TAUNTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May. 11, 2009--
Kopin® Corporation (Nasdaq: KOPN), the largest U.S.
manufacturer of microdisplays for consumer, industrial and military
applications, today introduced and demonstrated Golden-iTM
concept, a lightweight (three-ounce) Bluetooth headset providing a
15-inch virtual PC display with a hands-free natural speech recognition
interface for wireless remote control over an array of host devices
including cellular phones, PCs, company networks and wireless systems.
Golden-i readily accepts conventional user interface from any host
device touch screen, keyboard or wireless mouse.
Golden-i is designed to provide spontaneous access to virtually any
information around the globe. Initial Golden-i product development has
focused on industrial applications. Concept and evaluation units are
being demonstrated at Microsoft’s Tech-Ed Conference booth - May 11-15
at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
Golden-i provides users the ability to command and control wireless
devices and networks by natural speech recognition. Leveraging the
wireless devices and networks all around us, Golden-i provides
hands-free spontaneous access to all digital information, broadcast
programming and Internet services, including real-time, full-color D-1
high resolution (720 x 480p x 30 fps) streaming video over industry
standard Bluetooth 2.0 which was developed in partnership with
BlueRadios, Inc..
Running the 32-bit native, componentized, hard real-time Microsoft
Windows® Embedded CE 6.0 R2 operating system, Golden-i is
capable of remotely waking a PC from practically any location. After
Golden-i establishes a Bluetooth, WiFi or cellular link through a host
device, users will see their PC desktop screen on a 15-inch virtual
display, offering full hands-free access to all PC applications, data
files and services. When work is finished, the PC can be placed in
hibernation with a single spoken command. With Golden-i, users will no
longer need to carry a PC or laptop everywhere they go.
“When producing a device for ubiquitous and spontaneous mobile access to
almost any device or database on the planet, there isn’t a better
solution or richer application environment than that provided by
Microsoft,” said Dr. John C. C. Fan, Kopin’s Chief Executive Officer.
“Microsoft has become an integral part of Kopin’s Golden-i Development
Team, and we look forward to working with the company’s next generation
Windows platforms.”
Golden-i is designed for mobile information snacking and may very well
prove to be a game-changing computing accessory.
“We are delighted to work with Kopin and partners throughout our entire
ecosystem to drive innovation in the embedded industry and fuel the
smart, connected, service-oriented devices of the future,” said David
Wurster, Sr. Product Manager for Windows Embedded CE at Microsoft.
“Golden-i utilizes the Windows Embedded CE 6.0 R2 platform to provide
users with a rich, connected experience, and we are excited to
contribute to the unique mobile communications and computing experience
Kopin’s device provides its end users.”
Golden-i achieves its superior low-power performance with Texas
Instruments’ (TI) most advanced third generation OMAP dual processor
platform. “Texas Instruments’ latest OMAP is an incredible mobile
processing platform,” said Jeffrey Jacobsen, Kopin Senior Advisor and
Golden-i Program Manager. “Golden-i is a high-performance device and can
push OMAP’s mobile performance to the edge – 600 MHz ARM Cortex 8,
400MHz DSP, a 10 million polygon/second graphics accelerator with high
performance POP (package on package) memory reaching several gigabytes.
Yet with energy conservation programming, our current testing suggests
Golden-i will achieve over eight hours of standard use with a single
1200 mA/hr Li-ion battery.”
“Support for Kopin’s Golden-i builds on TI’s history of providing
unparalleled performance at power-sipping levels for embedded and
portable computing products with our OMAP 3 technology. Kopin takes full
advantage of TI’s feature-rich hardware and software platform as well as
our 65nm CMOS process to meet the rigorous performance demands of
Golden-i without sacrificing power consumption,” said Kevin Hawkins,
OMAP 3 Marketing Manager, TI. “We are excited to be part of Kopin’s
Golden-i development team that is comprised of an impressive array of
technologies and industry leaders. This collaboration has led to a
product that truly pushes the boundaries in portable computing
experiences for medical, industrial and commercial users.”
Golden-i leverages Nuance’s VoCon3200 software, which powers the speech
recognition functionality in a variety of automotive, personal
navigation and mobile applications, and was chosen by Kopin for its
accuracy, speed and multiple language support. Golden-i requires no
push-to-talk buttons. Whether in light hibernation waiting for a command
or during intermittent use, it is always ready to react to a user’s
request. Golden-i’s speech recognition platform powered by Nuance
quickly studies the speaker’s unique pronunciation of vowels, consonants
and syllables. Easily providing over 90 percent proficiency straight out
of the box, the more Golden-i’s speech recognition is used, the better
its proficiency. “If you’re going to use speech recognition, there’s no
one with more experience and state-of-the-art research than Nuance
Communications. Their contributions and guidance have enabled Golden-i
to achieve an unparalleled mobile speech recognition performance,” said
Kopin’s Jacobsen.
“Golden-i is a unique application of mobile speech, providing
an innovative hands-free experience for the mobile industrial and
government workforce. We’ve seen Golden-i evolve from its first spoken
interface to a sophisticated speech platform available in more than 20
languages,” commented Michael Thompson, Senior Vice President and
General Manager, Nuance Mobile. “We’re excited to see where Golden-i is
taking mobile speech.”
Golden-i also integrates Nuance text-to-speech, enabling
Golden-i to read back documents, e-mail messages, webpage
content or essentially any text on the display screen in most common
languages.
Golden-i integrates a Hillcrest Labs 6-axis, solid state real-time
position tracker. The tracker improves user comfort, convenience and
safety. Golden-i’s integrated solid state tracking technology provides
nearly pixel-for-pixel hands-free cursor accuracy across its 15-inch
virtual display along with an array of unique features never before
available in a commercial display system including ease of use for those
wearing corrective eye glasses and infinite zoom-in/zoom-out and
seamless pan around capability.
Golden-i can remotely control up to seven other devices or networks at
one time, similar to the way users control software applications on a PC
desktop. It operates much like a highly mobile server, a hub between
various host devices to which it is connected. If a USB interface or
removable memory is required, Golden-i provides a mini-USB port and a
removable Micro SD card slot capable of supporting up to 32GB on
non-volatile solid state RAM.
“Micron Technologies is a strategic supplier of high-performance
memories packaged in advanced stackable POP packaging for TI OMAP
devices,” said Gavin Hagen, Micron Technologies Mobile Memories Manager.
“As an active Golden-i development partner, Micron has been providing
system integration guidance and advanced memories, sometimes as they
come right out of our advanced product development lab. Golden-i
represents a brand new category for Super Mobile communication devices.
Micron is excited to see the results of its products integrated with so
many other cutting-edge technologies. We expect everyone who attends
Microsoft’s Tech-Ed Conference in Los Angeles this week and test drives
Golden-i will be impressed.
Based initially on Kopin’s third generation full-color CyberDisplay®
SVGA microdisplay, Golden-i’s injection-molded optics module
takes advantage of nearly 20 years of near-eye systems knowledge, which
offers superb user comfort and superior image quality in mobile
applications.
Kopin and its business partners are now actively seeking to engage with
several industrial organizations for several months of in-depth Golden-i
field testing and evaluation. Improvements and refinements uncovered
during extensive field testing will be incorporated into production of
certified Golden-i products, which are expected in 2010.
“To develop and produce something as advanced as Golden-i requires
access to ‘Best in Class’ technologies from various industry-leading
organizations,” said Dr. Fan. “When we began developing Golden-i back in
2007, many said our goals were impossible to achieve. We have been
benefited by a team of excellent people and organizations who have
worked closely for several years. We have now reached an advanced stage
that we are ready to share the excitement with the community.”
About Kopin
Kopin Corporation produces lightweight, power-efficient, ultra-small
liquid crystal displays and heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs)
that are revolutionizing the way people around the world see, hear and
communicate. Kopin has shipped more than 30 million displays for a range
of consumer and military applications including digital cameras,
personal video eyewear, camcorders, thermal weapon sights and night
vision systems. The Company's unique HBTs, which help to enhance battery
life, talk time and signal clarity, have been integrated into billions
of wireless handsets as well as into WiFi, VoIP and high-speed Internet
data transmission systems. Kopin's proprietary display and HBT
technologies are protected by more than 200 global patents and patents
pending. For more information, please visit Kopin's website at www.kopin.com.
The Golden-i concept is protected by Kopin’s patents and patents pending.
Kopin, CyberDisplay, Golden-i and The NanoSemiconductor Company are
trademarks of Kopin Corporation. All other company names or product
names are the trademarks of their respective owners.
Safe Harbor Statement
Statements in this news release may be considered “forward-looking”
statements under the “Safe Harbor” provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including without limitation, statements
made relating the initial availability of Kopin’s Golden-i concept and
evaluations units for extensive customer field testing and evaluation;
Microsoft is an integral partner to Golden-i development and our
expectation that we will work with Microsoft on their next generation
Windows platforms; the expectation that Texas Instruments (TI) will
remain a part of the Golden-i development team and that the
collaboration has led to a product that pushed the boundaries in
portable computing experience in medical, industrial and commercial
users; Golden-i is designed for mobile information snacking and
may very well prove to be a game-changing computing accessory; our
expectation that Golden-i will achieve over eight hours of standard use
with a single 1200 mA/hr Li-ion battery; Golden-i’s combined
technologies and capabilities appear to be at least three to four years
ahead of other mobile products; Golden-i has achieve an unparalleled
mobile speech recognition performance; and the expectations that there
will be improvements and refinements uncovered during extensive field
testing which will be incorporated into Golden-i and that full
production, certified Golden-i products are expected in 2010. These
statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the
forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but
are not limited to, the potential that: we may be unable to manufacture
Golden-i product; the partners listed above and other partners may
discontinue products which are necessary for Golden-i to function, the
partners listed above and other partners may terminate their involvement
in the Golden-i product development; manufacturing, marketing or other
issues that may prevent either the adoption or acceptance of Golden-i
products; competitive products and pricing; the risk that new product
initiatives and other research and development efforts may not be
successful; the potential that costs to develop and produce the Golden-i
may be significant; manufacturing delays, technical issues, economic
conditions or external factors that may prevent the development of
Golden-i; and other risk factors and cautionary statements listed
in the Company’s periodic reports and registration statements filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company’s Form
10-Q for the three months ended March 28, 2009 and Annual Report on Form
10-K for the 12 months ended December 27, 2008, and the Company’s
subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You
should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which
speak only as of the date on which they are made. The Company undertakes
no responsibility to update any of these forward-looking statements to
reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this report.
Kopin - The NanoSemiconductor Company®
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Source: Kopin Corporation
Investor Relations:
Kopin Corporation
Richard Sneider,
508-824-6696
CFO
rsneider@kopin.com
or
Golden-i
Customer Field Trial Participation:
Jeffrey Jacobsen, 831-636-5556
Golden-i
Program Manager
JJacobsen@kopin.com
or
News
Media Relations:
RDW Group, Inc.
Dave McDermitt,
617-235-5812
VP
dmcdermitt@rdwgroup.com
