Optical Society of Southern California (OSSC) Meeting

Topic - Consumer Personal Display Prototype Speaker - James P. McGuire, Ph.D., Optical Research Associates

Abstract: Optical head mounted display systems (HMDs) have been utilized by the military for various applications since the 1980 s. In the 1990 s, this technology migrated to the consumer market. A number of major OEMS (Philips, Nintendo, Sony, etc.) and venture-capital startups introduced personal display products for the purpose of computer gaming, watching video (e.g., movies or TV programs), or viewing virtual computer displays. Most of these early systems suffered the major drawback that they were look-at systems, which prevented the user from seeing their environment. This reduced the utility of the devices and could potentially lead to safety issues. This presentation discusses the market and engineering aspects of a novel see-through consumer personal display device designed and patented by Optical Research Associates. A working prototype of the device will be available at the meeting for viewing through.

About the Author: James P. McGuire is the Director of Optical Engineering Services at Optical Research Associates. Dr. McGuire s technical experience has concentrated in the invention and development of new optical systems for displays, microlithography, fiber optics, and remote sensing optics with published 32 published patents and patent applications, and 21 papers. Jim received his Ph.D. from the University of Alabama at Huntsville, and started his career at JPL working on correcting the Hubble Space Telescope spherical aberration with the Wide-Field Planetary Camera-2.