Osaka, Japan - Panasonic Corporation announced today that it has developed the world's first 1 High Dynamic Range (HDR) capable ultra-high definition (UHD) virtual reality (VR) eyeglasses that have a comfortable fit that makes users feel like wearing eyeglasses.
Several new services using VR glasses, including VR sports viewing and engaging virtual travel experiences, expected to offer in anticipation of the forthcoming full-fledged commercial services of the fifth generation (5G) mobile communication system. While conventional VR glasses with high-quality images and high sound quality provide highly immersive simulated experiences for users, these glasses are large and require users to strap them with a headband to their head, which could cause discomfort for the wearer.
In collaboration with Kopin Corporation2, which is a leading producer of display devices for VR glasses, Panasonic has developed a high-performance display device for the new VR glasses. In addition, Panasonic's audio and visual technologies, including signal processing technologies cultivated through the development of video equipment such as TVs and Blu-ray Disc players, acoustic technology for audio technology products and optical technologies used in digital LUMIX cameras, have incorporated into this new device. These technologies enabled Panasonic to achieve compact and lightweight VR glasses that provide high-quality images and optimum sound that provide realistic sensations that draw the user into the images projected before their eyes while wearing eyeglasses comfortably.
Principal characteristics of the product developed
(1) A high-quality UHD image device that can display HDR images
- Equipped with a Kopin Corporation2 and Panasonic co-developed micro OLED panel
- Achieved natural and smooth images without the "Screen door effect" which is a visual display artifact where the fine pixel-separating lines are visible in the image shown.
(2) High-quality sound that can reproduce over a wide range of frequencies, from ultra-low to high frequencies.
- The adoption of the original dynamic driver from Technics using magnetic fluid enables the precise diaphragm stroke and achieves ultra-low reproduction of distortion.
(3) The compact and lightweight body makes it possible to wear the device comfortably with no headband.
- The adoption of a newly developed optical module by Kopin Corporation, 2 3M Company, 3 and Panasonic enables natural and distortion-free images to be displayed in super-single focus. An eyeglass-like shape achieved through a compact and lightweight design.
Panasonic will continue to develop the new VR glasses for the forthcoming full-scale commercial 5G services so that we can use them in a variety of applications, thus creating new customer value.
During CES 2020, to hold in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA from 7 to 10 January 2020, Panasonic will exhibit VR glasses as a reference product at its booth.
1. As of this announcement on January 7, 2020, the first HDR-capable VR eyeglasses worldwide (Panasonic data).
2. Headquartered in Massachusetts, US, Kopin Corporation develops and sells key devices for wearable headset products.
3. 3M Company is a global company headquartered in Minnesota, US, which supplies a wide range of industries, from household goods to automobiles, with chemical and electrical materials.
Panasonic About Panasonic Corporation is a global leader in the development of various electronic technology and customer solutions for consumer electronics, residential, automotive, and B2B companies. The company, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2018, has grown worldwide and now operates 582 subsidiaries and 87 related companies worldwide, recording merged net sales of 8,003 trillion yen for the year ended March 31, 2019. The company, committed to pursuing new value through innovation across divisional lines, uses its technologies to create a better life for its clients and a better world.
