About |
Amalgamated Vision (AV) is a forward-thinking optical engineering company designing commercially viable laser-based optics for head-mounted displays (HMD). Our platform- and content-agnostic optical technology can be integrated into any HMD format or user experience.
Based on laser beam scanning and a patented diffuser/pancake lens design, our virtual retinal display systems offer superior image quality and ergonomics in an extremely small and lightweight package. HMDs with AV optics inside will deliver bright high-resolution images with a large exit pupil, deep color saturation, and minimal color aberrations.
Most commercially available HMDs are heavy and bulky due to inherent properties of the optics inside. Optical waveguides, the most widely used optical technology, can support slim, lightweight and fashionable form factors like smart glasses, but resolution is poor and data on the lenses obscures the view of the surrounding environment. Birdbath combiners, an earlier and comparatively simpler technology, have better resolution but they are large and heavy, they emit stray light, and they suffer from distracting color aberrations.
By contrast, AV's virtual retinal display projects crystal-clear images directly onto the retina using a pupil relay system - there is no waveguide or combiner screen between the human eye and the real world. Unlike our competition, there is nothing directly in front of the eye to distract or interfere with normal vision while performing complex tasks or everyday activities in real-world environments. Our all-day wearable displays avoid visual clutter and allow for complete environmental awareness - it's there when you need it and out of sight when you don't.
Our core IP is well protected by multiple U.S. patents and internationally in Japan, the EU, Israel, and China, with additional international patents pending. Our claims include both optical design and our ultra-near-to-eye form factor to strengthen our defensive position.
All the foundational technologies required to support an augmented world - 5G networking, edge computing, XR-ready graphics cards and drivers, LLMs and AI platforms - are in place. However, handheld electronic devices like cell phones, tablets, and smart watches, require one and often two hands to operate, making it difficult and inconvenient to interact with real-time information without losing context and connection to the real world around us.
Lightweight HMDs or smart glasses are widely believed to be the wearable displays that will ultimately lead to mass adoption of augmented reality, but only if the user experience is intuitive and unobtrusive. Exact figures for global AR/VR HMD sales vary across industry reports; the consensus is rapid growth over the next 10 years, potentially reaching a size of $85-$112 billion by the early 2030s. AV optics will power any XR experience from immersive VR to "lite" ready-reference AR, in HMD form factors suitable for any enterprise or consumer use case.
As of Q2 2024, AV has secured more than $2.3M in NRE funds in the form of Phase I and Phase II SBIR contracts from the U.S. Air Force (AFWERX) and NASA. These government agencies invested in AV based on the novelty of our optical paradigm and the dual-use potential of our patented optics to benefit broad commercial and defense markets.
AV was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Nashville, TN.