Lumus


Lumus is an Israeli-based Augmented Reality company headquartered in Ness Ziona, Israel. Founded in 2000, Lumus has developed technology for see-through wearable displays, via its patented Light-guide Optical Element platform to market producers of smart glasses and augmented reality eyewear. Lumus' technology enables a small natural looking form factor, wide field of view and true see-through performance.

Technology

The LOE is a patented optical waveguide that makes use of multiple partial reflectors embedded in a single substrate to reflect a virtual image into the eye of the wearer. Specifically, the image is coupled into the LOE by a "Pod" that sits at the edge of the waveguide—in an eyeglass configuration, this is embedded in the temple of the glasses. The image travels through total internal reflection to the multiple array of partial reflectors and are reflected to the eye. While each partial reflector shows only a portion of the image, the optics are such that the wearer sees the combined array and perceives it as a single uniform image projected at infinity. The transparent display enables a virtual image to be seamlessly overlaid over the wearer's real world view. This is especially true when the source image comprises a black background with light color wording or symbology being displayed. Black is essentially see-through color, while lighter colored objects, symbols or characters appear to float in the wearer's line of sight. Conversely, full screen images like documents, internet pages, movies which are typically brighter colors can be displayed to look like a large virtual image floating a few meter's away from the wearer.
Lumus, with the LOE, has a single waveguide that works on all colors. The thickness of their one LOE is similar to the stack of multiple thinner waveguides on HoloLens. They simply cut the waveguide’s entrance at an angle to get the light to enter, and then they use a series of very specially designed partial mirrors to cause the light to exit.
The company builds reflective waveguides. The interesting, rather sleek pieces of display technology rely on microscopic etchings in transparent glass lenses that catch light being projected into their edges. While these systems are limited in how much of a viewer’s field-of-view they can fill, they are unparalleled in the small form factors they can reach and will likely be what powers your first pair of smart glasses.

Applications

Using Lumus Optical Engines or Development Kits allows smart eyewear manufacturers to maintain their own industrial design and branding.
Lenovo announce at Transform 3.0 at Accelerate convention, that she using Lumus AR glasses in her new ThinkReality A6.

Optical Engines

ProductResolutionThicknessTransparencyBrightnessWeightPower ConsumptionImage
OE-31720p 1280 x 720 pixels Field of view :40°Eye motion box:10 x 8 mm:>78%1,000 FtL Contrast ratio:>250:1LOE27gr
OE-32720p 1280 x 720 pixels Field of View :40°Eye motion box:10 x 8 mm:>78%1,000 FtL Contrast ratio:>250:1LOE27grN/A
OE-40640 x 480 FOV 2.0 mm Eye Motion Box @ 18 mm78% Image focal plane1000 fLContrast >250:1LOE18gr200mW
OE-45640 x 480 FOV 1000 fLContrast >250:1LOE2.0 mm Eye Motion Box @ 18 mm78%Image focal plane: infinity15gr<200mW
PD-14SVGA 800 x 600 pixels Field of View : 32°Eye motion box: 10 x 10 mmIn active area >70%. Outside active area >92%>1200 FL<70grN/A
PD-18SVGA 800 x 600 pixels Field of View : 32°Eye motion box: 10 x 10 mmIn active area >70%. Outside active area >92%>1200 FL70grN/A

Development Kits

Dev KitDescriptionImage
DK-40The DK-40 is a fully comprehensive wireless, stand-alone monocular display development kit powered by the Lumus Optical Engine 40. The dev kit glasses have VGA resolution and 23° Field of View. The system contains an onboard OMAP processor running Android, embedded 9DoF motion sensor and a 5MP camera. The DK-40 enables true augmented reality capability by enabling direct image overlay over the wearer's main line-of-sight, coupled with the motion sensors and camera. Additionally, the unit comes with an SDK to program the onboard Application Processor and a client program that enables an Android phone to serve as a wireless remote control and mobile network back channel.
DK-45The DK-45 is a fully comprehensive wireless, stand-alone monocular display development kit powered by the Lumus Optical Engine 45. The dev kit glasses have VGA resolution and 23° Field of View. The system contains an onboard OMAP processor running Android and embedded 9DoF motion sensor. The DK-45 enables true augmented reality capability by enabling direct image overlay over the wearer's main line-of-sight, coupled with the motion sensors. Additionally, the unit comes with an SDK to program the onboard Application Processor and a client program that enables an Android phone to serve as a wireless remote control and mobile network back channel.
DK-50The DK-50 is a fully comprehensive wireless, stand-alone binocular display dev kit powered by the Lumus Optical Engine, OE-32. OE-32 has 720p resolution, 40° Field of View. The system contains an onboard Snapdragon processor running Android, embedded 9DoF motion sensor, twin 4MP camera. The DK-50 enables immersive augmented reality capability by enabling direct image overlay over the wearer's main line-of-sight, coupled with the motion sensors and camera. Additionally, the unit comes with an SDK to program the onboard Application Processor and a client program that enables an Android phone to serve as a wireless remote control and mobile network back channel.

Lumus also has been working behind the scenes for years with a handful of Tier 1 consumer electronics manufacturers and tech companies, including, Thales, Daqri and Atheer.
The company aspires to be the Intel or the Qualcomm of the wearable display market—selling its optical engine modules as OEM components, while the Tier 1 companies will make the final products.

History