After having further advanced the ECHO technology during the spring in accordance with its plans, the company is down to a one-digit number of sub-projects or modules that need to be completed before a full integration package can be finalized. Certain use-cases may be prioritized and offered to display manufacturers and other potential licensees earlier than the completion of the full integration package. As an example, LG recently installed its first LED cinema screen by replacing the conventional projector with a huge modular LED screen (more information on this can be found here). One can only imagine the opportunities of a merge between ECHO and these future forms of cinema screens, and this is merely one of many use-cases for ECHO. Realfiction will now discuss collaboration terms with potential research partners for the sub-projects/modules, and at the same time apply for relevant EU grants. The company expects to present an updated ECHO time frame in the early fall.
"Following the successful completion of the basic ECHO technology, we are now enhancing and finetuning its performance when paired with current display technologies such as LCD and OLED. Achieving a high fidelity, social (glasses-free, walk-around capacity) holographic 3D experience for multiple users has always been our aim for ECHO, and we are therefore truly excited to be able to take the technology to this level together with new and existing research partners. If we are successful in doing so, it will open many new and exciting possibilities, while of course also having a huge positive impact on the valuation of our ECHO IP portfolio," says Realfiction's CEO Clas Dyrholm.
Realfiction is also progressing with its global IP strategy for ECHO. After having received an International Search Report from the European Patent Office (EPO), in which no prior technique was found to put the novelty of the invention into question, the international ECHO patent application will be published in the early fall. Realfiction will then proceed with patent applications for all relevant regions including Europe, the United States and China. While the full international patent application process until patents are granted in specific countries can take up to seven years from the initial application date of March 2019, it is important to note that patent protection in each country will originate from March 2019. The company might also apply for additional ECHO-related patents in the future as the company proceeds with development of the above-mentioned sub-projects/modules.
"It is rewarding to see this amazing technology maturing in our labs, and I feel confident in the crucial next step ahead of us after receiving strong, positive feedback from a leading international research institute in the display industry. I am also personally invested in the long-term success of ECHO, as I agreed to trade a significant part of my salary for compensation based on future royalty income (3% of gross profits earned on products with ECHO technology included) when I joined Realfiction in 2019," says Steen Iversen, Realfiction's Director of Advanced Display Technology.
About Realfiction Holding AB
Founded in Denmark in 2008, Realfiction is a leading innovator and provider of Mixed Reality solutions and services, a market estimated to reach USD 80 billion by 2025. Realfiction continues to invent technologies within Mixed Reality, with an intention to disrupt the industry by pursuing the vision of converting science fiction into real fiction. Realfiction Holding AB's share is publicly traded on Nasdaq Stockholm First North under the symbol "REALFI". The share's ISIN code is SE0009920994.
About the ECHO technology and the sales/licensing strategy
Realfiction has previously announced the completion of its Proof of Concept and a beta version of an LCD display equipped with its patent pending ECHO technology (supported via a grant from Innovation Fund Denmark). The vision of the ECHO technology is to bring Realfiction's dream of truly changing the world of 3D into reality.
The ECHO pixel technology is capable of directing light from flat screen displays in different directions, allowing each individual viewer to not only see an image which is different from what others see, but also to experience full 3D depth in that image. The main differentiators between this technology and others in the market or currently under development are that it does not require the use of glasses, that it is planned to become a multi-user system, that the resolution can be ultra-high and that it is not limited to any known standard, that the required image processing is well within the capacity of current standard equipment, and that it can be mass-produced at a low cost.
To further explain the directional pixel technology, a video illustration can be viewed on the Realfiction website here.
The development of ECHO covers several different display technologies, with OLED being the preferable technology of the future for many reasons. Hence, OLED is therefore the top priority for ECHO. However, since LCD is still the best-selling technology in the TV market, and because it is easier and less costly to develop LCD prototypes, the company developed a beta version of an LCD display with built-in ECHO technology. The main purpose of the beta LCD display is to be able to develop more complete prototypes with faster response time, thereby allowing Realfiction to better showcase the effect and the capacity of the ECHO technology. However, a secondary purpose is to address the currently larger LCD market, which could represent a fast-track towards revenue. One of the problems with LCD is that this technology uses a lot more power than OLED, and the ECHO technology is able to significantly reduce the power consumption in normal TV use cases. Realfiction estimates that the ECHO technology can reduce the power consumption of displays of the average type televisions by close to 80 %. The estimated reduction adds up to 80 Watt per hour resulting in huge savings of approximately USD 7.4 bN, or 1.34 % of the electricity production equivalent of 56 TWh of electricity and 25 million tons of CO2 in the United States alone. As a result, ECHO has the potential to significantly reduce the annual household consumption of energy, thus adding to lower carbon emissions on a global scale and substantial financial savings.
To obtain an understanding of ECHO's position, Realfiction previously announced that novelty searches from both Budde Schou and the Danish Patent and Trademark Office were carried out. Neither Budde Schou nor the Danish Patent and Trademark Office found any known techniques which challenged the novelty of the ECHO technology. Furthermore, the patent attorney expressed that the technology holds the potential of cost-efficient mass production while maintaining the high angular precision and the fast response time needed for a high quality, moving image 3D-experience.
Assuming Realfiction succeeds in developing this patent pending technology, the company believes it could potentially set a new standard for home entertainment, how we experience TV shows, series and movies on our phones, tablets and TV's, in comparison to the switch from black and white to colour TV.
The objective is to create a complete integration license package and to manufacture the new directional pixels, thus presenting a clear path towards commercial mass production of displays comprising millions of such directional pixels. In its final and fully commercial form, the ECHO technology and related content effects will be available at scale and at price points that enable consumer adoption (B2C). However, it is expected that the first working products will target certain industrial (B2B) applications with very specific requirements. ECHO represents a substantial licensing opportunity to Realfiction, due to materialize gradually for different potential use-cases.
For more information about Realfiction Holding AB, please contact:
Clas Dyrholm, founder and CEO
