted displays. See the individual display"s articles for further information. Please note that the following table may be missing some information.

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Benitez, P. et al. Advanced freeform optics enabling ultra-compact VR headsets. In Proc. SPIE 10335, Digital Optical Technologies (SPIE, Germany, 2017)

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Deng, M. Y. et al. Reducing power consumption of active-matrix mini-LED backlit LCDs by driving circuit. IEEE Trans. Electron Devices 68, 2347–2354 (2021).

Chang, C. L. et al. Toward the next-generation VR/AR optics: a review of holographic near-eye displays from a human-centric perspective. Optica 7, 1563–1578 (2020).

Isomae, Y. et al. Design of 1-μm-pitch liquid crystal spatial light modulators having dielectric shield wall structure for holographic display with wide field of view. Opt. Rev. 24, 165–176 (2017).

Isomae, Y. et al. Alignment control of liquid crystals in a 1.0-μm-pitch spatial light modulator by lattice-shaped dielectric wall structure. J. Soc. Inf. Disp. 27, 251–258 (2019).

Moser, S., Ritsch-Marte, M. & Thalhammer, G. Model-based compensation of pixel crosstalk in liquid crystal spatial light modulators. Opt. Express 27, 25046–25063 (2019).

Persson, M., Engström, D. & Goksör, M. Reducing the effect of pixel crosstalk in phase only spatial light modulators. Opt. Express 20, 22334–22343 (2012).

Shi, L. et al. Near-eye light field holographic rendering with spherical waves for wide field of view interactive 3D computer graphics. ACM Trans. Graph. 36, 236 (2017).

Lavrentovich, M. D., Sergan, T. A. & Kelly, J. R. Switchable broadband achromatic half-wave plate with nematic liquid crystals. Opt. Lett. 29, 1411–1413 (2004).

He, Z., Nose, T. & Sato, S. Diffraction and polarization properties of a liquid crystal grating. Japanese Journal of Applied. Physics 35, 3529–3530 (1996).

Yi, Y. et al. Alignment of liquid crystals by topographically patterned polymer films prepared by nanoimprint lithography. Appl. Phys. Lett. 90, 163510 (2007).

Schadt, M., Seiberle, H. & Schuster, A. Optical patterning of multi-domain liquid-crystal displays with wide viewing angles. Nature 381, 212–215 (1996).

Lee, Y. H., Zhan, T. & Wu, S. T. Enhancing the resolution of a near-eye display with a Pancharatnam–Berry phase deflector. Opt. Lett. 42, 4732–4735 (2017).

Martínez-Corral, M. & Javidi, B. Fundamentals of 3D imaging and displays: a tutorial on integral imaging, light-field, and plenoptic systems. Adv. Opt. Photonics 10, 512–566 (2018).

Chigrinov, V. G., Kozenkov, V. M. & Kwok, H. S. Photoalignment of Liquid Crystalline Materials: Physics and Applications (Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2008).

Schadt, M. et al. Surface-induced parallel alignment of liquid crystals by linearly polymerized photopolymers. Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 31, 2155–2164 (1992).

Bai, B. F. et al. Optimization of nonbinary slanted surface-relief gratings as high-efficiency broadband couplers for light guides. Appl. Opt. 49, 5454–5464 (2010).

Äyräs, P., Saarikko, P. & Levola, T. Exit pupil expander with a large field of view based on diffractive optics. J. Soc. Inf. Disp. 17, 659–664 (2009).

Gu, Y. C. et al. Holographic waveguide display with large field of view and high light efficiency based on polarized volume holographic grating. IEEE Photonics J. 14, 7003707 (2022).

Shi, Z. J., Chen, W. T. & Capasso, F. Wide field-of-view waveguide displays enabled by polarization-dependent metagratings. In Proc. SPIE 10676, Digital Optics for Immersive Displays. 1067615 (SPIE, France, 2018).

I want to highlight a couple of key elements in their discussion, however. First, Fan believes that microOLED displays will be the dominant display technology for these headsets for some time as it will take years for microLED technology to become cost competitive, and for VR, the brightness of MicroOLED displays would be fine.

Secondly, he says there is a growing debate as to the best display architecture to use for a VR headset. For example, Kopin has developed a silicon backplane for their 1.3” microOLED display that includes display drivers in the backplane with the OLED layers on top. Kopin’s Display-on-Chip approach adds the drivers, MIPI interface and 10-bit HDR color management all in the silicon backplane.

Alternatively, companies like Sony prefer a larger (>2.0”) OLED display on a glass substrate or a silicon-based display with a separate display driver IC that they flip-chip bond to the microOLED. This may sound like a subtle difference, but Fan thinks it can have a big impact on cost, performance and ergonomics of the headset design.

Kopin’s approach of putting a lot of functionality in the backplane eliminates the tricky bonding step, lowers cost by eliminating a separate chip and allows for more programmability in the way the display can be used. Separating the display driving elements into a separate IC lowers yield risk but requires high-volume orders to lower the cost of this IC and limits its flexibility. According to Fan, key manufacturers in this VR supply chain may be coming around to Kopin’s way of thinking. This is really a debate between a hybrid or a fully integrated approach.

Another important piece of the commercialization puzzle is the optics. Kopin has now developed all-plastic Pancake optics that do not cause birefringence issues that have plagued previous attempts at all-plastic Pancake designs.  This breakthrough with plastic enables thinner and lower weight solutions consumers have been asking for. While the Pancake designs are less optically efficient that Fresnel designs, this may be outweighed by their advantages, especially as developers adopt dual stack OLED displays  and even microlens arrays that can really boost brightness. Again, for VR applications, brightness issues may not be a concern.

It has been about a year since ourlast discussion, so I thought this would be a good time to connect with Kopin CEO, Dr. John Fan and capture his current thinking on VR, AR, and Metaverse Glasses. I caught up with John in January following CES 2022 where Kopin showcased a number of new developments.  Lots of great information here, please enjoy.

So Pancake optics is an interesting area. When we spoke in 2021, you highlighted the importance of optics for microdisplays in AR and VR. Since then, Kopin has announced patented All-Plastic Pancake optics including a new P80 version at CES 2022. Actually, Kopin has registered Pancake optics a while ago as a trademark. So, how should we think about what’s different and unique about this new class of near-eye optics?

The whole idea of Pancake optics is actually quite simple: as you magnify an image, you need a certain optical length. So, in order to reduce the optical length so that the optics do not become too thick, you use a polarizing technique to reflect the light rays back and forth and fold them like an accordion. So, that’s the general idea which is now well known to many in the VR industry. I like to point out that one of the original patent inventors for this approach is working here at Kopin and we have successfully used Pancake optics for our defense display modules to make them thin.

Now for Consumers, the current class of VR devices are quite heavy, bulky, and kind of front-end loaded due to the use of larger displays and the thick Fresnel lenses. From our experience in defense programs, we believe one should transition to microdisplays and Pancake optics for Consumer devices in order to have wider user adoption. However, the glass Pancake solution used in our Defense devices, can be quite heavy – this is fine for the specific use by our soldiers, but not for a head-worn device for Consumers.

Interestingly, I think there’s more consensus right now on optics than on MicroOLED as the display of choice for the Metaverse. The industry now understands that Pancake optics would be ideal for VR and the Metaverse. The remaining requirement from the industry was that these Pancake lenses should be all plastic, which has previously been a huge obstacle as there had been no plastic material and processing techniques available to use in plastic for Pancake optics without getting unwanted birefringence aberrations. Kopin has now solved that problem too. When compared to glass lenses, all-plastic Pancake optics provide a number of advantages: flexibility of design, scalability of manufacturing, lighter and lower cost. The very difficult optics puzzle for VR and the Metaverse is now resolved.

​So that brings me to my question about what is the “sweet spot” or best combination of display panel size and optics? We hear Sony proposing large 2” panels for their new PSVR2, while the new Shiftall/Panasonic VR device is using your 1.3” MicroOLED panels. From Kopin’s perspective, let’s say for that Personal IMAX Theater experience, what is the optimal panel and optics combination?

I’ve always felt you should have a Personal IMAX Theater where you always get to sit in the Emperor’s Seat and experience the best combination of sights and sounds. On top of that, with a headset you can get 3D effects, head tracking, spatial sound portability, and other things that IMAX cannot provide.

This is where I would highlight an observation from the evolution of the smartphone. When you think back to the first iPhone and how Apple disrupted the market, the touchscreen display was a key enabling technology for its massive success. This idea that you could replace a physical keyboard with a much larger touchscreen and multi-touch really changed the game for the smartphone market. Similarly, fast forward to today, and we see the right combination of microdisplay and optics as a key enabling technology for Metaverse Glasses as well as AR and VR headsets. This new class of microdisplay-based devices could put Consumer adoption on a different trajectory compared to what we have seen. Perhaps Apple will again change the game using microdisplays as the key enabling technology for VR?  Of course, everyone is waiting to see what they do.

So, back to your question, what is the perfect match? Right now, we think it is a small OLED microdisplay combined with all-plastic Pancake optics that provide magnification of 30,000X to 50,000X while maintaining a very sharp image.  The small display with excellent optics performance addresses the issues that many users complain about today – mainly size and weight.

Pancake advantages are:  it allows you to get a very sharp image with pretty good eye relief and eye box. A disadvantage is that the optical efficiency is relatively low at between 8% to 10%, so you lose a fair amount of light, and therefore need very bright displays.

However, remember that the Personal IMAX Theater experience and Metaverse Glasses are meant to be quite immersive, so MicroOLED panel brightness of 2,000 nits matched to Pancake optics provides 160 to 200 nits to the eye which is more than enough for immersive VR experiences. This is why MicroOLED and Pancake optics are a perfect match for these applications.

My dream of the perfect VR Glass in a few years would be based on Duo-Stack MicroOLED panels that are 4K X 4K resolution, run at 120Hz, with HDR 10 bit color. We have actually laid the foundation for all of this in our 1.3” 2.6K X 2.6K panels that Panasonic chose for their VR glasses. Here, I would like to stress why we have picked 1.3” diagonal size.  For excellent metaverse experiences, the things that can make a great visual experience, big displays and big optics – run counter to what is required for comfort and style – small and sleek.  Therefore, you need a display and optics combination that is big enough to provide excellent resolution, but small enough to keep the headset design small, lightweight and stylish.  For MicroOLED on Si displays, 1.3” size is the largest possible because of Si foundry equipment limitations and display costs reasons.  Hence, we started with the maximum 1.3” size.   With that 1.3” size, one would like to further increase resolution.  The next step is 4K by 4K.  With such superhigh-resolution microdisplays and further developing Pancake optics with even larger FOV, we may approach the ultimate goal of a digital universe almost indistinguishable from the physical universe – in a small and compact form-factor.

We believe the combination of our 1.3” 4K X 4K Duo-Stack MicroOLED panel paired to wide FOV all-plastic Pancake optics will enable my dream Personal IMAX Theater and VR glasses in just a few years.

It is true that the anticipated wave of MicroOLED demand has taken longer than many of us had hoped, mostly because of serious technical and production challenges, but it remains very clear that it is coming and I think our approach remains the right one.

We learned a lot from our work several years ago where we held the leading market share position in supplying HBT transistors that were inside power amplifiers for smartphones. We have since sold that business, but that past experience helped us focus on the segments of the MicroOLED supply chain where we can add the most value while remaining very flexible in how we serve our customers. For example, we believe there are two areas of the MicroOLED supply chain we do not need to be directly involved in: (1) fabricating the silicon wafer itself, and (2) OLED deposition. Where Kopin can add a lot of value is in the design of specialized silicon backplane wafers and our multi-stack OLED architecture – this is the so-called “brain” of the display. This strategy was decided by us a number of years ago and levers our experience and IP that we expect will be in high demand by display manufacturers.

Currently we work with three silicon foundries and three publicly announced OLED deposition foundries (BOE, Lakeside, and Olightek). Interestingly, this approach gives us the flexibility to work with the most appropriate OLED foundry and set of equipment for each display without the high capital investment while maintaining our IP that is critical to the display performance.  In fact, I think our ability to work with multiple silicon and OLED foundries is a very valuable asset.

Another point I should note, the current array of 8” fabs globally is fine for MicroOLED panels, but there is a transition to 12” fabs underway that will make production of 1.3” size 2.6K x 2.6K and higher resolution panels much more economical. Remember, we think 4K X 4K resolution in a 1.3” size MicroOLED panel would be quite optimal for VR and Metaverse Glasses.

The component supply chain and network of Original Design Manufacturers (ODM) for VR, AR, and Metaverse devices continue to reside in China and other Asia regions for a variety of reasons. In fact, we see investment increasing there, so we feel it is likely that MicroOLED volume production for consumer applications will follow a similar path as occurred with LED lighting, solar cells, smartphone display panels, and other capital-intensive technologies. When you consider all of this, we remain confident that our fabless multi-foundry approach is the right one and it will allow us to leverage the growing manufacturing scale in Asia.

It has been a long journey to get to this point, but it feels like microdisplay solutions may finally see wider adoption given renewed momentum in VR and the emergence of a Metaverse. Certainly, all eyes are on Apple and the head-worn VR device they are expected to introduce later this year. What is next for Kopin?

Our goal is very simple: continue to lead in the two critical technology areas that are needed for great VR/AR experiences – microdisplays and optics.  Optics is an area of opportunity for us because the industry doesn’t see any alternatives to all-plastic Pancake on the VR side. There is so much flexibility in our all-plastic approach and we have strong IP in this area. The ability to refine, modify, and mass produce a plastic lens quickly is far superior to what can be done with glass lenses. All-plastic Pancake also has significant cost and low weight advantages. Once the industry moves to this design, they will not go back to glass.

On the display side, we are now focused on getting our 2.6K x 2.6K panels ready for production and then plan to transition to 4K x 4K resolution. Remember, our MicroOLED architecture is a full Display-on-Chip as we have integrated DDIC, MIPI, and HDR 10-bit color all into the Si backplane. It turns out to be a monumental task and has required much of our resources and innovations.  It is really a full display system integrated together — display and IC in one integrated unit.  It has performance, power saving and eventually cost-saving advantages.  But!  What a challenge.  Like climbing Mount Everest.   We are delighted that we are currently leading the noble charge.  However, for the ultimate Metaverse glass, the resolution march should continue.  We need to reduce further the pixel size down to achieve full 4K X 4K resolution in a 1.3” diagonal panel size (it has to remain in 1.3” size for reasons described earlier).  New innovations are required.  We are quite confident that in due time, we will deliver such ultra-high resolution DoC..

There is a competing technical solution using a 2.0” or larger LCD or OLED on glass display, and hybridly bonding a DDIC chip to such a panel.  This is what currently leading VR headsets are using.  (As an aside, even for these hybrid displays, Pancake optics instead of currently used Fresnel optics would be preferred).  Hybrid approach is certainly easier and quicker to go to market. However, full integration such as our Display-on-Chip has many performance advantages – including the always-important smaller size.  It may be similar to a hybrid car vs. a fully electric car.  Hybrid cars did get to market earlier, but electric cars are the ultimate solution.

Observers should know we have long been a leader in the microdisplay and near eye optics spaces and we also possess the extraordinary benefit of our HBT experience, which was a radical innovation. What did we learn from our success with HBT? The most important lesson is that just like in HBT case, Kopin should use our native disruptive DNA to address and invent the advanced technologies needed for the new Metaverse platform.  We focus on our inventions so technology and production capability would come together at just the right moment to meet consumer  demand for the new transformation to emerge. We feel such pattern is about to repeat with our all-plastic Pancake optics and MicroOLED displays. The technology is finally here, and a number of manufacturers are starting to build out capacity. If Apple and others deliver MicroOLED devices soon, the demand for our OLED DoC and all-plastic Pancake optics will arrive. In this way, we now see a good path for Kopin to achieve HBT-style success with much higher value components including microdisplays and optics.

This statistic shows the production capacity in area for large-size LCD panels worldwide from 2015 to 2020. In 2016, the global production capacity in area for large-size panels reached 243.4 million square meters.Read moreProduction capacity in area for large-size LCD panels worldwide from 2015 to 2020(in million square meters)CharacteristicProduction capacity in million square meters--

TrendForce. (September 4, 2017). Production capacity in area for large-size LCD panels worldwide from 2015 to 2020 (in million square meters) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved January 10, 2023, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/760180/large-size-lcd-panel-production-capacity-worldwide/

TrendForce. "Production capacity in area for large-size LCD panels worldwide from 2015 to 2020 (in million square meters)." Chart. September 4, 2017. Statista. Accessed January 10, 2023. https://www.statista.com/statistics/760180/large-size-lcd-panel-production-capacity-worldwide/

TrendForce. (2017). Production capacity in area for large-size LCD panels worldwide from 2015 to 2020 (in million square meters). Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: January 10, 2023. https://www.statista.com/statistics/760180/large-size-lcd-panel-production-capacity-worldwide/

TrendForce. "Production Capacity in Area for Large-size Lcd Panels Worldwide from 2015 to 2020 (in Million Square Meters)." Statista, Statista Inc., 4 Sep 2017, https://www.statista.com/statistics/760180/large-size-lcd-panel-production-capacity-worldwide/

TrendForce, Production capacity in area for large-size LCD panels worldwide from 2015 to 2020 (in million square meters) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/760180/large-size-lcd-panel-production-capacity-worldwide/ (last visited January 10, 2023)

Production capacity in area for large-size LCD panels worldwide from 2015 to 2020 (in million square meters) [Graph], TrendForce, September 4, 2017. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/760180/large-size-lcd-panel-production-capacity-worldwide/

Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) will become a multi-billion opportunity for display manufacturers, according to a new report released by DSCC. Annual revenues for AR/VR displays will grow at a CAGR of 52% to reach $4.2B in 2026. The report also shows the market share for each technology and predicts that OLED-on-Silicon (SiOLED) become more popular over time.

“There are several trends driving this growth” says Guillaume Chansin, Director of Display Research at DSCC. “First, major brands with strong ecosystems like Apple and Sony are planning to release new headsets. Recently released devices such as the Oculus Quest 2 or the Nreal Light have also redefined the entry level experience and pricing for consumer VR and AR. There are now better components designed specifically for head-worn devices instead of smartphones and the roll out of 5G should enable more content to be delivered. Finally, investment in new display technologies will lead to a new generation of headsets with compelling visual performance and more compact form factors.”

DSCC defines AR as a broad category of technologies, including what some vendors call Mixed Reality (MR). Unlike VR which provides an immersive virtual environment, AR consists of combining digital images with the real world. AR can be implemented either using optical combiners (see-through AR) or with a live video feed (passthrough AR).

Various solutions exist for see-through AR, such as diffractive waveguides and birdbath optics. For instance, Microsoft adopted laser beam scanning (LBS) with waveguides for the HoloLens 2. Recently, Qualcomm introduced a reference design based on SiOLED microdisplays. However, each configuration brings its own set of compromises. The brightness of the display has remained a long-standing issue, in particular when using the device in daylight. The introduction of high brightness MicroLED displays will create new opportunities in see-through AR.

Passthrough AR, while less visually impressive, has the advantage of being less demanding on the display. VR headset manufacturers can include AR functionality by adding cameras, thereby offering a 2-in-1 device. Apple is likely to implement passthrough AR in its upcoming headset.

December 12, 2017 (Tokyo, Japan) - Japan Display Inc. (JDI) today announced the development of a 3.60-inch 803ppi low temperature polysilicon (LTPS) TFT LCD specifically designed for virtual reality (VR) head mount display (HMD) applications. JDI will accelerate the design of even higher resolution displays for VR-HMD applications by completing development of a TFT LCD with over 1000ppi pixel density in the first half of 2018.

Currently, JDI"s LTPS TFT LCD in mass production for HMD applications has a super-fine pixel density of approximately 600ppi, which provides a sense of reality to users. However, 600ppi-class displays are still not sufficient to prevent users from noticing pixel grid lines (i.e., pixelation), and a display with 800ppi or higher pixel density has been anticipated by our customers. Also, in order to decrease the size and weight of the HMD device, even higher pixel density of 1000ppi or more adopted into smaller displays using lenses with higher magnification, is required.

Today, the amount and speed of the display data required for VR-dedicated-HMD processing is much greater than that of a smartphone. Therefore, the receipt of real time data by VR-dedicated-HMDs via current telecommunication networks is practically not possible and most VR-dedicated-HMDs use hard-wired systems. However, when the next generation "5G network" becomes reality, HMDs will be able to receive data in real time via wireless telecommunication networks, which will enable the broadening of VR applications and services. We expect the market size of VR-dedicated-HMDs will expand along with the spread of 5G networks.

JDI will continue to strive to maintain its leading position in high-pixel-density displays for VR-dedicated- HMDs by leveraging its long experience in the development of LTPS TFT LCDs.

* JDI defines "VR-dedicated-HMD" as a head mount device which mounts displays specially-designed for virtual reality applications, whereas there are other types of HMDs which mount actual smartphones as the display user-interface instead. there are HMDs which use displays designed for smartphone applications instead.

Japan Display Inc. (JDI) is the leading global manufacturer of advanced small- and medium-sized LTPS LCD panels. By leveraging its advanced technologies and the world"s largest LTPS production capacity, JDI provides high resolution, low power consumption and thin displays for smartphones, tablets, automotive electronics, digital cameras, medical equipment and other electronic devices. JDI, which commenced operations in April 2012, was formed through the consolidation of the display panel businesses of Sony, Hitachi and Toshiba. The company"s common stock is traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange with the securities code number 6740. For more information please visit: https://www.j-display.com/english/.

The information contained in this press release is accurate as of the date of issuance and is subject to change without notice. Information in this press release, other than statements of historical fact, constitutes forward-looking statements, which are based on available information, operating plans and projections about future events and trends.

Virtual reality (VR) technology is a growing force beyond entertainment and an important tool in education, science, commerce, manufacturing, and more. Learn the basics and the latest from experts about how VR impacts your world.

Virtual reality is the use of computer technology to create simulated environments. Virtual reality places the user inside a three-dimensional experience. Instead of viewing a screen in front of them, users are immersed in and interact with 3D worlds.

Simulation of human senses—all five of them—transforms a computer into a vehicle into new worlds. The only limitation to a superb VR experience is computing power and content availability.

“We’ve only just begun the journey into mass-produced consumer headsets, used by businesses to present proposals and products to clients. AR is already popular in architecture and development, and not just with private developers. Local authorities and councils use this technology for town planning and sustainable development. AR doesn’t require a headset at this stage, so it’s extremely accessible, but I’d like to see AR and VR together in a headset in the future as this currently isn’t possible.”

All three types of VR, from non-immersive, semi-immersive, full immersive or a mixture of them, are also referred to as extended reality (XR). Three types of virtual reality experiences provide different levels of computer-generated simulation.

The three main VR categories are the following:Non-Immersive Virtual Reality: This category is often overlooked as VR simply because it’s so common. Non-immersive VR technology features a computer-generated virtual environment where the user simultaneously remains aware and controlled by their physical environment. Video games are a prime example of non-immersive VR.

Semi-Immersive Virtual Reality: This type of VR provides an experience partially based in a virtual environment. This type of VR makes sense for educational and training purposes with graphical computing and large projector systems, such as flight simulators for pilot trainees.

Fully Immersive Virtual Reality: Right now, there are no completely immersive VR technologies, but advances are so swift that they may be right around the corner. This type of VR generates the most realistic simulation experience, from sight to sound to sometimes even olfactory sensations. Car racing games are an example of immersive virtual reality that gives the user the sensation of speed and driving skills. Developed for gaming and other entertainment purposes, VR use in other sectors is increasing.

Virtual reality (VR) is an all-enveloping artificial and fully immersive experience that obscures the natural world. Augmented reality (AR) enhances users’ real-world views with digital overlays that incorporate artificial objects.

VR creates synthetic environments through sensory stimuli. Users’ actions impact, at least partially, what occurs in the computer-generated environment. Digital environments reflect real places and exist apart from current physical reality.

In AR, the real world is viewed directly or via a device such as a camera to create a visual and adds to that vision with computer-generated inputs such as still graphics, audio or video. AR is different from VR because it adds to the real-world experience rather than creating a new experience from scratch.

The VR process combines hardware and software to create immersive experiences that “fool” the eye and brain. Hardware supports sensory stimulation and simulation such as sounds, touch, smell or heat intensity, while software creates the rendered virtual environment.

Immersive experience creation mimics how the eye and brain form visuals. Human eyes are about three inches apart and therefore form two slightly different views. The brain fuses those views to create a sense of depth or stereoscopic display.

VR applications replicate that phenomenon with a pair of exact images from two different perspectives. Instead of a single image covering the entire screen, it shows two identical pictures made to offset the view for each eye. VR technology fools the viewer’s brain into perceiving a sense of depth and accept the illusion of a multi-dimensional image.

VR technology commonly consists of headsets and accessories such as controllers and motion trackers. Driven by proprietary downloadable apps or web-based VR, the technology is accessible via a web browser.

A VR headset is a head-mounted device, such as goggles. A VR headset is a visual screen or display. Headsets often include state-of-the-art sound, eye or head motion-tracking sensors or cameras.

There are three main types of headsets:PC-Based VR Headsets: PC headsets tend to be the highest-priced devices because they offer the most immersive experiences. These headsets are usually cable-tethered from the headset and powered by external hardware. The dedicated display, built-in motion sensors and an external camera tracker offer high-quality sound and image and head tracking for greater realism.

Standalone VR Headsets: All-in-one or standalone VR headsets are wireless, integrated pieces of hardware, such as tablets or phones. Wireless VR headsets are not always standalone. Some systems transmit information wirelessly from consoles or PCs in proximity, and others use wired packs carried in a pocket or clipped to clothing.

Mobile Headsets:These shell devices use lenses that cover a smartphone. The lenses separate the screen to create a stereoscopic image that transforms a smartphone into a VR device. Mobile headsets are relatively inexpensive. Wires are not needed because the phone does the processing. Phones don’t offer the best visual experiences and are underpowered by game console- or PC-based VR. They provide no positional tracking. The generated environment displays from a single point, and it is not possible to look around objects in a scene.

VR accessories are hardware products that facilitate VR technology. New devices are always in development to improve the immersive experience. Today’s accessories include the 3D mouse, optical trackers, wired gloves, motion controllers, bodysuits, treadmills, and even smelling devices.

These are some of the accessories used today in VR:3D Mouse: A 3D mouse is a control and pointing device designed for movement in virtual 3D spaces. 3D mice employ several methods to control 3D movement and 2D pointing, including accelerometers, multi-axis sensors, IR sensors and lights.

Optical Trackers: Visual devices monitors the user’s position. The most common method for VR systems is to use one or multiple fixed video cameras to follow the tracked object or person.

Wired Gloves: This type of device, worn on the hands, is also known as cyber gloves or data gloves. Various sensor technologies capture physical movement data. Like an inertial or magnetic tracking device, a motion tracker attaches to capture the glove’s rotation and global position data. The glove software interprets movement. High-end versions provide haptic feedback or tactile stimulation, allowing a wired glove to be an output device.

Omnidirectional Treadmills (ODTs): This accessory machine gives users the ability to move in any direction physically. ODTs allow users to move freely for a fully immersive experience in VR environments.

Smelling Devices:Smell devices are one of the newer accessories in the VR world. Vaqso, a Tokyo-based company, offers a headset attachment that emits odors to convey the size and shape of a candy bar. The fan-equipped device holds several different smells that can change intensity based on the screen action.

Developers use various software to build VR. They include VR software development kits, visualization software, content management, game engines, social platforms, and training simulators.VR Content Management Systems Software:Companies use this workplace tool to collect, store and analyze VR content in a centralized location.

Napster’s Trudgian points out another software technology that may someday disrupt headsets as a standard in VR: “Non-headset VR is coming, as demonstrated by the likes of Spatial, VRChat and RecRoom.

“These apps allow users or players without headsets to connect to the same environment and interact with one another. Adding support for non-headset users serves virtual worlds well by adding a user base on universally accessible devices and platforms. In theory, if a virtual world is not reliant on headset-only users, it can expand in size tremendously; the amount of people who have access to a web browser or smartphone is far greater than that of any headset.”

VR strives to emulate reality, so audio is vital role to creating credible experiences. Audio and visuals work together to add presence and space to the environment. Audio cues are also crucial for guiding users through their digital experience.

Convincing VR applications require more than graphics alone. Hearing and vision are also central to a person’s perception of space. People react more rapidly to audio cues than to visual indicators. To produce truly immersive virtual reality experiences, precise environmental noise and sounds as well as accurate spatial characteristics are required.

People hear in three dimensions. They can discern the direction sound comes from and the rough distance from the sound source. Simulation of aural sense delivers a more authentic multi-dimensional experience and is known as biaural or spatial audio.

Biaural or spatial audio emulates how human hearing functions. People have ears on both sides of the head and our brains adjust the sound accordingly. Sounds emanating from the right of the head reach the user’s ear with a time delay, and vice versa. We, therefore, perceive sound as if positioned at a specific point in three-dimensional space.

Binaural and spatial audio lend a powerful sense of presence to any virtual world. To experience the binaural audio elements that comprise a VR experience, put on your best headphones and play around with this audio infographic published by The Verge.

“This change will be driven by the significant opportunity ahead of a VR creator economy. New tools created for developers and anyone interested in creating VR content are necessary. Remember when YouTube started? Most people weren’t making and sharing videos, and now anyone can quickly become a video creator.”

“Today, most people don’t have a VR headset. Once the hardware is simplified and usage is more widespread, we’ll see the same phenomenon. Eventually, wearables like smart glasses of some type will replace smartphones. These wearables will allow even more uses for both VR and AR because users won’t need specialized hardware but will take advantage of the same device they use to communicate, search and interact with the world around them.”

“VR will provide creators and storytellers the unique ability to put users in other people’s shoes. This empathetic process has business implications for corporate training, especially in support of diversity, equity and inclusion.”

VR technology is associated with gaming, but it is used to support sales, facilitate learning, simulate travel, communicate, and more. Due to the pandemic, remote work, social interaction and virtual travel have increased VR use.

VR has impacted businesses ranging from medicine to tourism and is a cornerstone of many corporate digital transformation strategies. For example, according to a November 2020 Statista report estimates for business investments in the U.S. industrial maintenance and training are forecast to hit $4.1 billion in 2024.

Futurist Baron says: “There will be significant opportunities for businesses to use VR both within their companies and with potential and existing customers.”

Baron offers her insights into these top use cases:Training: One of the most obvious is the use of VR in employee training. While this currently requires the use of a headset, it can also be done onsite or at home. The ability to put an employee in other people’s shoes (whether those of a co-worker or customer) delivers a unique experience that isn’t feasible otherwise. As the technology improves, this will become a valuable tool in all corporate training, including situations that require complex decision-making. VR makes sense in education. Imagine an immersive experience in history or science, for example. As technology progresses and our attention spans decrease, we will continue to expect well-rounded experiences when learning anything new.

Travel: Hotels can take you inside their property, so you know what to expect. VR can be beneficial for high-end travel (e.g., honeymoons or luxury resorts). For the user, they’d see (and feel) the location from their perspective instead of watching an online video or looking at 2D photos.

Real Estate: Developers can move beyond 3D models to simulate life inside their new development. VR would work both for homes and commercial spaces. Also, co-working spaces can use VR to put the prospective tenant inside the space before you join.

Healthcare: There are many uses for healthcare practitioners, researchers and patients. Imagine using VR to help patients with disorders such as anxiety or anorexia. It would be invaluable in medical school to help students learn how to deal with situations that may arise when they become doctors (empathy training, for example). VR is already in use for surgical training.

Retail: Retailers can help potential consumers put themselves in situations where they can “try on” clothes or objects and get a sense of how they interact with an environment. For example, a bride-to-be could try a wedding dress and place it in an actual wedding environment. VR is different from AR, where you stay in your current reality.

Military: VR is already a valuable tool in simulations for combat, confrontations and the like. It can replace expensive and sometimes dangerous real-life exercises. The ability to change scenarios makes it attractive for all branches of the military and the defense industry.

Entertainment: The ability to provide immersive experiences will transform entertainment. Gaming and Hollywood will increasingly provide users and viewers with the ability to go from passive to active. Consumers will interact with stories in a highly personalized way (should they wish to). The ability to choose your own POV in a game or movie will continue to provide new forms of engagement.

Other use cases include:Architecture: VR can render different levels of detail that are important in early-stage design. Architects can create an immersive experience to visualize massing and spatial relationships. Other uses can show how light will affect the proposed space, based on window placement.

Art: VR as a tool for fine art is a staple for artists who aim to push limits. Multimedia artists all over the world are already deeply involved in immersive experiential art forms. Laurie Anderson, a pioneer since the 1970s, was awarded the 74th Venice International Film Festival for her work, The Chalkroom.

Aviation: Realistic cockpits with VR technology are used to train commercial pilots in training programs incorporating live instruction with virtual flight.

Aerospace: Lockheed Martin builds its F-35 plane with virtual reality technology. In addition to design, engineers now use VR glasses to inspect planes. VR enables engineers to work with up to 96 percent accuracy at a 30 percent faster rate.

Data Visualization: Engineering and scientific data visualization have profited for years from VR. New display technology has aroused interest in everything from weather models to molecular visualization.

Dining: Project Nourished replicates eating by manipulating taste, smell, vision, sound, and touch. People experience the virtual as a gourmet meal. The process uses a VR headset, an aroma diffuser, a system that emulates chewing sounds, a rotating utensil and tasteless, 3D-printed food. The project aims to maximize the practical and therapeutic qualities of beverages, medicine and food while limiting natural resource use.

Education: The use of traditional instruction mediums and textbooks is often ineffective for students with special needs. With the introduction of VR, students have become more responsive and engaged. At Charlton Park Academy in London, teachers use immersive technology to address their students’ unique needs better.

Fashion: You can find Dior’s VR store on its French website. The brand offers shoppers a 3D, 360-degree e-commerce experience. Users virtually browse the store’s offerings, zoom in on preferred items and purchase them online.

Gaming: Say “virtual reality,” and gaming is the application people think of first. According to the Entertainment Software Association figures reported in March 2020, 73 percent of the 169 million gamers in the U.S. reported owning a gamin console, while 29 percent said they had a VR capable system.

Manufacturing: Designers and engineers easily experiment with the build and look of vehicles before commissioning expensive prototypes with VR. Brands such as Jaguar and BMW use the technology for early design and engineering reviews. Virtual reality saves the car industry millions by reducing the number of prototypes built per vehicle line.

Journalism: Immersive journalism allows the first-person experience of events or situations described in documentary films and news reports. The Weather Channel uses mixed reality to help communicate everything from wildfires to tornados to flooding.

Law Enforcement: With the advent of VR goggles, virtual reality training has been a boon for law enforcement training. Incident training is realistic and helps prepare officers for everyday situations.

Marketing and Advertising: Virtual reality for marketing allows organizations to bridge the gap between experience and action. VR changes the dynamic between consumers and brands since people seek VR experiences, such as those of Toms Shoes and The North Face.

Museums: Through a mobile phone, projector, headset or web browser, visitors experience locations that would have been unreachable in the recent past. At the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, a permanent VR installation allows visitors to explore different animal species and their links. The exhibit simulates real experiences of interacting or observing animals in their natural habitats.

Religion: There’s even an app to experience God. Believe VR and The Virtual Reality Church make it possible for people to worship in depth wherever they are. VR Church became extremely popular during pandemic shutdowns.

Social Media: VR allows people to make connections in a more meaningful way. VRChat gives the power of creation to its community with a wide selection of social VR experiences. Users can hang out, play and chat with spatialized 3D audio, multiplayer VR games, virtual space stations, and expressive lip-synced avatars.

Sports: VR is a training aid in many sports such as cycling, skiing, golf and gymnastics. At least three college programs—Auburn University, Vanderbilt University and the University of Arkansas—and multiple NFL teams use virtual reality systems.

VR is always improving due to technology refinements, and the latest “category killers” change rapidly. Top-of-the-pack players include ongoing favorites from Oculus, HTC, Sony and Valve.

Here are some of the benefits of VR:Practical Training: VR is a safe way to simulate dangerous situations for training purposes. Firefighters, pilots, astronauts and police can learn in a controlled environment before going into the field. Immersive experience narrows timeframes so trainees can more quickly become professionals.

“Tryout” Capability: Shoppers’s remorse may become a thing of the past with VR. You can use virtual reality to furnish your home, test-drive a car or try on wedding bands without leaving home.

VR has some disadvantages despite its appealing sense of engagement, including technical issues, the potential for addiction, loss of human connection, and expense. It’s possible to mitigate some problems, but others are a fixed part of the VR experience.

Here are some VR disadvantages:Addiction: Some people become addicted to the VR experience in gaming and social media applications. People can assume different identifies, which can be addictive and cause social, psychological and biological issues.

Health Problems: Extensive use of VR can create a loss of spatial awareness, nausea, dizziness, disorientation and nausea, also known as simulator sickness.

Screen Door Effect: When you use a headset, the display is within inches of your eyes. That means you see pixels or the spaces between them, no matter how excellent the display resolution may be. This mesh-like effect can irritate some users. Newer headsets have improved but not eliminated the issue.

Loss of Human Connections: When you rely on virtual connections rather than real-life social interactions, trouble may result. Over-reliance on VR can lead to disassociation or depression.

Businesses differentiate themselves through technological hybrids to interest consumers in innovations, mainly through VR and AR applications. Nowhere is this more evident than in shopping and retail.

Virtual reality in retail is still in its infancy. According to a 2018 VR in Retail and Marketing report from ABI Research, VR technology in the retail and marketing sectors are on track to generate $1.8 billion by 2022. Virtual reality in retail helps vendors plan, design, research and engage customers. The technology offers companies a strong competitive advantage by keeping up to date with current patterns and trends, like 3D eCommerce.

If you have been looking to add VR to your in-store customer shopping experience but didn’t know where to start, we can help. 3D Cloud by Marxent’s Virtual Reality shopping solution offers white-glove service and an easy turnkey implementation informed by years of experience and hundreds of VR installations. Our unique Virtual Reality approach pairs the easy-to-use 3D Cloud-powered 3D Room Planner with a Virtual Reality experience that wows customers, supercharges sales, and slashes returns.

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