Metalens for Virtual and Augmented Reality

The millimeter-sized flat lens can be used in wearable displays for virtual reality, which requires compact, lightweight, and cost-effective components.

Manufacturing Wafer-Level Optics Using UV Adhesives and Polymers

Micro-optics and nanostructures are key technologies for the latest optoelectronic components in smartphones, smart glasses and vehicles. Some examples used in consumer...

Bimodal “Electronic Skin”

Through the use of magnetic fields, scientists have developed an electronic sensor that can simultaneously process both touchless and tactile stimuli. Prior attempts have so far failed to combine these functions...

New Optical Component Used to Create AR/VR Headsets and Eyewear

Consumers are looking for augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) glasses that are compact and easy to wear, delivering high-quality imagery with socially acceptable optics...

Bendable Robot Arm Guided by Augmented Reality

The highly customizable robotic arm can be twisted and turned in all directions.

An Omni-Directional Treadmill Revolutionizes VR

Infinadeck’s omni-directional treadmill debuted in 2018 when it provided Warner Brothers Studios with its prototype omni-directional virtual reality (VR) treadmill for the Steven...

Photonic Integrated Chip for Improved Light Control

This combination of technologies could enable developments for many optical applications.

Flies’ Vision Mimicked to Control Robots

Biological insights of fruit fly eye movements could enhance robotics.

3D Hand-Sensing Wristband

The technology has possible uses in monitoring disorders that affect fine motor skills such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.

Why 3D Artificial Intelligence with AR and VR is More Important Today

Deep learning-based AI allows users to identify 3D objects of arbitrary shape and size in various orientations with high accuracy in the 3D space.

Photonic Integrated Chip for Improved Light Control

This combination of technologies could enable developments for many optical applications.

Robot Detects and Shares Changes in 3D in Real Time

A robot could immediately alert a human of small changes in their surrounding environment.

3D Holographic Head-Up Display Could Improve Road Safety

The LiDAR-based system could “see through” objects to warn of potential hazards without distracting the driver.

Using Solar Panel Technology to Create Ultrahigh-Resolution OLED Display

The micro-display could enable smartphones and televisions with resolutions of more than 10,000 pixels per inch.

3D Display — No Headset Required

Learn about a variety of holographic 3D immersive displays.

System Allows Untethered, High-Quality, Multi-Player Virtual Reality

The system allows multiple users to interact with the same VR app on smartphones, providing opportunities for education, healthcare, and entertainment.

Earphone Tracks Facial Expressions, Even with a Facemask

The device can translate expressions into emojis or silent speech commands.

Glove-Like Device Mimics Sense of Touch

The soft, wearable device simulates the sense of touch and has wide potential in medical and industrial applications.

Octopus-Inspired Soft Robotic Arm

The Tentacle Bot can grip, move, and manipulate a wide range of objects.

3D-Printed Sweating Robot Muscle

This form of thermal management can help enable untethered, high-powered robots to operate for long periods of time without overheating.

Ambient Light Alters Refraction in 2D Material

See how tantalum disulfide is supporting new kinds of optics, and potentially new kinds of application for VR and self-driving cars.

Leap in Lidar Could Improve Safety and Security of New Technology

University of Colorado researchers have described a new silicon chip that improves the resolution and scanning speed needed for a lidar system.

5 Important ESD Protection Considerations for Augmented Reality Wearables

How to design for safety, reliability, and connectivity using the latest circuit protection technologies and board layout strategies.

Augmented Reality System Lets Smartphone Users Interact with Virtual Objects

This system places virtual objects within real-world backgrounds on cellphone screens and lets people interact with those objects by hand as if they were really there.

Artificial Skin Provides Haptic Feedback

The skin could help rehabilitation and enhance virtual reality by instantaneously adapting to a wearer's movements.

Smartphone App Programs Robots

A smartphone app was developed that allows a user to easily program any robot to perform a mundane activity such as picking up parts from one area and delivering them to another. The app, called VRa, uses...

Surgeons Use Augmented Reality to Reconnect Blood Vessels

Following severe trauma, patients may have tissue damage or open wounds that require reconstructive surgery using fasciocutaneous flaps. These flaps of tissue, which are taken from...

Wearable Liquid Unit Harvests Energy

Researchers have created wearable technology to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy. It presents a step toward the practical realization of self-powered, human-integrated technologies.

Apollo 11 History Archive Helps Virtual Reality Program Come to Life

Spinoff is NASA’s annual publication featuring successfully commercialized NASA technology. This commercialization has contributed to the development of products and...