DARPA funds see-through vidspecs, war-graffiti project

Lockheed Martin the other day passed on $1 million of DARPA funds it had received from the government to one of its subcontractors, Washington-based Microvision, to help it achieve a new standard in interface technology. Lockheed wants Microvision to develop “daylight-readable, see-through, low-profile, ergonomic” color video specs.

The Lockheed-Microvision deal is part of a U.S. military project named Urban Leader Tactical Response, Awareness & Visualization (ULTRA-Vis). Lewis Page writes that it is intended to equip American combat troops not only with see-through video specs but also with a cunning “gesture recognition” interface allowing squad leaders effectively to scribble on the real world — for instance, marking a door, and having the same mark show up in their teammates’ specs as well.

“Microvision is very pleased to work with Lockheed Martin,” said Microvision vice president Ian Brown. “By designing Microvision’s ultra-miniature PicoP Display Engine and our thin, clear Substrate Guided Relay (SGR) Optics into a wearable display, we have the potential to bring battery operable, low-profile, see-through, full-color eye wear displays to users. This eye wear display development could enable information content to be overlaid in the user’s field-of-view in operational environments, providing a critical information advantage.”

The PicoP small display is also used in pico projectors, vehicle displays, and other kinds of wearable kit.

Apart from see-through vidspecs and gesture recognition, the final ULTRA-Vis should incorporate “voice and tactile command” interfaces, some sort of location system and a “head-tracking navigation unit” so that the video specs know which way they are pointing.