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The MIT Media Lab, which develops immersive display technology, has raised $15 million in Series A funding. The funding round was led by Lockheed Martin Ventures, with other participants including Corning Incorporated and LG Technology Ventures . It follows a $1.6 million seed funding the company secured in July 2020.
Brelyon said the funding will be used to accelerate product development and recruitment as a result of growing business and consumer demand for Ultra Reality technology, a display intended to recreate real-world experiences. Virtual reality and immersive without having to wear a helmet.
Brelyon launched Ultra Reality in January at CES 2022, where the company also announced a partnership with LG Display. The company won the Prism Award in the Display category at SPIE Photonics West the same month.
“With Ultra Reality, Brelyon introduces a new perspective on the future of work and play, while creating new breakthroughs as an immersive portal to metaverse experiences,” said Barmak Heshmat, CEO. executive and the founder of the company said.
The development of Ultra Reality is based on what Brelyon believes are fundamental limitations imposed by the laws of optics on any augmented reality display that uses passive optical elements, such as visors, waveguides, and hypersurfaces, to provide images to the eye.
“The rise of GPUs and efficient graphics neural networks in computer graphics is enabling a wide range of computer optics in displays and making them more accessible to the mass market. This opens up The ability to deliver immersive services is far superior to today’s 32-inch monitors and office headsets.”
The alternative is to use the principles of display, but use screens that provide visual data levels that can saturate human depth perception. A 2021 Optics Express article co-authored by Heshmat states that “basic guidelines for the design of optimal near-eye monitors, bright-field monitors, and 3D displays” have now been defined.
A New Look at the Metaverse and the Virtual World
Drawing on MIT research, Brelyon is at the forefront of a range of technologies that meet these principles and deliver immersive experiences. One of the first results was the creation of virtual screens that manipulated light to allow viewers to have a window-like experience with an extended depth gauge. Ultra Reality “uses precise wavefront engineering to create a large field of view with true optical depth, creating a vivid panoramic virtual display that immerses the viewer.” without the need for a headset and it’s all compact. desktop footprint.”
At CES, the company said its products use LG LCD panels, with plans to bring OLED technology to the platform through a partnership with LG. The demo model’s higher 60Hz refresh rate is also planned, increasing the platform’s appeal to high-end apps as well as gamers. Brelyon predicts a “desktop metaverse experience” that will also enable new types of immersive applications in hypothetical scenarios, virtual offices, meeting rooms, events, and collaboration spaces.