A Not So Surprising Focus for Flex in the XR Realm

Estimated reading time: 12 minutes

Feinberg: I can see in some areas, for example, medical and military, where XR could be a very disruptive technology. In things like computer gaming, I don't see it as quite as disruptive. So, again, it depends on the application.

Braddom: Yes, I think it's exciting because it can be disruptive to so many different markets and industries and services. IDC predicts that total spending on AR/VR products and services is expected to soar from $11.4 billion in 2017 to nearly $215 billion in 2021. What's interesting is looking at how many industries are developing software and applications for these devices and the kind of new business models that they're thinking about. It is very exciting and I do enjoy the fact that the application of XR is so interesting to all these different industries and markets that we service.

Feinberg: I was at CES and I saw so many different headsets and so many new devices and I found that when you talk to some of these companies, most of them, obviously, are out of Shenzhen. But when you talk to most of them, they've done a pretty decent job in developing or designing the particular device, but they have no software. They have no target market in mind; it's like they couldn't even really show off their device except for some cartoonish little game. Then they contact you later and say, "Are you going to cover us in your article?" What am I going to say? You're just another one out of a hundred more but you have no application in mind, you know?

Braddom: I understand. We have been working with Atheer to develop an interaction module for the HMD, and the interaction module is what facilitates the use of voice or gestures or using other kinds of Bluetooth wearables to interact with the system. We're working with them on that, and at the same time, they have Atheer AiR Enterprise that will ship with our reference design on a 30-day trial basis. And, of course, they have a lot of applications already in the enterprise stage. We analyzed many different use cases in our research to come up with the requirements for the reference design. I've continued to target that enterprise and industrial space because not only do we have customers that need it, but Flex also is looking to apply AR/VR technologies internally.

Feinberg: That's interesting. You talked about medical, and I'm seeing this now with things like the advances in robotic surgery, like the Da Vinci hardware. You think about the things we can do now that we couldn't even consider 10 years ago. Certainly not when I was growing up. So that is amazing stuff, particularly in medical. And then again, there's some interesting stuff in the military arena, too.

Braddom: Many doctors already use an augmented reality solution, like a Google Glass, for example, to record their interactions with the patients or to facilitate communications with an external expert. There's even an ambulance company in Chicago, called MedEx, and their technicians use augmented reality glasses so that doctors can participate on-scene with the medical technicians. I'm not an expert on their system, but there are already so many examples of AR being used in medicine. Then you think about the future where you're assisting surgeons, you're providing a new level of capability with what you can do with augmented reality. So it's very exciting and I think there will be many new applications that people haven't even considered.

Feinberg: Absolutely. I mean, when people see it, they say that it is a great idea. My wife is doing some home redesign and she got to use some mixed reality by seeing furniture and furnishings and wall coverings in an existing home. Things like that are just amazing and provide true value.

Eric, who are some of the major brand names, if you can tell me, that you're involved with?

Braddom:  I'm sorry, for XR, other than those companies that I mentioned that have publicly announced relationships with Flex, like Atheer, Jaunt and DAQRI, I can't really say who’s developing with us. But as you know, since we don't have our own brand, and we don't compete with our customers, in the future they'll be announcing their own products.

Feinberg: I totally understand, but I think we can safely say there are others.

Braddom: Yes, the intention here is to have a platform so that customers can either put their name on it and take it to market, or they can borrow from the reference design for their own design. So, I have some customers who are wanting to adopt elements of the reference design. For example, they want to work with the optical modules and some of the key components, but they don't have a lot of the thermal concerns, for example, that the industrial customers have. We're able to facilitate that kind of interaction, and then I have other customers that have a need to get product to market for enterprise applications with augmented reality and they are looking more at white labeling the first-generation product while they work with us on subsequent generations.

Feinberg: Very good. Is there anything else you can tell me, or that you’d like our readers to know about?

Braddom: Well, I think there are some important considerations for the solution that we have come across in doing our research in terms of what customers in the industrial and enterprise space need. Things like 8 to 12 hours of battery life, being able to operate in a 35°C/95°F environment without burning the user and remaining comfortable on the head. Being able to wear eye glasses underneath the head mounted display (HMD). That’s important if you wear glasses daily.

Feinberg: Wearing eyeglasses while using XR headsets is a big advance for many users.

Braddom: You don't want to send everybody to the eye doctor just to get a custom adjustment. So how do you design something that can accommodate close to 100% of prospective users? We’ve designed the HMD to be Z87 safety-rated, scratch proof and dust proof, which is also very challenging, especially when you're working with the latest generation of technology. There are a lot of challenges in doing this and a lot of interesting requirements that we've uncovered for the industrial and enterprise markets that are interested in the reference design. Even making the optics and the visors clear, you know, as opposed to being dark, like sunglasses.

We're excited about it and our customers are excited because of how focused this version is on the industrial and enterprise market and some of the user requests we've addressed that haven't been addressed in other devices.

Feinberg: Very interesting. Thank you for the expanded view from the point of the designer and manufacturer. I really appreciate speaking with you and certainly please keep me on your list for announcements, and so forth. I-Connect007 comprises a group of magazines that focus on different areas such as assembly, military, circuit board fab, etc., so we have plenty of places to publish articles on a variety of topics. At the next CES I'll come by. What show will you be at next?

Braddom: Probably the Augmented World Expo (AWE), in Santa Clara in May.

Feinberg: Yes, I am going to try to get to that one.

Braddom: Alright, great, well hopefully we can meet in person at that one.

Feinberg: Thank you for the opportunity to learn more about what Flex is doing in this area. I think we agree that it is both exciting as well as disruptive in so many areas.

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