The word VR (virtual reality) became a hot topic more than 10 years ago. VR is a technology that creates an artificial reality by combining 3D CG and sound effects, and is also translated as virtual reality. Recently, AR (Augmented Reality), which is a technology derived from VR, is also attracting attention, but the so-called head-mounted display is an important component of VR and AR systems.
A head-mounted display (HMD), as the name suggests, is a display in the shape of glasses or goggles, worn on the head and used in front of the eyes. A normal display does not cover the entire field of view, so it lacks a sense of immersion, but an HMD can cover most of the field of view, making it possible to hide objects other than the image displayed on the display. Because you can, the sense of immersion in the world increases.
AR, also translated as augmented reality, displays information superimposed on objects in the real world or displays virtual objects at the same time, so there are systems that do not use HMDs. However, if you want to superimpose information on all the world around you in AR, you still need an HMD. A few years ago, NHK aired the anime Dennou Coil, which depicts a world in which AR has become a part of everyday life, and became a hot topic. An important item of Dennou Coil, "Dennou Glasses", is a glasses-shaped wearable computer, and can be said to be the future form of HMD.
●Monocular see-through type suitable for "watching while watching"The HMD itself is by no means a novelty device. Representative products include Olympus' "Eye-Trek" and Sony's "HMZ-T1", but the production of the Eye-Trek series was discontinued in 2002. However, the "AiRScouter" that appeared from Brother is different in structure and usage from Eye-Trek and HMZ-T1, even though they are the same HMD.
| Olympus HMD "FMD-220" released in October 2001 | Sony's 3D compatible HMD "HMZ-T1". Uses an organic EL panel |
The HMD can be binocular or monocular, and the surrounding scenery can be seen beyond the image. They can be classified into four types depending on whether they are (see-through) or invisible (non-see-through). Most consumer HMDs are binocular and non-see-through types that allow you to immerse yourself in the image without seeing the surrounding scenery, making them suitable for AV applications such as watching movies and playing games. Eye-Trek and HMZ-T1 are also of this type. Also, as binocular and see-through products, there are VUZIX's "Wrap" series and Epson's "MOVERIO", which are also consumer products that are mainly intended for AV applications. Monocular non-see-through products include Shimadzu's "DATA GLASS 3/A." A monocular HMD with little obstruction of the field of vision is suitable for "while watching" while moving or working, rather than watching carefully, and is a product for business use.
| Epson's "MOVERIO". Shimadzu's "DATA GLASS 3/A" is a binocular see-through HMD that runs Android 2.2 and can be used as a stand-alone AV viewer | . A monocular non-see-through type HMD that can be attached directly to a helmet with a clip |
Like DATA GLASS 3/A, this is a nail type product that is suitable for viewing while watching, but since the surrounding scenery and images can be superimposed on each other, if the background is set to black, the image will appear within the actual field of view. It is characterized by the ability to create a unique image expression that makes characters and text appear to be floating.
| NEC's wearable terminal "Tele Scouter" ”. Equipped with Windows Embedded CE 6.0 R3 Professional as the OS |
Brother started working on the HMD business around 2003. It says. After exhibiting a prototype HMD at Expo 2005 Aichi, Japan, development continued, and in August 2011, the company announced the commercialization of AiRScouter. In November of the same year, a limited number was shipped as a sample for corporations. In December 2011, NEC started shipping the wearable terminal "Tele Scouter", and AiRScouter was adopted as the display of this Tele Scouter. This time, on April 17th, the release of a new AiRScouter model that can be directly connected to a PC was announced, and at the same time reservations were accepted (scheduled for release in June).
![[Hideo Ishii's Digital Expedition] See-through type HMD](https://website-google-hk.oss-cn-hongkong.aliyuncs.com/drawing/article_results_9/2022/3/23/63b11dab953a92ec03e2de149c1c5e49_1.jpeg)
AiRScouter has the following three features.
1.Since it is a monocular and see-through, there is little obstruction of the field of view. 2. High resolution allows you to see fine characters and supports full-color display 3. Compact and lightweight
First of all, since it is monocular and see-through (transmissive type), it has the advantage of not obstructing the field of vision while displaying images and allowing you to work safely compared to binocular or shielded HMDs. In addition, as an HMD, it supports SVGA (800 x 600 dots), which is a high resolution, so you can see fine characters, and it supports full color display, so videos and photos are easy to see. In addition, the display part is light at about 106g including the mounting frame, so it is less burdensome even when worn for a long time.
The video source is a PC, and the PC is connected via USB. However, although it is recognized as a USB display on the PC side, it does not support copyright protection functions such as HDCP, so images such as terrestrial digital broadcasting and Blu-ray titles cannot be displayed.
The control box is also compact with a size of 72 x 19 x 79 mm (width x depth x height) and a light weight of about 75 g, so it can be easily put in a pocket. The power is supplied from the PC via USB, so I'm happy that I don't need a separate battery or battery. The control box also has a microUSB terminal for battery connection, and by connecting a commercially available USB battery such as a mobile booster, the power supplied from the PC can be cut and the PC battery can be saved.
The control box has a display ON/OFF button, image rotation button, and brightness adjustment button. The image rotation button rotates the image 180 degrees each time it is pressed, allowing the image to be switched between viewing with the right eye and viewing with the left eye. The brightness can be adjusted in 8 steps, and visibility is sufficient even in bright outdoors.
AiRScouter is available in two models: the WD-100G set for unaided eyeglasses with a frame for the unaided eye and the WD-100A set for eyeglasses with a frame for eyeglasses. The frame is also sold separately, and additional purchases are also possible. This time, I tried both frames. If you wear glasses or have contact lenses, you must use a frame designed for the naked eye.
| AiRScouter body (head display) . The half-mirror on the right is where the LCD image is projected. | View from the other side. | On the front of the control box, a diopter adjustment dial is provided to adjust the display position of the screen within a range of 30cm to 10m. |
| Back of control box | Top of control box. For HMD connection terminal and battery connection | The size of the control box is easy to grasp with one hand |
| Blind eye frame. | Frame for spectacles. Put it on your glasses and use it |
Immediately try AiRScouter I tried to. The procedure for installing the AiRScouter is as follows. First, decide which eye to use to view the image, and insert the adjustment lever into the groove on the right or left stay of the frame. Next, insert the main body (head display) into the adjustment lever and attach the cable clip to the frame. Just clip the head display cable to the cable clip and you're ready to go.
Install the driver and utility on the PC to be connected (the supported OS is said to be Windows XP and Windows 7, but it worked fine on a PC with Windows Vista), connect the head display cable to the control box, By simply connecting the control box and PC with the included USB cable, the image of the PC is output to the head display. There are two display modes: a mirror mode in which the PC screen is displayed on the AiRScouter as it is, and an extended mode in which the main screen of the PC is extended vertically and horizontally and the extended part is displayed on the AiRScouter. Since there are some restrictions on the display, it is recommended to use in mirror mode.
| To attach the head display to the frame | Insert the adjust lever into the groove of the frame stay. This frame is for the naked eye | Inserting the head display into the adjustment lever |
| Attach the cable clip to the frame and clip the cable | < td>This completes the installation of the head display on the frameWhen connected to the PC, the control box automatically turns on | |
| The image is projected on the half mirror (actually a wider range is displayed)< /small> |
| 【Video ] I tried shooting a video by changing the angle of the display. You can see the image of the displayed image |
I have poor eyesight. Since it is low, I usually wear contact lenses or spectacles. So, first, I tried AiRScouter using a frame for naked eyes while wearing contacts.
The frames for unaided people feel like wearing prescription glasses, and the sense of discomfort is relatively small. The position of the display can be adjusted vertically and horizontally, so you can set it in a place that is easy to see. Also, by turning the diopter adjustment dial, you can change the display position of the image back and forth (the position of the half mirror does not actually change back and forth, but the distance you feel when you look at it changes). The size of the display that occupies the field of view is almost the same, but if you set it closer, it feels like you're looking at a small display up close, and if you set it farther away, you feel like you're looking at a large display from a distance. The distance adjustment range is wide, from 30cm to 10m, and by setting the distance to be approximately the same as the actual object you see with your eyes, you can reduce the range of eye focus adjustment and reduce eye fatigue.
The resolution is 800 x 600 dots, but the display area is not so large in the field of view, so the detail is high (rather, small characters are difficult to read). If the background of the PC is made black, the surroundings of the image can be seen through and the display will appear. I tried playing YouTube videos, and the videos played smoothly.
Since it is a see-through monocular type, the field of view is not obstructed much even when the image is displayed, and movement and work are fully possible.
Next, I put on glasses and tried using a frame for spectacles. Since the spectacles frame is used on top of normal spectacles, it feels a little strange. Also, although it depends on the lens shape of the glasses, the field of view is narrower than that of the naked eye, so the image of the AiRScouter occupies a large proportion and feels a little strange. This area can be covered by getting used to it, but if you wear contact lenses and spectacles together, contact lenses + glasses for the naked eye are more comfortable.
| Using AiRScouter with frames for naked eyes. It doesn't feel that heavy, and you can walk around freely with it on. | I tried walking around with the laptop in the backpack on my back |
| The control box is small enough to easily fit in a jacket pocket | The frame for spectacles is used by placing it on top of normal spectacles. |
However, monocular, see-through HMDs can be used in applications that conventional binocular, non-see-through HMDs cannot, and are suitable as display devices for AR systems. Google has also started an AR eyewear project called "Google Glass", and there is no doubt that AR technology will further develop. It is a product that gives us a sense of such a future, and I would like to expect it to evolve in the future.