Committees and Working Groups

LDAR Committee

Laser displays have the potential of providing improved AR display performance on many axes including efficiency, brightness, increased field of view in a small form factor as well as eventually tackling vergence accommodation conflict and front side light leakage. The Laser Display for AR (LDAR) Committee will collaborate to facilitate the maturation of technical solutions into viable commercial opportunities for laser displays ranging from laser illuminated (F)LCoS, Laser Beam Scanning (LBS), Holographic, and others laser-based concepts at the system level. Together the committee will promote the advantages of laser display and work to reduce the barriers towards creating successful solutions and businesses.

The LDAR Committee is organized in the following manner:

  • Laser Development Working Group

  • Waveguide Technology Working Group

  • System Architecture Working Group

  • Marketing and Operations Sub-Committee

Chair: Barry Silverstein
Member Organization: University of Rochester
Contact: LDAR@the-ar-alliance.org

Laser Development Working Group

The Laser Development Working Group coordinates industry efforts to advance laser technology standards for augmented reality (AR) displays, serving as the primary forum for technical collaboration and specification development.  Working group members come together to jointly address common technical challenges in lasers, drivers, and packaging, and share resources and ideas towards creating solutions.

The Laser Development Working Group has the following range of activity:

  • To influence and develop laser standards optimized for AR display applications.

  • To collaborate with industry leaders on emerging laser technologies and best practices.

  • To shape the future roadmap of laser display technology for AR systems.

  • To establish performance benchmarks and safety guidelines for AR laser components.

  • To create interoperability specifications enabling cross-platform laser display solutions.

Participation in the Laser Development Working Group is open to all AR Alliance members, with voting rights and working group leadership opportunities available based on membership tier.

Laser Development Working Group Chairs: 

Oguzhan Avci, Meta
Greg Niven, Kyocera SLD Laser

Waveguide Technology Working Group

Although laser waveguide projectors currently account for a small share of the market, the Laser Display for AR (LDAR) Committee of the AR Alliance was formed to accelerate this transition by uniting companies with complementary technologies. Together, we aim to overcome integration challenges, define viable system architectures, and catalyze a robust market for laser projectors, waveguides, and next-generation AR systems.

The primary objective of the LDAR Committee is to unlock the next major display platform by demonstrating the viability of laser projectors in the current market. While today’s AR landscape is dominated by LED and LCoS projectors, with growing investment in microLED, we believe laser-based projection represents a transformative path forward, offering the potential for unmatched brightness essential to truly immersive AR experiences.  To that end, the Waveguide Technology Working Group’s goals include:

  • Accelerating the development of laser projectors by enabling a waveguide demonstrator system.

  • Converging on a standard waveguide specification through joint meetings with the Laser Architecture and Laser Development Working Groups.

  • Educating alliance members on common challenges in laser–waveguide integration.

  • Achieving solutions by pairing waveguide manufacturers with laser manufacturers.

Waveguide Technology Working Group Chairs: 

Sylvain Gennaro, ex-Meta, independent expert
Yaakov Amitai, Oorym

System Architecture Working Group

The System Architecture Working Group of LDAR carries the technical expertise in laser-based optical engine designs for AR glasses. The group consists of technical experts from both the AR optical industry and universities. It is responsible for creating AR optical system architecture designs that utilize laser-based light sources and exploit laser’s unique advantages to the full on the system design level. The System Architecture Working Group focuses on the following:

  • Exploration of the design space (combinations of types of lasers, SLMs, and combiner optics) and analysis of the best combinations for laser-based optical systems.

  • Create resources that highlight the differentiating advantages of laser displays, and develop a deep understanding of their competitive positioning.

  • Determine component-level improvements needed to enable key system architectures.

  • Collaborate with other LDAR working groups (i.e., Laser Development, Waveguide Technology) to survey component options and suggest key development areas.

  • Match-making between companies with complementary technologies, with the aim of creating key demos.

  • Develop a performance characteristic comparison scheme.

System Architecture Working Group Chairs:

陈孟浩 / Brian Chen, Appotronics Corp.
Brian Schowengerdt, Meta