Spectra7 Announces New DreamWeVR™ VR & AR Product Line
Spectra7 Microsystems Inc. announced the launch of DreamWeVR™, an extensive product line targeted at next generation Ultra-HD and 5K resolution virtual reality (“VR”) and augmented reality (“AR”) platforms. The product line includes four new chips, new VR-specific connectors and three new head-mounted display (“HMD”) interconnect configurations to support high-bandwidth, low-latency VR HMDs and AR glasses. When used together, these products deliver a more realistic, immersive, comfortable and exciting VR experience for consumers.
The industry is currently at the dawn of VR and AR adoption and deployment in a market that, according to Digi-Capital, is expected to grow to USD$150 billion in 2020. While today’s VR experiences are immersive and impressive, next generation systems promise to deliver significantly lighter weight, higher CPU/GPU performance and dramatically higher bandwidth feeding next generation ultra high resolution multi-display systems.
DreamWeVR – ADVANCED DISPLAY AND GESTURE CHIPS
These next generation systems require low latency interconnect technology that is dramatically faster, yet thinner and lighter in order to meet industrial design and performance goals. The performance improvement made by adopting 4K and 5K mobile display technology is stunning, given it can be fed with ultra thin wearable interconnects. Spectra7’s new products achieve these requirements across the multiple display and interconnect protocols shown below:
- VR8181 – HDMI 2.0 Embedded Cable Processor – Delivers HDMI bandwidth of up to 18Gbps at 4K resolution
- VR8200 – DisplayPort HBR2 Embedded Cable Processor – Delivers DisplayPort bandwidth of up to 21.6Gbps at 4K resolution
- VR8300 – DisplayPort HBR3 Embedded Cable Processor – Delivers HDMI bandwidth of up to 32.4Gbps at 5K resolution for stunning 15 million pixel cinema grade video
- VR8050 – USB 3.1 Gen 2 Embedded Cable Processor – Delivers up to 10Gbps of sensor/camera data for positional tracking, and gesture recognition
The Company’s new display chips allow VR and AR OEMs to deliver content over ultra-thin, low-latency cables at up to 100% higher bandwidth than first generation systems for greater VR immersion through higher resolution, color depth and frame rates.
Each of the four new chips feature Spectra7’s new SpectraLinear™ EQ architecture that builds on previous advanced patented analog equalization technology developed by the Company, while incorporating a high linearity output driver that works in a highly collaborative way with device systems-on-a-chip (“SOC”) and enables the highest total link performance.
VR/AR CONNECTOR
The Company is also pleased to announce its new MicroChroma™ VR/AR connectors which are designed specifically for the VR/AR market. Existing generic connectors do not meet the precise needs of this new application space due to limited pin count, limited power delivery, and bulky size. As many as four discreet connectors would be required to deliver what Spectra7’s MicroChroma™ connector provides in a single, latching consumer connector for next-generation HMDs.
Measuring just 3.2mm high by 15.7mm wide, the 46-pin MicroChroma™ connector is ideally suited for thin, light, high-performance consumer VR interconnects. It has an extensive feature set for high speed signal integrity, low cost and high reliability.
ADVANCED INTERCONNECTS
Spectra7 has shipped over 20 million active consumer cables to date. The Company is pleased to announce the immediate availability of three DreamWeVR™ purpose-built interconnects for VR and AR applications: the VR9-Dx, VR10-Dx and VR11-Dx. These new products are engineered specifically for VR and AR applications where high speed, thinness, low latency, light weight and reliability are critical.
These products support HMD systems that connect to either standard or proprietary hosts such as game consoles, mobile phones, laptops or the new generation of PocketConsole™ Graphic Processing Units (“GPU’s”). These DreamWeVR™ interconnects transport either standard or proprietary signaling and power, and may be tethered to, or removable from the HMD. Configuration options include VR-Junction™, VR-Control™ and VR-QuickRelease™ for ease of use and enhanced functionality.
“The race for the most immersive wearable experience is on — across both the VR and AR market segments — and display resolution, weight and latency are the key differentiators,” said Tony Stelliga, CEO of Spectra7. “Our new DreamWeVR™ products provide these burgeoning markets with what we believe to be best-in-class performance in these categories. These new products deliver resolution and speed improvements of up to 100% — across interconnect systems that are up to 50% thinner and lighter — made possible from the constant innovation and scalability of our patented technology.”
The Company expects that the DreamWeVR™ product configurations will be available to the Company’s growing list of Active Cable Manufacturing Partners (“ACMPs”) and Active Cable OEM Partners (“ACOPs”) in the second quarter of 2016.
ABOUT SPECTRA7 MICROSYSTEMS INC.
Spectra7 Microsystems Inc. is a high performance consumer connectivity company delivering unprecedented bandwidth, speed and resolution to enable disruptive industrial design for leading consumer electronics manufacturers in virtual reality, augmented reality, wearable computing, data centers and ultra-HD 4K/8K Displays. Spectra7 is based in Palo Alto, California and Markham, Ontario with a Design Center in Cork, Ireland. For more information, please visit www.spectra7.com.
