Virtual retinal display

In the past similar systems have been made by projecting a defocused image directly in front of the user's eye on a small "screen", normally in the form of large glasses.

In particular the development of high-brightness LEDs have made the displays bright enough to be used during the day, and adaptive optics have allowed systems to dynamically correct for irregularities in the eye (although this is not always needed).

They share some of the same disadvantages however, requiring some sort of optics to send the image into the eye, typically similar to the sunglasses system used with previous technologies.

Founded in 1993, MicroVision's early development work was financed by US government defense contracts and resulted in the prototype head-mounted display called Nomad.

Because of the novel user experience, and limited availability, potential buyers were strongly encouraged to participate in "touch-and-try" events to see if the technology is useful to their particular circumstances before committing to a purchase.