November 14, 2012 6-7 p.m.
Speaker: Francis MacDougall, Senior Director, Gesture Technology, Qualcomm 
Title: Touchless Gestures Go Mainstream 

Abstract: Touch-free gestures are moving from the world of Xbox 360 Kinect games into mainstream devices including mobile phones, tablets, laptops, digital cameras and TVs. This talk reviews recently released products that incorporate gesture control and contrasts the various implementations of gesture control in each product. These initial products are starting to define a "gesture vocabulary" that could allow touch-free gestures to be ubiquitous across a wide range of devices. However, there is a danger of having conflicting gesture implementations on different devices that could cause consumer confusion and constrain the potential market. The talk also discusses the various technologies for detecting gestures as well as the leading use-cases, power-consumption issues, and complementary technologies that typify the next-generation user-interfaces enabled by gestures. 

Speaker Biography: Francis MacDougall founded GestureTek in 1986 and was its CTO until its technologies, patents and engineering team were acquired by Qualcomm in June of 2011. Francis is now Senior Director, Gesture Technology at Qualcomm and leads the effort to release gesture technologies on Qualcomm platforms including the Snapdragon chip targeting smartphones, tablets and TVs. Francis holds several fundamental patents using both 2D and 3D sensors and tracking techniques in the gesture space and has licensed these patents to Sony and Microsoft for their use in game console platforms. His team's software runs on tens of millions of devices worldwide. 

Click here to access Francis's slides.

July 18, 2012 6-7 p.m.
Speaker: Alfred Poor, Ph.D., SID Senior Member; Contributing Editor, Information Display
Title: What You Missed In Boston: SID Display Week 2012 Reported by a Professional Journalist & Technologist

Abstract: If you weren't able to make the cross-country trip to Boston for SID Display Week 2012 last month, here's your opportunity to catch up on much of what you missed. SID Senior Member and Information Display Contributing Editor Alfred Poor will provide a guided tour of Display Week 2012, covering many of the highlights from the Exhibit Hall to the Symposium. Alfred's talk will include a discussion of some of the Display of the Year and Best of Show award winners. Among the winners was a 55-inch 4K LCD TV from AU Optronics, an e-reader using Qualcomm's Mirasol MEMS technology, the Quantum-Dot Enhancement Film (QDEF) from Nanosys that promises to lower the cost and improve the performance of LED backlights for LCD panels, the impressive 55-inch OLED televisions from LG and Samsung (which have several substantial design differences), and eye-tracking technologies for large-format stereoscopic 3D displays and active-matrix OLED microdisplays. You'll even hear about some of the intriguing new technologies that were on display at Display Week's new and wildly popular "Innovation Zone" (the I-Zone). The talk will also cover important trends, such as the move from aSi and LTPS backplanes to the use of metal oxides such as IGZO. The newer technology offers electron mobility between the two other solutions, with the advantage that it may scale better than p-Si for very large screens, although some challenges remain. Come hear about other advances, ranging from touch-screen technology to thin-substrate glass that can support roll-to-roll continuous processing. SID Display Week 2012 was filled with energy and information, and so will be this seminar. Don't miss it!

Speaker Biography: Alfred Poor, Ph.D., is an accomplished speaker and writer with an international reputation in the display industry. He is a Contributing Editor on SID's Information Display magazine where his articles appear frequently, including his annual reviews of Display Week. He has been honored as a SID Senior Member, is a former chair of the Delaware Valley Chapter of SID and the SID Display-of-the-Year Award Committee, and was a member of the SID Mobile-Displays Conference-Planning Committee. Alfred wrote for PC Magazine for more than 22 years, where he developed all the test protocols for display products from CRT monitors to LCD projectors. He also was the magazine's first Lead Analyst for Business Displays. He has worked as a Senior Analyst for Pacific Media Associates, with special focus on FPD market analysis. He has also written for many other major technology publications, including as a columnist and Technology Editor for ECN: Electronic Component News and as a weekly columnist on websites for Hewlett-Packard, Verizon, and FOX News Science & Technology. He has written major market-analysis reports on display-related topics for publishers including NanoMarkets and GigaOM Pro. He has written or co-authored more than a dozen books, and recently contributed to the chapter on Medical Displays in the Handbook of Visual Display Technology published jointly by Springer-Verlag and Canopus Academic Publishing. Alfred has been a keynote speaker at many events, including the Video Electronics Standards Association and multiple appearances at the Trenton Computer Festival. He has made presentations about display technology for the New York Amateur Computer Club, the Philadelphia Area Computer Society, and the Princeton Computer Society. He has also had speaking engagements for clients and colleges including the Hartford Insurance Group, Marsh & McLennan, CIGNA, Temple University, and Wesleyan University. In addition, he has appeared on radio and television programs, and was co-host of "The Personal Computer Show" on WBAI radio in New York City from 2001 to 2010. 

Click here to access Alfred Poor's slides.

Click here to access Alfred Poor's Webinar. Requires SID Member Log-In

May 16, 2012 6-7 p.m.
Speaker: Gary Mandle, Senior Product Manager, Sony Electronics
Title: Display Technologies Used for Film and Video Production

Abstract: Since the inception of television entertainment, only one primary display technology has been used in media-production applications: the cathode-ray tube. For almost 75 years, CRT technology has been the only acceptable means of viewing and mastering images for theatrical feature-film and television broadcasting. However, CRT devices are rapidly becoming unproduceable due to economic and environmental issues. While new technologies are now being used to display content in these applications, not all of the new technologies have been able to match the performance of CRTs. Even today, many production companies are still using CRT displays, and film creators are just now starting to feel comfortable with electronic acquisition and display.

This presentation will describe the applications and requirements for displays used for entertainment-media production. Using the latest Sony professional monitors as an example, the advantages and weaknesses of using OLEDs in these applications will be covered, along with OLED operation, performance, and construction. Other (future) display technologies currently under development will also be described. The presentation will conclude with a demonstration and side-by-side comparison between reference displays using CRT, LCD and OLED technologies.

Speaker Biography: Gary Mandle has worked in the Sony Gary Mandle PhotoProfessional Solutions Group for more than 27 years doing development and marketing of new display products. The technologies on which he has worked include CRT, SXRD (LCoS), LCD, and now OLED. His current focus is on Sony's OLED products intended for video & film production and post-production applications. Gary has written several journal articles and papers, including an article on monitor calibration that appeared in the April 2012 SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal. Gary's other work areas include the design of camera image-stabilization systems, including the invention of the semiconductor-based stabilizer system called "Steady Shot" that is used in most Sony-branded cameras, and CCD-sensor development where he holds multiple patents on processes for increasing imager dynamic range. Gary's professional memberships include SMPTE, CIE, IEEE, SID and OSA.

Click here to access Gary Mandle's slides.

April 18, 2012 6-7 p.m.
Speaker: Francis Nguyen, Senior Product Marketing Manager, OSRAM Opto Semiconductors
Title: Optimizing LEDs for Driving Pico-Projectors

Abstract: Pico projectors are emerging as a tool for sharing information as well as enabling completely new applications made possible by their small size. LEDs are emerging as the light source of choice for these tiny projection systems. We will examine the requirements of small projectors using color-sequential imagers. The optimization of RGB LEDs to meet these requirements in brightness, efficacy (lm/W), size and cost for a variety of pico-projector engine designs is examined in conjunction with other key components used in the projector such as the imager type and size, optics used and the drive electronics. 

Speaker Biography: Francis Nguyen is a Senior Product Marketing Manager at OSRAM Opto Semiconductors Inc., where he is responsible for product marketing of LED products used in LED displays, LCD backlighting and projection displays. Francis has held various engineering and product management positions in LED and display products at OSRAM. He holds a B.Sc. in E.E. from the University of Hong Kong. Prior to joining OSRAM/Siemens in 1991, Francis had worked in the semiconductor industry for 20 years and his experience included designing automatic assembly equipment and also manufacturing engineering in a semiconductor-assembly facility. OSRAM Opto Semiconductors, headquartered in Regensburg, Germany, is one of the leading LED suppliers and is vertically integrated, having its own design and manufacturing facilities in chip fabrication and back-end assembly. 

Click here to access Francis Nguyen's slides.

March 28, 2012 6-7 p.m.
Speaker: Mark Flynn, Director of Displays & Hardware Engineering, Infinite Z
Title: zSpace: Description & Demo of a New Type of Stereoscopic Display

Abstract: zSpace provides a highly realistic 3D visualization experience that enables designers and engineers to work with product designs in a way not previously possible in a traditional 2D computing environment. Using a proprietary stereoscopic display, trackable eyewear, a new type of direct interaction stylus and an innovative software platform, objects in zSpace appear "solid" in open space, with full color and high resolution, and can be directly manipulated as if they were real physical objects. This capability gives users a natural way to navigate, grab, slice, carve, zoom and explore models as never before possible. Initially focused towards the digital/product design, scientific, medical, GIS/geospatial and government markets, zSpace is a completely new model for experiencing and communicating design ideas and significantly advancing the way people solve problems, learn, teach and communicate in today's world. We will bring several of these systems to the seminar for attendees to try out. Features and Benefits: - High-definition stereoscopic display with full images rendered for each eye for ultra-high realism - Lightweight, passive, trackable eyewear for viewing comfort - Full motion parallax, with sensors tracking the viewing angle, enabling the user to look around objects and visualize multiple perspectives with simple head movements - Uniquely designed stylus for managing direct and natural interactions with virtually-holographic images in 3D space - Innovative development platform for creating new applications and integrating new input devices Product Specifications: - zStation monitor, 24-inch HD LCD (1080p @ 120Hz) with tracking sensors - Direct interaction stylus with three buttons and integrated infrared LED and accelerometer design - Polarized passive eyewear with trackable markers - SDK for application developers - zSpace Maya Plug-in (available to licensed users of Autodesk Maya) 

Speaker Biography: Mark Flynn obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in physics at Cleveland State University in 1979, and his Ph.D. in physics at Washington University in St. Louis in 1986. From 1986 to 1991 he worked on computational physics problems in the field of condensed-matter physics, specializing in the general area of very dense, low-temperature quantum systems, at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, and at the Universities of Granada and Velencia. Since 1991 he has worked in the display technology field, beginning at the Liquid Crystal Institute at Kent State University, where he worked in liquid crystal display simulation and optimization. Work at Kaiser Electronics from 1994 to 2000 centered on head-mounted display systems using flat-panel displays. From 2000 to 2001 Mark worked at Inviso on the optimization of LCOS displays for commercial head-mounted systems. From 2001 to 2009 he worked at Aurora Systems, in San Jose, CA, where he was Director of Display Technologies. Since 2009 he has been Director of Displays & Hardware Engineering at Infinite Z, a startup building new and innovative 3D display systems. 

Click here to access Mark Flynn's slides.

February 22, 2012 6-7 p.m.
Speaker: J. Norman Bardsley, President, Bardsley Consulting
Title: Technology Transfer from Displays to Lighting

Abstract: The pace of technology development in the lighting industry has accelerated ten-fold. Over 90% of the products on view at leading lighting fairs are based on LED lights. But most of the products that have emerged so far are more energy efficient replacements of traditional technology with similar form and function. The opportunities to change the way lighting is used include:

• Large area lighting sources - thin, flexible, transparent
• Smart lighting - wireless digital controls
• Color control - multiple primaries with separate drive circuits
• Broadband communications
• Evolving lifestyles

Similar issues have been addressed in the display industry and there are clear opportunities for technology transfer. For example, the battle between LED-LCDs and OLEDs in large TVs may be replayed in lighting. In reverse, the rapid gains in the efficiency of LED and OLED sources for lighting applications may result in lower power consumption and longer battery life for displays.

Speaker Biography: Norman Bardsley is a consultant to industry, government and academia on flat-panel displays and solid-state lighting, with special focus on organic and printed electronics. Norman received an M.A. in mathematics from Cambridge University and a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from the University of Manchester in England. He began his U.S. career as Professor of Physics at the University of Pittsburgh, leading a research group in atomic, molecular and plasma physics. He joined Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 1987, where he became Strategic Business Development Manager in the Information Technology Division. While at Livermore he helped to design large-area etching equipment for FPD manufacturing and commissioned the development of the 9 megapixel LCD monitor (Big Bertha) from IBM. Between 1996 and 2005, he served as Director of Roadmaps and Standards at the US Display Consortium (USDC) and worked as Director of Display Technology for DisplaySearch between 2003 and 2006.

Norman’s current activities are focused upon diffuse lighting based on solid-state technology, using either OLEDs or wave-guides lit by LEDs. Since 2008 he has served as a technical advisor to the Solid State Lighting Program of the US Department of Energy. He is a co-author of their R&D and Manufacturing Roadmaps, which are updated annually.

Norman is also committed to sustainable economic development in rural communities in Africa and so is eager to see the development of off-grid systems for power generation, lighting and communication

Norman Bardsley is a consultant to industry, government and academia on flat-panel displays and solid-state lighting, with special focus on organic and printed electronics. Norman received an M.A. in mathematics from Cambridge University and a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from the University of Manchester in England. He began his U.S. career as Professor of Physics at the University of Pittsburgh, leading a research group in atomic, molecular and plasma physics. He joined Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 1987, where he became Strategic Business Development Manager in the Information Technology Division. While at Livermore he helped to design large-area etching equipment for FPD manufacturing and commissioned the development of the 9 megapixel LCD monitor (Big Bertha) from IBM. Between 1996 and 2005, he served as Director of Roadmaps and Standards at the US Display Consortium (USDC) and worked as Director of Display Technology for DisplaySearch between 2003 and 2006. 

Click here to access J. Norman Bardsley's slides.