Press release

Realfiction receives an additional Notice of Allowance from the US Patent Office

Realfiction Holding AB (“Realfiction” or “the Company”) is proud to announce that it has received a notice of allowance for the US patent application 18/309,143, regarding a specific version of the Company’s ECHO display technology aimed at the automotive industry, from the US Patent Office (USPTO).

While presenting and engaging in discussions with representatives from the automotive industry, the Company has gained insight into specific requests concerning the enhancement of driving safety. These requests highlight concerns about drivers becoming distracted by their infotainment displays. In cars where driving safety has top priority, the combination of personalized viewing and sound zones for the driver and passengers are highly sought after features. While Realfiction is not in the business of creating personalized sound zones, the Company has used parts of its directional ECHO LCD display technology to file a specific patent application for multi-view displays that enable the passengers to use the display for entertainment purposes, like watching TV or playing videogames, without the risk of distracting the driver, as the driver can simultaneously watch purely driving relevant information in the display such as navigation directions. The patent application addresses a simpler version of an ECHO display with no 3D image and no eye-tracking. Instead, the main feature of such a display is its capability to show either the same video image to all or two different video images in very specific directions, which in a car are well defined as the seating positions. Earlier attempts on achieving this feature have been seen, with massive downsides in image quality as resolution was split in half, brightness drastically reduced and disturbing lenticular effects introduced in the image. The invention covered in this patent application solves these issues by using Realfiction’s unique directional ECHO pixel technology to maintain full resolution, high brightness, and a crisp and clear image with natural colors for all viewers.

The notice of allowance received from the USPTO is a formal communication from the patent authority in which it indicates that the patent application has reached the status where it is allowed for issuance as a patent. This is the second formal patent office notice received by the Company that confirms the patentability of its ECHO directional display technology.

“Multi-view is an imbedded feature in all ECHO displays, as it is one of several capabilities of our directional pixel technology. However, from the commercial input received during presentations and talks with companies in the automotive industry, we have seen a demand for a simpler and lower-cost 2D ECHO display version focusing on this specific purpose and market,” says Realfiction’s CEO Clas Dyrholm. He continues: “This is another important step for Realfiction in the process of protecting the intellectual property rights of our technology portfolio, and we are particularly happy to broaden our future revenue opportunities based on market input obtained during commercial dialogues. Even though this specific multi-view display does not allow presentation of 3D, which remains our core vision, it has the potential to enhance the safety and comfort of the driving experience, and it is based on our ECHO directional pixel technology. Additionally, as always with the ECHO technology, there is NO resolution loss. Everybody will see the full screen resolution and image quality.”

Please refer to this link or the Company’s website for a video clip illustrating an example of the features in a car.

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 ECHO
The ECHO pixel technology can direct 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 a multi-user system, that the resolution can be ultra-high and that it is not limited to any known standard nor size, 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. In addition to hardware, strong progress is also being made on the software side, including our Holowize 3D film conversion technology to enable a wealth of exciting content for the whole family. Finally, Realfiction has a global patent strategy to ensure that the ECHO directional pixel technology is properly safeguarded to enable the Company in signing collaboration or licensing agreements with commercial partners who want to include the technology in their display products. Several of the patent applications have progressed to the national phase, and the first ECHO patent related to the OLED technology will be granted by the US Patent Office on 5 September 2023.