Enhancing Augmented Reality with Next-Gen Lenses

One of the biggest online design schools globally, Interaction Design Foundation, defines Augmented reality as ‘an experience where designers enhance parts of users” physical world with computer-generated input.’ IBM, one of the pioneering companies that has always introduced us to new forms of game-changing technology, sees and studies AR as the ‘real-time integration of digital information into a user’s environment.’ 

These definitions prove that Augmented Reality is nothing less than a radical leap, which involves highly imaginative perceptions of what technology could provide us and intricately built solutions to make those perceptions a reality. 

Making augmented reality an effective and efficient proposition on the ground requires a lot of factors to work well. The coming together of the digital and physical worlds has to be glitch-free and seamless. The interactions must happen in real-time, and the identification of virtual and real objects in three-dimensional interfaces must be accurate. 

Over the years, researchers and innovative technology project teams have been relentlessly working towards perfecting these factors. New research has created much excitement in this space. Scientists have created the thinnest lens on the planet, enabled by excitons, that could be used in future AR glasses. In the following segment, we delve deeper into this research. 

Exciton-Enabled Lens: The Thinnest on the Earth

A group of researchers from the University of Amsterdam and Stanford University, California, have leveraged a single layer of tungsten disulfide (WS2) to develop a flat lens that is half a millimeter wide but just 0.0000006 millimeters, or 0.6 nanometers, thick. These parameters make the lens the thinnest on earth. 

Apart from using an immensely unusual material for building lenses, the lens is also an exception in how it works. While normal lenses rely on their curved shape to bend and focus light, this three-atom-thick flat lens utilizes quantum effects. 

Unlike usual lenses, these lenses leverage the phenomenon of diffraction rather than refraction. They comprise concentric rings of WS2 with gaps in between to focus the light through diffraction. The in-between distance of these rings and their size determine the lens’s focal length. 

To make focusing efficient, these lenses depend on the quantum effects within WS2. West Texas A&M University Associate Professor of Physics Christopher S. Baird defines quantum effects as effects that are not ‘properly predicted by classical physics, but are properly predicted by quantum theory.’ Classical physics sees ‘matter’ as something that comprises little, solid particles.

“Therefore, anytime we get the pieces of matter to act like waves, we are demonstrating a quantum effect.”

– Professor Baird

Superconductivity, for instance, is a macroscopic quantum effect. In this case, the quantum effects work towards allowing the material to efficiently absorb and re-emit light at specific wavelengths. Resultantly, the lens comes with an in-built ability that helps it work better for these wavelengths. 

If we try to understand the role of quantum effects better, it works as an enhancement where WS2 absorbs light by sending an electron to a higher energy level. The absence of the negatively charged electron leaves behind a positively charged hole in the atomic lattice. This hole stays joined together with the electron through an attractive electrostatic force working between them. This formation of the electron, the hole in the lattice, and the force working between them is known as an ‘exciton.’ At specific wavelengths of light sent out by the excitons, these lenses achieve a clear peak in their efficiency. 

Jorik van de Groep, one of the paper’s authors, has explained well why these lenses could help AR make further progress. As Jorik explains:

“The lens can be used in applications where the view through the lens should not be disturbed, but a small part of the light can be tapped to collect information. This makes it perfect for wearable glasses, such as for augmented reality.”

The researchers are trying to upgrade the solution and make it more efficient by trying out more complex and multifunctional optical coatings. In these solutions, the functions could be adjusted electrically. One of the benefits of working with excitons is that, since they are very sensitive to a material’s charge density (the measure for the accumulation of electric charge in a given particular field), applying a voltage helps drive change in the refractive index of the material.

Altogether, the experiment and its results could have a game-changing impact on AR and its use of lenses on AR devices. From the very beginning, scientists have been experimenting with the quality of AR lenses, as they are crucial interactive tools for users to interact with spaces that go beyond reality. A couple of years back, a similar groundbreaking experiment resulted in on-ground testing for the first AR-based smart contact lens.

Click here for a list of maverick companies redefining the AR/VR frontier.

The First Ever AR-Based Smart Contact Lens

In 2022, Mojo Vision, a company that claims to be a pioneer in leading the future of Micro-LED technology, announced the launch of Mojo Lens, the world’s first Augmented Reality contact lens. It was an upgrade of the company’s fully self-contained Mojo Lens prototype that was originally launched in 2020. 

The prototype came with a 14,000 pixel-per-inch MicroLED display measuring > 0.5 mm in diameter with a 1.8-micron pixel pitch. At that time, it was counted as the world’s smallest, densest display to cater to dynamic content. Additionally, it had a custom-configured accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer to facilitate continuous eye movement tracking. However, the lens required the user to wear ARM processors around their neck, which could allow for a wireless relay of information to the lens and back to computers that tracked eye movement.

Between 2022 and 2024, Mojo Lens kept innovating its technology and products to offer dynamic displays that reached 28,000 pixels per inch. The core technology now involves efficient blue micro-LED devices at sub-µm scale and high-efficiency quantum dot ink, while the display system rests on the pillars of an optimized CMOS backplane, wafer-to-wafer bonding, and custom micro-lens optics. 

Using a Mojo micro-lens, with a diameter matching the pixel pitch placed on top of a much smaller uLED emitter, it is possible to deliver up to 5 times more light flux into the entrance pupil of typical AR waveguides compared to conventional displays.

While the Mojo Lens solution is a trendsetter, large tech giants have been investing significant research and resources into building high-end, cutting-edge AR viewing solutions.

#1. 3M

One global entity that has done phenomenal work developing advanced optical solutions for AR/VR devices is 3M. Its optical solutions support headsets that offer immersive visuals of optimal quality that seamlessly converge virtual and physical worlds. 

One of the technological marvels on which 3M develops most of its cutting-edge lenses is the paradigm of folded optics or pancake optics. In this paradigm, the technology folds the optical path, resulting in crisp imagery with a wide field of view (FOV) and a thinner overall device. 

The 3M HARP lens, which won the 2022 Society of Display Component of the Year, integrated a birefringent reflective polarizer to produce compact, mid-FOV eyepieces and wide-FOV optics for head-mounted displays using folded optics in the lens configuration. 

3M used the HARP lens in a Pegatron prototype headset to produce a 50% thinner lens module compared to a headset using a Fresnel lens module, resulting in a 40% thinner overall headset. 

The lens ensured less distance between the display and the user’s eye, which resulted in less overall plastic and weight. 

MTF, or modulation transfer function, is measured to gauge the ability of a lens system to maintain the contrast of an object as it is imaged. The 3M HARP lens demonstrated acceptable MTF for pixels as small as 9 microns. 3M claims to be working on AR solutions for a variety of applications and industries.

For the fiscal year 2023, 3M’s annual revenue was $32.68 billion, a notable increase from its 2022 figure of $34.23 billion. 

#2. Corning

Another leading global player that claims to have ‘unparalleled expertise in glass science, ceramics science, and optical physics with deep manufacturing and engineering capabilities’ has created a name for itself in developing cutting-edge glass-based solutions for augmented/mixed (AR/MR) reality devices.

Corning was the first company to offer ultra-flat, highly refractive index glass wafers for leading AR/MR device makers. In developing its solutions, Corning leveraged waveguide-based designs. 

The benefit of waveguide-based designs is the fact that they facilitate building AR devices that are sleeker and lighter. These waveguides leverage ultra-flat glass with a high refractive index to optimize image quality and provide a large eye box, resulting in a far enhanced user experience as far as the immersive quality is concerned. Apart from the solutions, Corning also offers AR/MR device manufacturing technologies to customers who are interested in high-volume manufacturing of AR/MR devices. Corning offers best-in-class flatness metrology instruments from Corning Tropel and highly precise, automated laser glass-cutting machines from Corning Laser Technologies.

For the full year 2023, Corning registered GAAP sales of $12.6 billion, down 11%. 

The Future of AR-Ready Optical Solutions

Augmented reality has the potential to drastically improve the way we perceive vision and seeing. The world of smart contact lenses is growing, and companies like Samsung, Sony, and Google have invested crucial R&D resources in it. 

Samsung’s involvement in manufacturing smart contact lenses has been discussed since 2016, when the company applied for a patent on smart contact lenses. According to speculative reports, the patent was filed for a smart contact lens technology that could project images into the wearer’s eyes. Created by a scientist in South Korea, the filing was centered around the aspect of AR compatibility, where the lens had a tiny display, camera, and antenna. It could superimpose computer-generated images over the real world. Reportedly, the sensors could be controlled by blinking, and the wearer could take photographs by winking. 

The success of AR, in terms of its becoming more sensitive and immersive, would depend to a large extent on the innovations that happen in the field of its optical features. 

The future would involve lenses where users can comfortably have information overlaid onto their field of view. The type of information could be anything, from navigational details to translated foreign languages to real-time updates. Another significant benefit of AR contact lenses would be their capability to offer a transformative solution for visually impaired individuals. 

However, offering this service in the most efficient way possible would require the lenses to improve more on identifying objects, recognizing faces, and offering audible cues. 

Next-gen AR contact lenses would emerge as a clear winner in the space that deals with the convenience and portability of solutions. They will make headsets lighter and more comfortable to wear. Another aspect of the next-gen lenses that will make them thrive is that they go beyond vision enhancement and incorporate a host of monitoring features.

These monitored parameters, which include biomarkers, would help AR flourish in the field of healthcare and diagnostics. 

However, developers must be mindful of a few vital aspects when developing their solutions. The lenses should address privacy concerns proactively and competently. They must ensure that potential areas of risk and misuse of vital information are minimized. Only then will AR become a part of our everyday lives. 

Click here for a list of top AR & VR stocks to consider.