Kopin to Develop Novel AR Optics for U.S. Army Under New SBIR Contract
WESTBOROUGH, Mass. – Kopin Corporation (NASDAQ: KOPN) a leading provider of application-specific optical solutions and high-performance micro-displays for defense, enterprise, consumer and medical products, today announced it has received a contract from the U.S. Army to develop novel see-through Augmented Reality (AR) display optics for dismounted soldier vision system applications.
“We believe successful execution of this new Army contract can fully enable the widespread implementation of new, user-centric dismounted soldier vision products that soldiers will adopt, and finally achieve the Army’s goal of fielding a fully digitized day and night soldier head-mounted visual information system”
For over 25 years, the Army has been developing systems that provide increasingly higher amounts of data to dismounted soldiers during combat operations to increase situational awareness and improve combat effectiveness. Beginning with the Land Warrior program in the late 1990s and evolving through programs such as Nett Warrior and Thermal Weapon Sight programs, and most recently with the Integrated Visual Acuity System (IVAS), the data and video imagery supplied by these solutions have been hampered by optical viewing approaches that create undesirable “side-effects” such as visual dissonance and cognitive disorder resulting from the ergonomics, human factors performance and other technical shortcomings of these systems. Under this new Army contract, Kopin will develop novel AR optics to provide an improvement over prior system approaches, with the goal of increased optical performance, daylight readability, visual and ergonomic comfort, and nighttime visibility as well as reductions in weight, size, and power consumption.
“We believe successful execution of this new Army contract can fully enable the widespread implementation of new, user-centric dismounted soldier vision products that soldiers will adopt, and finally achieve the Army’s goal of fielding a fully digitized day and night soldier head-mounted visual information system,” said Bill Maffucci, Kopin’s Senior Vice President of Business Development and Strategy. “We are very pleased to be selected for this important development, and we believe Kopin’s unique ability to not only develop the necessary optics but also to create a specific microdisplay that is optimized for the application will allow us to succeed where others have been unable to address the Army’s needs fully.”
About Kopin
Kopin Corporation is a leading developer and provider of innovative display and optical technologies sold as critical components and subassemblies for defense, industrial and consumer products. Kopin’s technology portfolio includes ultra-small Active-Matrix Liquid Crystal displays (AMLCD), Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCOS) displays and Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) displays, a variety of optics, and low-power ASICs. For more information, please visit Kopin’s website at www.kopin.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release may be considered “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), which are subject to the safe harbor created by such sections. Words such as “expects,” “believes,” “can,” “will,” “estimates,” and variations of such words and similar expressions, and the negatives thereof, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on any such “forward-looking statements,” which speak only as of the date made, and advise readers that these forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties, estimates, and assumptions by us that are difficult to predict. These forward-looking statements include statements with respect to our belief that successful execution of this new Army contract can fully enable the widespread implementation of new, user-centric dismounted soldier vision products that soldiers will adopt, and finally achieve the Army’s goal of fielding a fully digitized day and night soldier head-mounted visual information system; and our belief Kopin’s unique ability to not only develop the necessary optics, but also to create a specific microdisplay that is optimized for the application will allow us to succeed where others have been unable to fully address the Army’s needs. Various factors, some of which are beyond our control, could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, such forward-looking statements. All such forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, and whether made by us or on our behalf, are expressly qualified by these cautionary statements and any other cautionary statements that may accompany the forward-looking statements. In addition, we disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release, except as may otherwise be required by the federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements are only predictions, subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results could differ materially from those discussed. Important factors that could affect performance and cause results to differ materially from management’s expectations are described in Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors; Part II, Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations; and other parts of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 30, 2023, or as updated from time to time our Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
