New displays show visionary potential

(CNN) -- As our mobile devices get smaller and smaller, so are the screens on which we view our mobile content. At the same time, mobile content made for our cellular, podular devices is becoming more and more enriched.

"Beginning with the iPod and now the phone, real content is emerging to push the envelope on science fiction," says Kip Kokinakis, CEO of Myvu Corporation.

The inventor's challenge, then, is how to best experience this diminutive content without diminishing the essence of the mobile device.

While plugging a portable into a comfortably-sized stationary display is always an option once you're docked indoors, several innovative enterprises are proposing a variety of alternative viewing options.

Going back to "print," a few companies are busy perfecting electronic ink for flexible displays, resulting in ultra-thin, paper-like screens that can unfold or even roll out from a compact device to expand the viewing area.

In particular, Polymer Vision has been developing flexible, rollable displays for products such as e-book readers, most notably its upcoming Readius mobile-phone audio-player edition. From the fist-sized Readius unscrolls a handy 5-inch active-matrix electrophoretic display, which means it's also soft on the eyes and requires very little power.

So far, the Readius' main drawback is lack of color -- although its 16 levels of gray are already on the top end of e-book reader displays -- and by extension, lack of support for high-resolution photos, not to mention video. But they're working on it. Besides, the Readius is optimally designed for reading.

While other companies such as Magink have been refining their own digital ink display technology for full-color, high-resolution, low-energy-consuming applications, they have yet to make their displays compact and portable, let alone flexible and foldable.

Nonetheless, the inventively inclined have been quick to conceive of an Origami DVD Player which would incorporate an elegantly unfolding pop-up screen for quality video viewing.

Taking the analogue concept of film projection and going pico-digital, brands such as 3M, Aiptek, Microvision, Optoma and Texas Instruments have all tried their hand in making pocket-sized projectors. Some are made to rest in the palm of your hand; others should be integrated directly into your portable digital device by 2009.

But while pocket projectors provide a convenient way to enlarge both still and moving images and share with others in an intimate setting, they hardly rival home cinema, especially when it comes to audio amplification. And you still need a clear, flat surface to project on.

Closer to the source, Myvu is a veteran of the retail market with its signature eyewear viewers. Based on technology used for medical and military applications, the sleek video goggles can display information directly from a portable media player, complete with stereo-sound earbuds, allowing you to watch movies play right in front of your eyes. And unlike fully immersive helmets, the slim spectacles don't monopolize your peripheral vision.

"All this time and effort developing, testing and refining resulted in an innovative optical system, which Myvu patented and calls SolidOptex," says CEO Kokinakis.

"Basically, we perfected delivering an image to the eye via a solid plastic optic. This ensures the viewer is thin, light and durable."

Needless to say, the high-tech shades also project a social image of cool, chic and sexy, gradually evolving from geek game peripheral to modern fashion accessory. However they have yet to hit the mainstream market with the same impact as a Bluetooth headset.

"The vision from the beginning is that they become as friendly as a normal set of sunglasses and/or prescription glasses," says Kokinakis.

But what if the display itself were invisible to all but the viewer?

Bionic eyes

Since 2004, University of Washington professor Babak Parviz and his research team have been working to develop a "bionic" contact lens, of which the most basic function would be to display information to the wearer.

"We work on making small functional devices in the nano and micro-scales (for example sensors) and in integrating these devices into unconventional places (for example in plastic, glass, paper). The contact lens is a perfect platform for putting extremely tiny devices using the types of technology that we have been developing here," says Parviz.

So far, he has successfully demonstrated the integration of electrical circuits, including transistors, detectors and light sources such as microLEDs (to project an image on which the eye can focus) onto transparent, flexible plastic lenses. The lenses can also function with antennas and have been safely tested on rabbits.

But how would one navigate through this potentially augmented reality?

"One idea is to have a specific pattern of blinking to send the lens a specific comment," Parviz continues.

"For the foreseeable future, the contact lens will need a cell-phone-like unit to be carried by the user as a gateway device for controlling the lens. It will be easy to integrate touch screens or keyboards on it. It is also possible to have voice command/activation.

"Having the gateway design makes building of the whole system much easier, as we can move quite a bit of computing, telecommunication and power storage to the gateway device and only leave the essentials on the contact lens itself."

While the first such commercialized product is still some time away, Parviz doubts it will be a full-fledged high-resolution display. However he does look forward to seeing simpler devices with limited display capabilities in the near future.

"I guess it is instructive to look at how computer displays developed from the monochromatic, low-resolution, bulky devices of our parents' generation to the slick, high-resolution flat-panel displays of today," he points out.

From touch screens to holograms to wired prostheses, expandable high-tech displays are becoming increasingly integrated into our physical environment.

"Wearable computing is becoming the vogue for advanced technology discussions," adds Myvu's Kokinakis.

"The computer chip makers are pushing from the top and the phone chip makers are pushing from the bottom. We need continuous improvement in power and integration to finally achieve a lightweight product which will be comfortable to wear. But it's coming."