Introduction

I have been extremely busy lately with some contract work about AR and preparing for a major trip in May. I did want my readers to be aware of a just-published part 1 of a 2 (or more) part interview with The AR Show Podcast and that I will be meeting with companies and speaking at AWE 2023. This must be quick as I am about to get onto a plane.

The AR Show Podcast with Jason McDowall

Last month Jason McDowall of The AR Show Podcast interviewed me for a third time. His interview with me was back in 2018 (part 1 and parts 2 and 3) before The AR Show uploaded its first podcast. From the beginning, I was impressed by the insightful questions Jason asked. Jason and I sat down again in 2021 for a long interview (part 1 and part 2).

Below are the topics discussed taken from The AR Show Website. Part 1 discusses the closure of the DPReview website after about 25 years and how it is a great loss to all photographers before discussing the speculation on what Apple is doing in AR/VR/MR/XR.

THE CONVERSATION

Like my previous interviews with Karl, this was a long and wide ranging conversation that I split into multiple parts. In this first part, we touch on:

• rise and fall of high-end digital photography, 
• silicon-based camera sensors, 
• challenges of unique manufacturing processes have with volume and price, 
• the downsides of the smartphone supply chain, 
• rumors about Apple’s efforts in VR and AR, 
• the size of the VR market, 
• the military and enterprise opportunity for AR, 
• “four-corner markets” and how they apply to VR & AR, and
• The benefits and risks of video-passthrough VR.

LINKS FROM THE EPISODE

• On Stage: Karl at AWE 2023
• Videos: CES 2023 SadlyItsBradley Videos Part 1-4
• Referenced AR Show episodes: Stan Larroque (Lynx) on the Power and Potential of Video Passthrough, David Bonelli (Pulsar) on Building AR Hardware that Actually Works
• Article: Meta Quest Pro (Part 1) – Unbelievably Bad AR Passthrough and Meta Quest Pro (Part 2) – Block Diagrams & Teardown of Headset and Controller by Karl Guttag
• Article: Addoptics Custom Optics (Better than Luxexcel=Meta?) by Karl Guttag
• Article: MicroLEDs with Waveguides by Karl Guttag
• Article: DigiLens, Lumus, Vuzix, Oppo, & Avegant Optical AR by Karl Guttag
• Company: Tobii – lens technology
• Company: Meta Material – AR Fusion lens technology
• Book: The Silicon Eye: How a Silicon Valley Company Aims to Make All Current Computers, Cameras, and Cell Phones Obsolete by George Gilder
• Episode Transcript – Part 1

AWE 2023 – Meeting and Presenting

I will be meeting with companies AWE on May 31st to June 2nd, 2023. If you want to schedule a meeting, you can use the email meet@kgontech.com to reach me.

I will also be presenting at 9 AM on June 2nd on the topic of “Optical versus Passthrough Mixed Reality.” The abstract is given below:

Both large and small companies are looking at VR with AR passthrough MR. The use of smaller and smaller optics, particularly systems using pancake optics, seems to have accelerated this trend. Everything that works well with Passthrough MR is a major problem to solve in Optical MR and vice versa. This presentation will discuss the optical, display, and human factor issues associated with Optical MR compared to VR with Passthrough MR.

As a speaker, the AWE conference has provided me with a discount code if you have not already signed up for the conference. That discount code is: SPKR23D. Here’s a direct link to the AWE discount registration page.

Closing

That’s it for now, I have to go catch a plane.