14 DAY TRIAL // Japan-based gadget manufacturer Brother Industries has unveiled a pseudo-portable version of its retinal imaging display (RID) device. The new toy comes in the shape of an extensible, flexible arm that mounts on the eyeglass frame.
The main display is located right in front of the subject's eye and measures about 20 cubic centimeters in a 25g envelope. The sensor is able to feed the user with additional information about the surrounding objects, just like the well-known Terminator. However, in order to use the gadget, you must wear a pair of glasses that not only serve as a support for the arm, but also focus light onto the retina at high speeds, in order to deliver the spatial proximity illusion.
When compared with the first prototype, unveiled during the EXPO 2005 in Aichi, Japan, the new gadget seems to be extremely small. However, it is far from being completely portable, as the image sensor connects to a bulky source box that does not quite fit into a pocket.
There are many approaches at delivering bits and bytes of information directly onto the users' eyes, but Brothers' "recipe" is by far the most interesting and comfortable. While other prototypes are based on miniature OLED panels that apply on the user's retina, then create the image, the RID uses a non-invasive, non-obtrusive method of displaying the image directly onto the ocular surface.
The company announced that it will start mass-production for the Terminator-Like spectacles sometime in 2010. Brothers has yet to find a solution to integrate the light source module in the main unit, in order to make it fully mobile. Although this looks pretty difficult, let's not forget that the previous device was about 1000 times larger, and was miniaturized in just 3 years.
Another aspect that needs to be tackled before the device goes public is related to safety and health. Given the fact that the mini-projector forms the image right on the retina, the device needs to pass some tests to ensure its safety.
