VR hardware was a hot spot in the 2017 International Consumer Electronics Show. In the show, a micro OLED display screen exhibited by manufacturer Kopin seemed to be very ordinary, but it would set the trend of the next generation of VR hardware with its 2k*2k resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. Kopin is a manufacturer specialized in the design and manufacturing of display screens, and now they have decided to extend their business into the field of immersive devices. Their latest Lightning micro OLED has 2048*2048 resolution and 120Hz refresh rate with screen size of 1 inch. Ultra small area also leads to ultra-low power consumption and lowers heat dissipation, as well as shortening delay time to be 10ms.

Kopin combines its own patented lens Pantile with Lightning micro OLED to produce a mobile VR device. Kopin says that the field angle of the device reaches 90 degree in a very small space, but its thickness is only the same with that of the thickest glasses. In the past, the micro display was not suitable to be used in immersive devices, as people were unable to produce high magnification lens applicable to this kind of display due to high distortion. But now Kopin’s partner has successfully designed high magnification optical lenses, so they develop an ultra-light mobile VR device with field angle of up to 100 degrees and monocular resolution of 2K. The size of this device is significantly smaller than that of products exhibited previously, so it can really be called as a pair of glasses instead of a head mounted display.

According to the sample exhibited, lens used by Kopin are similar to Fresnel Lens, which will more or less produce some ripples and halos same with Rift and Vive, with the advantage of reducing screen door effect. At present, we have not known the exact effect of the lens, but high magnification lens used in micro OLED are more prone to producing halos. Of course, this is also related to the design of lens, using better lenses such as Carle Zeiss may reduce adverse effects. According to the CEO of Kopin, it is worthy of noting that the cost of a single panel of this display should be about $50, and they are scheduled to manufacture sample with 3k*3k resolution at the second half of 2017. Currently, monocular resolutions of Rift and Vive are only 1080*1200, so this product does have great potential. Although there may be a lot of changes when it comes to actual production and costs, the display is indeed the prerequisite of the appearance of sunglasses-type VR (but at reasonable price).