Avegant Unveils Compact Light Engines For AR Smart Glasses

The AG-30L light engine. (Image courtesy of Avegant)

Eye retina-based electronic device developer Avegant recently unveiled its new augmented reality (AR) LED light engine products. The AG-30L 30º and AG-50L 50º LED light engines aim to enable smart glasses manufacturers to create compact AR wearables without compromising on performance and manufacturability. According to Avegant, the devices are significantly lighter and smaller, allowing manufacturers to more easily customize specifications in terms of efficiency, resolution, and contrast. Both light engines were designed using Avegant’s proprietary illumination technology which was able to successfully reduce engine volume and weight while still maintaining efficiency.

“The key to reducing weight and volume sufficiently to reach the glasses form factor is innovation in light engine technologies,” shared Ed Tang, CEO of Avegant. “Our new illumination architectures and optical designs dramatically reduce the size of LED light engines for AR. With these new light engines, we solve our customers’ biggest challenges in delivering a smaller, glasses form factor in a manufacturable way.”

The AG-30L is a compact and high-resolution AR light engine that was designed to enable true glasses-like form factors. According to the preliminary specifications for mass production, it is capable of providing 720p resolution and has an illumination power of 348 mW. The device is expected to weigh around 0.95 g (optics only) and will have a volume of 0.66 cc (optics only). Meanwhile, the AG-50L builds on the technology of the AG-30L engine. However, the key difference is its ability to provide a larger field of view (FoV), allowing for a more immersive AR experience within a compact, wearable device. Compared to the AG-30L’s 30-degree FoV, the AG-50L will enable a wider 50-degree FoV.

Avegant has not yet revealed its resolution and illumination capabilities, nor its expected weight or volume.

The AG-50L light engine. (Image courtesy of Avegant.)

A recent report published by Allied Market Research anticipates the AR/VR smart glasses market to generate $33.16 billion by 2027 with a compound annual growth rate of 16.6 percent beginning 2020. Emerging trends and technological advancements and demand from the gaming industry have been driving the expansion of the global AR/VR smart glasses market. In addition to that, the integration of 5G technology, as well as the increase in AR device use in various industries such as healthcare, is expected to see further growth in the segment. According to the report, the acceleration of digitization in manufacturing will see even more opportunities in the coming years.

A Markets and Research report also estimates that the global light field market will see a compounded annual growth rate of 10.9 percent in market size between 2020 to 2025 alone. This is expected to reach $263.9 million by 2025, from $174.4 million in 2019.

Avegant announced that it will be releasing a limited supply of engineering samples for the AG-30L light engine before the end of the year. Engineering samples of the AG-50L are expected to be available by early 2022 while mass production of both products is slated for 2023. The company is anticipating the introduction of these new technologies to enable a new generation of AR glasses with an ultra-compact form factor.