Vuzix recently declared that the US Army Night Vision and Electronics Sensors Directorate, RDECOM CERDEC has presented the company with phase I of a multiphase development contract. Under this contract,
Vuzix will develop a wide field of view See Through Waveguide (STWG) for broad potential application in helmet mounted queuing systems and for use in other head mounted display applications as well. The contract includes investigating the chance of supporting waveguide optics with a path to full color operation and with fields of view beyond 50 degrees.
In this initial effort, a STWG system will be provided by Vuzix. Reflecting the basic principles of waveguide technology, the system is full color capable with a 30-degree field of view. The second component is expected to be a trade-off study involving two independent approaches, under which Vuzix will solve the issue of wide field of view. Also, follow-on phases can be carried out, thereby providing working prototypes of any of the two options.
According to the President of Vuzix, Paul Travers, in contrast to other competitive solutions, the waveguide technology of Vuzix has found to be exceptional as it can generate wide fields of view having full color operation. By integrating these two features, the future demands of Augmented Reality applications and personal heads-up displays can be easily met. High performance can be achieved by 50 degree fields of view, less than color, and see through features. Using Vuzix waveguide technology, this system includes a 1.4 mm-thick transparent blade of glass or polymer. The blade will act as primary lens in see through video glasses.
Source: http://www.vuzix.com/