OLEDs shrink the projector, and the headset
Prototype
A German research institute with ties to Boston is bringing the space and energy savings and the brilliant color of OLED to augmented reality applications and boardroom projectors.
Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems recently produced a prototype projector about the size of a “Star Trek’’ communicator that can connect to computers and the Internet via a wireless device Fraunhofer is referring to as a MediaBox.
The micro-display projector uses OLED (organic light-emitting diode) technology, which can be used to generate brilliant color images with less energy and can be mounted on curved surfaces, such as eyeglass lenses. (Conventional optics, many headset makers concede, are nearing their limits for weight and size. OLED might be the technology to continue the scaling-down process.)
Fraunhofer says its micro-display project, called HYPOLED (www.hypoled.org) will lead to devices that can stream MPEG videos and incorporate lightweight optics and electronics.
The institute is also pitching HYPOLED as a breakthrough technology for head-mounted displays - to be used in augmented reality applications, such as Wikitude and Layar.
The micro-displays will yield millions of colors at VGA resolution and be within reach of most consumers, Fraunhofer predicts.
Fraunhofer, which has been dotting the globe with research facilities in recent years, will soon be performing some of its light wizardry in Cambridge. The institute said last week that it was opening a photonics lab at MIT, where researchers will work on new solar energy technologies.
Audio
Headphones that will dent your wallet
As fall takes hold, I’m coming to realize those earbuds I’ve been wearing are not going to cut it against biting winds and the screeching Red Line trolleys I hear turning around at Mattapan Square, more than a mile from my Milton home.My Sennheiser cans might do the trick - they resemble the all-ear-encompassing pair John Travolta wore in “Blow Out.’’ But those studio headphones are awfully painful to wear after a while, and their long, coiled cord makes me look as if I just escaped from a radio station. (And besides, there is something not quite right, to my mind, about wearing headphones that are bigger than your media player.)
If I were in the market for a new pair, I would be looking hard at those from the German manufacturer Ultrasone (www.ultrasone.com).
I might also have some explaining to do to my wife, Lisa, once the bill rolled in. At about $330, Ultrasone’s latest headphone, the HFI-2400, is in the middle range for headphones aimed at connoisseur listeners.
The HFI-2400 has open-backed cups with electromagnetic shielding (to guard against radiation from the pair’s electronics) to protect your brain.
The HFI-2400 also includes technology that reduces air pressure changes that might harm your eardrums, according to Ultrasone.
It folds into a slim velvet carrying case.
The HFI-2400 cans come in black and silver and have gorgeous aluminum nameplates. The headphone’s looks, and German pedigree, help account for the HFI-2400’s heavy price tag.
The HFI-2400 comes with a 3-meter straight cable, which is removable. The headphones will be available in the States this month or next, according to Ultrasone.
