A Glimpse into the World of AR/VR

Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality (AR and VR) applications and devices are fascinating to me. The “what if” possibilities for the applications in the future are endless. Products such as Microsoft HoloLens and Oculus Rift headsets generate excitement and interest from so many people.

I’ve had the chance to see some of the design and hardware aspects of these systems, and I am amazed by the wide array of technologies applied to their development. A mix of computer and electrical engineering, visual and color science, optical system design, photonics, ergonomics and mechanical engineering all play roles in these clever devices. Who knows what the future will bring?

It is also interesting to see the evolution of the AR/VR market. As some players emerge, others decide on different paths. For example, last month Google discontinued their offering in the VR headset market, the Google Daydream View VR:

https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/15/20915609/google-pixel-4-no-daydream-support-view-vr-headset-discontinued

Given this dynamic technology and product landscape, it is a blast to work with a great team at Synopsys developing software tools for the design and analysis of optical components in AR/VR systems. Thinking about how to help simplify challenging optical systems design now and in the future makes it fun to come to work every day.

CODE V optical design software is evolving along with these challenges, with new surface representations for compact designs, fast and flexible optimization capabilities for tolerance-insensitive designs, and new and improved methods for modeling geometry and ray tracing complex systems. We are proud to bring these tools to our users!

Synopsys provides a complete set of tools for designing AR/VR devices. Here are some resources to help you learn more and get started:

• Design Your AR/VR System with 2D-Q Freeforms in CODE V (white paper)
• Laser Focus World Webcast Recording: “Compact, High-Performance Optical Design: Meeting a Key Challenge in AR, VR, and MR Systems”
• Learn how to design diffractive optical elements for AR/VR applications