New AV/VR glasses meet the needs of the next generation

With a market of $20 million, improvements in Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) are essential for making the next generation of eyewear and headsets. The University of Rochester has met this objective by creating glasses that are compact and easy to wear. Most importantly, the new approach combines freeform optics as well as a curved metasurface to deliver high-quality imagery. The result of this merger of optics is called a metaform.

Using the metaform, glasses are able to gather visible light rays from all directions, defying the conventional laws of reflection and enabling these rays to be directed into the eye.

This approach, which was developed over many years, creates high quality imagery, yet looks like a traditional pair of sunglasses. There are many additional applications for these lenses, such as mobile cameras and sensors that are created for medical and military devices.