Advanced Facilities Efficient ProductionThe concept of meta universe is popular all over the world, driving more industry players to invest in the construction of virtual worlds, such as community communication, game entertainment, content creation, virtual economy, etc. In order to realize the meta-universe, in addition to the deployment of infrastructure, the improvement of semiconductor computing efficiency, and the expansion of low-latency and high-speed network coverage, the popularization of VR and AR devices used on the user side is also the key.
To this end, the Industrial Technology Research Institute of Taiwan, with the support of the Technology Division of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Bureau of Industry of Taiwan, has developed the first full-color Micro LED micro display module. Universe business opportunity.
Lightweight of meta-universe equipment, display technology is the key
Fang Yanxiang, head of the Institute of Electronics and Optoelectronic Systems of the Industrial Technology Research Institute of Taiwan, said that the development of meta-universe can be divided into seven levels. Edge computing), the fourth layer is 3D modeling to make consumers more realistic. As for the fifth, sixth and seventh levels are user platforms, advertisements and user context.
Fang Yanxiang observed that with the rise of the meta-universe boom, most manufacturers have begun to deploy infrastructure. Currently, the second layer, the human-machine interface, is relatively lacking. In the future, Metaverse will inevitably be connected with AR. At this time, a thinner and lighter wearable device, such as AR glasses, is needed, because consumers cannot always wear heavy devices like current VR helmets for activities. Therefore, how to build a lightweight wearable device has become a key element in the development of the meta-universe, which is closely related to display technology and optical-mechanical systems.
Fang Yanxiang pointed out that if wearable devices want to be lightweight, the focus is on how to integrate the display and the opto-mechanical system. The so-called opto-mechanical system, in simple terms, is a display plus an optical system, so that the user's eyes can see the virtual image. AR with high immersion requires a high-contrast virtual image. The key is high display brightness to resist environmental glare. Although the resolution of LCD and OLED is sufficient, higher brightness cannot be achieved, and due to the poor efficiency of the overall optical machine, most of the current AR wearable device application scenarios are indoors, which can have a relatively high display contrast and achieve the so-called immersion. .
However, to realize the meta-universe, the future application scenarios will not only be limited to indoors, but will be transferred to the outdoors. This requires thinner and more efficient displays that not only respond to the more complex outdoor ambient light, but also create a better sense of immersion; For this reason, Micro LED has become the key display technology for creating the next-generation meta-universe man-machine interface.
Develop full-color Micro LED micro-display module, and strive to seek business opportunities in the universe
Fang Yanxiang pointed out that Micro LED has the advantages of high efficiency, low power consumption, and small size, and can take into account resolution, brightness, and power consumption. At the same time, it can be integrated with other components into a module (such as a sensor), thereby reducing the overall size. Realize more lightweight wearable devices.
The point is that, compared with OLED, Micro LED has a great brightness advantage. According to the data provided by the Taiwan Industrial Research Institute, the actual measurement data analysis shows that the brightness of the OLED display does not increase significantly after the driving voltage of the OLED display reaches a certain level; on the contrary, the brightness of the Micro LED display increases linearly with the increase of the driving voltage. In addition, according to the specifications of the terminal system, the display power consumption needs to be controlled within 1W. For this, the measurement data shows that taking the same power consumption as 0.75W as an example, the brightness difference between OLED and Micro LED is more than 30 times.
To this end, the Taiwan Industrial Research Institute is currently developing the first full-color Micro LED micro-display module, based on a CMOS backplane, and the panel size is 0.55 inches, which can be used for AR, head-up displays, and mobile displays. This full-color Micro LED micro-display module will be integrated with the current opto-mechanical system, and how effective it compares with the existing OLED. It is currently estimated that the results will be seen within one quarter and subsequent optimization will be carried out.
Fang Yanxiang also revealed that the Industrial Technology Research Institute of Taiwan has also begun to develop the next generation of Micro LED micro display modules (0.3 inches) to provide high brightness and high contrast to achieve high immersion display. And a new-generation opto-mechanical system that can be matched with Micro LED (the concept is similar to optical see-through VR glasses) to realize the man-machine interface required by the meta-universe.
How does the new generation of Micro LED optomechanical system realize the large FOV, light weight, and miniaturization required for high immersion? Conceptually, based on a wide-field VR optical system, through the Micro LED display and optics in it, a "see-through" design is made for the foreground light, so that the virtual image of the large field of view can be seen at the same time. See the real scene in front of AR glasses, taking into account the wide field of view of VR and the superimposition of the virtual reality of AR. This see-through optical design is achieved by using a new type of nano super-optics.
In addition, with the concept of "Micro LED as sensor", it replaces the traditional camera lens to sense and track eye movements while displaying near the eye, providing a low-power, high-response "eye-machine" interactive mode, which has the opportunity to provide Wearing glasses has an input interface that is as convenient as multi-touch on a mobile phone.
Fang Yanxiang pointed out that Taiwan has advantages in display technology, and the most important thing about Micro LED is who has to pay (who is going to the sea). After clarifying ideas, we will further integrate upstream, midstream and downstream. In this way, the development of Micro LED makes sense.
He also further explained that the development of Metaverse should also follow this plan. It can first envisage the use of scenarios and business models, and then develop human-machine interfaces, user scenarios, etc.; in this way, Taiwanese industry players can take advantage of this new wave of meta-universals. In the universe market, it is free from the role of a single supplier and will not be limited by the specified specifications. With the support of the Technology Division of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Bureau of Industry in Taiwan, the Industrial Technology Research Institute of Taiwan is playing a role of development and integration, gathering upstream, midstream and downstream industries to provide solutions, and finding new entry points in the emerging blue ocean of this meta-universe.