Photonics Crystal Corporation, a relatively unknown company based out of China, has somehow managed to engineer a new transparent display called NanoAR aimed at bringing futuristic AR applications to reality. Although the company’s statement hasn’t been scientifically verified or confirmed, Photonics Crystal says that shouldn’t even be possible since it violates known laws of physics. Bearing that in mind, the company first announced its display back in December alongside YouTube videos showing off its achievement. What’s more, the company plans to give a live demonstration of NanoAR in action at the upcoming CES 2018 event in Las Vegas – which is scheduled to take place between January 7 and January 12.
Photonics Crystal openly admits that there are already a number of ways around the problems that arise when attempting to display light on a surface that is intended to let light pass through it. However, the company claims that the vast majority of the methods used to create that effect either sacrifice image clarity and brightness for transparency or sacrifice transparency to attain a better image. On the other hand, Photonics Crystal’s own patented displays are 85-percent transparent and that the amount of haze created in the transparency is below 2-percent. Those numbers, the company says, are actually good enough that they could feasibly be used in automobile windshields to create a heads-up display for drivers. Better still, that can be accomplished without the need for AR glasses. In spite of that clarity, the company is still able to project a bright, clear image through the NanoAR display.
Looking past the relatively limited possible uses of NanoAR in vehicles, the company says there is a wide range of uses for the new technology and plans to demo NanoAR at least two uses at the upcoming CES expo. The first of those will showcase the use of NanoAR to create fully transparent digital signs. The advantages to that are fairly obvious since the technology could be used as standalone advertisement platforms or be embedded directly into the windows at any number of retail locations for a huge variety of businesses. The second demonstration will show off how NanoAR could be used to bring a more life-like presence to A.I. by featuring a holographic robot.