One of the joys of attending SID is finding a new breakthrough technology with the potential to shift the direction in computer/human interface. This year, in the Fraunhofer IPMS booth at SID, we found a Bidirectional microdisplay, which is a "device that presents and captures images at the same time." It is a photo detector array integrated with an OLED display built on a common CMOS backplane. "This enables fully integrated optoelectronic applications based on silicon," Fraunhofer IPMS reported.

Steve Sechrist
Senior Analyst and Editor

The vision is to create a "personalized, mobile, interactive, see-through augmented reality (AR) display." According to Fraunhofer IPMS, they are designing "a complete new class of device for personalized information management." The goal is to move from "manual control" (perhaps hands-on is a better description) to eye tracking with sensors built-in to the display device.

IPMS envisions users wearing a set of specially design personal eyewear that contain the sensor/display device. It is likely to be a monocular implementation with a see-through capability. This allows information to be overlaid on the real world, as with conventional see-through personal eyewear, but the sensor system adds new functionality. The sensors enable the detection of where the users’ eye is gazing, allowing a new form of display interaction. For example, one idea might be for the user to stare at the box that say "DEL" in the graphic, which would cause the message to be deleted. Such interaction would not require speech or hand action. This visual information can be deliberately and/or unconsciously adapted to the context of operation of the system. The group even has an idea of what this system would look like and some cool application screen shots in environments like industrial, CE (smart phone eyeglasses) and even tourist data providing information overlays.

So far, a qVGA OLED display and 12-element CMOS sensor (created from an array of qVGA photodiodes) have been realized under the EU-funded project, which runs through the end of this year. But if a second phase is implemented, a more advanced device will be developed with the following features:

• Display size 0.5-inch
• Resolution of 640 x 480 pixels (VGA)
• Brightness >1000 cd/m2 (monochrome)
• OLED efficiency: >15 cd/A
• Camera resolution: 50 x 50 pixels (presumably from a VGA array of photdiodes)

What Fraunhofer IPMS hopes is its Bidirectional OLED offers a new foundation technology that could lead to a new class of device that empowers a more natural (intuitive) interface. We think they may be on to something.

Imagine a pair of glasses that act as your window to any personal digital content, no matter what the source. Smart phone, desktop e-mail, even entertainment like TV viewing in the living room, with no mouse (or remote control) interface - just simple eye tracking which determines where you are looking and translates these eye movements into clicks, scrolls, cut, paste—whatever.

We’ve got to believe that the electronic boxes (smart phones) will morph into the background with only the display device visible, and perhaps as innocuous as a pair of reading glasses. But then again… there’s always something new coming to next year’s SID.