news archive
Lightspace
Acquires Depthcube 3D Display Technology
Norwalk,
Connecticut, July 21 - LightSpace Technologies, Inc.
announced today the acquisition of the DepthCube 3D Display
technology, along with key personnel, from Vizta3D,
Inc.
The DepthCube
Z1024 3D Display, developed over a period of seven years by
researchers at Vizta3D (formerly Dimensional Media
Associates), is a solid-state volumetric 3D display system.
The system incorporates a custom 3-chip video projector
based on the Digital Light Processing™ (DLP™) technology
of Texas Instruments that is capable of 1500 15-bit color
images per second. The DepthCube produces 3D images with no
viewer fatigue and no viewing-position restrictions, said
Alan Sullivan, President of Lightspace Technologies. The
DepthCube can even capture 3D images in real time from
nearly all 3D software applications, including video games,
he said. Sullivan describes the DepthCube Z1024 as "the
first 3D display to create truly excellent 3D images. People
are stunned by how good the DepthCube is."
LC-Tec
Holding AB (Borlänge, Sweden), one of Vizta3D's key
component suppliers, formed LightSpace Technologies AB and
its wholly owned U.S. subsidiary, LightSpace Technologies,
Inc., to acquire the DepthCube technology and immediately
bring the DepthCube Z1024 product to market. LC-Tec
manufactures and sells specialty liquid crystal displays
used in signs.
Sullivan,
inventor of the DepthCube technology, was formerly the CTO
of Vizta3D.
Information: www.lightspacetech.com.
Sharp
Microelectronics Signs Distribution Agreement With Jaco
Camas,
Washington and Hauppauge, New York, July 21 - Sharp
Microelectronics of the Americas today announced it has
signed a distribution agreement with Jaco Electronics, Inc.
This new agreement follows Jaco's purchase earlier this year
of one of Sharp's former distributors, Reptron Distribution.
This agreement allows Jaco to offer Sharp's full line of
liquid-crystal displays, microcontrollers and
system-on-chip, memory, and optoelectronics products to
industrial OEMs and contract manufacturers.
Jaco will
employ field application engineers formerly with Reptron
Distribution, who will continue to service Sharp's customers
from Jaco's two distribution centers and 17 sales offices
located across the U.S. The distribution agreement assures
Sharp's customers access to Jaco's technical personnel, and
to Jaco's value-added services, which include integration
and assembly of custom components and contract manufacturing
services.
Jaco
Electronics now joins other leading distributors of Sharp
electronic components, including All American, Arrow, Avnet,
Digi-Key, Nu Horizons, and Future Electronics.
Information: www.sharpsma.com.
Novatek,
Sunplus, and Weltrend to Market Dual-mode Monitor
Controllers Based on PanelLink DVI Core
Sunnyvale,
California, July 17 - Silicon Image today announced it has
licensed its DVI core to leading Taiwanese IC manufacturers
Novatek, Sunplus and Weltrend.
Under terms
of the agreements, the licensees may implement Silicon
Image's DVI core, found in the company's market-leading
PanelLink® products, in dual-mode DVI solutions featuring
an analog-to-digital converter (ADC). Pure-digital DVI
solutions, such as those currently marketed by Silicon Image
in the PC/display and consumer electronics markets, are
excluded from the scope of the licensing agreements. The
agreements call for Silicon Image to receive an advance
payment and ongoing per-unit royalty from each licensee.
Silicon Image
President Steve Tirado said, "These licensing
agreements, and the recently announced Genesis Microchip
licenses, are part of our overall strategy to leverage our
core technologies into market segments where we don't
directly supply products, such as integrated monitor
controllers."
Steve Wang,
president at Novatek, added, "Silicon Image's PanelLink
DVI technology is well-known worldwide for its high quality,
interoperability and reliability. The dual-mode DVI market
represents an excellent market opportunity for our
high-volume manufacturing expertise, and it makes sense to
license Silicon Image's core technology in order to bring an
extremely robust and low-cost DVI monitor controller
solution to market. Novatek is the first company to provide
a patented, single-chip solution for this market and is
implementing the DVI technology using an advanced
semiconductor process to achieve a competitive price
advantage."
Silicon Image
is the leading supplier of DVI transmitters and discrete DVI
receivers, and PanelLink is the industry-leading DVI
implementation with more than 40 million units shipped, a
company announcement said.
In January
2002, Novatek released the world's first COG and RSDS
interface drivers for large panels and has become the
largest driver supplier in Taiwan, Novatek said.
Information: www.sunplus.com.tw,
www.novatek.com.tw, www.siliconimage.com.
NEC to
Bundle Liquid Surf™, as well as Liquid View™, with
Selected PCs
Pleasanton,
California, July 8 - Portrait Displays, Inc. announced today
that NEC of Japan is adding Liquid Surf to the Liquid View
software it has been shipping with selected systems. NEC
bundles the new Liquid family of products with the LaVie
notebooks and VALUESTAR desktop systems line sold in the
Japanese market.
Liquid Surf
scales browser content in Microsoft® Internet Explorer,
similar to the zoom function found in the Microsoft's Office
suite. Liquid View scales the user interface of applications
as well as the desktop. NEC has coupled these two solutions
to provide the end user with an easy way to scale content
and application work areas for increased satisfaction and
productivity.
A free
evaluation version of Liquid Surf can be downloaded from http://personalcomputing.portrait.com/us/products/ls_tbyb.html.
Information: www.portrait.com,
jp.portrait.com.
Actuality
Granted Key Patent Approvals for Spatial 3D Technology
Burlington,
Massachusetts, July 9 - Actuality Systems announced today
that it has been granted key patents on its spatial 3D
technology in both the U.S. and in Taiwan. The patents -
U.S. Patent No. 6,554,430 and Taiwan Letters Patent No.
162199 - broadly describe a volumetric three-dimensional
display system and specifically cover unique optics for
Actuality's Perspecta Display. The patents teach the use of
a novel rotating projection lens that ensures high-fidelity
spatial 3D imagery, which can be used for a variety of
scientific applications.
"The key
to getting high image quality is making sure that each
two-dimensional slice of the composite 3D image is in crisp
focus," said Gregg Favalora, the company's founder and
chief technical officer. "With this technology, we've
achieved exceptional clarity by using an image-projection
system with a rotating lens. The design allows us to tightly
fold the system's optical path, providing a spatial 3D
visualization product that is compact enough to use on a
desktop or in confined spaces. This particularly addresses
the needs of users in medical and military
applications."
The Perspecta™
Spatial 3D System consists of a 360-degree Perspecta Display
with Perspecta platform software, a driver for the OpenGL®
interface, and the firm's proprietary Spatial Rendering
Kernel. An easy-to-use Software Developers Kit is available
to members of the firm's Developer Program. The system
enables users to render high-resolution spatial images that
can be viewed from any angle as the user moves around the
display. The display itself illuminates a record 100 million
volume pixels (or voxels) within a 20-inch transparent dome.
Typical
applications for Perspecta include real-time interventional
medical guidance (such as biopsy or catheter localization);
surgical planning; the fusion, registration, and
visualization of CT, MRI, 3D ultrasound, and PET scans;
battlespace visualization; air-traffic control; 3D game
development; and homeland security applications such as
visualizing the contents of freight or passenger luggage.
Both new
patents are available for licensing.
Information: www.actuality-systems.com.
ROHM and
eMagin To Develop OLED Microdisplay For EVFs
Kyoto, Japan
and Hopewell Junction, New York, July 7 - ROHM, a major
manufacturer of semiconductor and electronics components,
and eMagin have announced their collaboration on developing
active-matrix OLED microdisplays for viewfinders for digital
still and video cameras.
eMagin
recently made portions of certain proprietary circuit
designs available to ROHM to initiate the engineering
process required for QVGA (320x240 color pixel) and/or VGA
(640x480 color pixel) products.
"We
believe that the small viewfinder market is particularly
suitable for eMagin's proven technology. We expect to be
able to work with eMagin to create a product for the digital
viewfinder market that is not only cost effective, but that
allows manufacturers to create smaller, lighter products
that
need less power," said Hidemi Takasu, a member of
ROHM's Board ofDirectors.
"This is
the type of collaboration that both of our organizations had
been anticipating since we had announced ROHM's strategic
investment, and I am extremely pleased that we have now
begun the process of implementing our first collaborative
product," said Gary Jones, president and chief
executive officer of eMagin Corporation. ROHM is expected to
be the distributor of these specific viewfinder products,
but eMagin may sell directly under certain conditions.
Both
companies are licensees of Eastman Kodak OLED technology for
different applications. Each of the companies will retain
their separate IP.
Information: www.ROHM.co.jp,
www.emagin.com.
Mitsubishi
to Auction Off Mexicali Flat-screen CDT Plant
July 1 -
Grupo Acetec in an alliance with DoveBid Mexico S.A.
announced today that it is conducting a Webcast Auction of a
flat-screen CRT manufacturing facility. The auction is being
conducted by order of Mitsubishi Display Devices America,
Inc. and Mitsubishi Melco Display Devices Mexico, LLC. The
auction features a CDT (color display tube) production line
that can currently produce 17-inch screens at a rate of one
unit every 10 seconds. The line can be upgraded to
accommodate 19- and 21-inch screens and much more! Bids can
be placed from your computer with DoveBid's Webcast
technology.
Featured
items include a flat-screen CRT manufacturing facility with
late-model equipment from the following production
areas:
- Mask Area
- Screening Area
- Back-end (Inner Magnetic
Shield) Area
- Test Area
- Coating Area
- Integrated Tube Components
Area
- Salvage Area
- De-ionizing Water
Treatment Plant
- Waste Water Treatment
Plant
- And much more!
Liquidation Information
The
production line is available in full or by section prior to
auction day. Please forward offers to George Wandachowicz at
GWandachowicz@DoveBid.com
or 1-619-427-7815.
The live and
Webcast auction will be held on July 24, 2003; bidding
begins at 9:00 am (PDT). Bidders can bid live in Mexicali,
BC, Mexico or at DoveBid's website. An equipment catalog
will be posted shortly. Bidders can preview assets July
21-23, 2003, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm (local time) in
Mexicali, BC, Mexico.
Information: http://www.dovebid.com/Auctions/AuctionDetail.asp?auctionID=2092.
In the US, George Wandachowicz at GWandachowicz@DoveBid.com
or 1-619-427-7815. In Mexico, Ildefonso Acevedo at acetec@prodigy.net.mx
or 011-52-55- 5534-0070 ext. 42.
