Kopin Golden-i Video Headset

Kopin and Motorola recently announced a game-changing new wearable audio-video product called Golden-i™. IDE played a significant role in the development of the Golden-i™ platform, assisting Kopin with the design and development of the first generation product, which was demonstrated under NDA for the first time at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2008. The demonstration of this amazingly advanced Bluetooth video headset captured the imagination of several industry leading mobile communication device manufacturers, including Motorola and eventually lead to the joint venture development of the Motorola branded product.

This case study focuses on the first generation Golden-i™ project, which took a great idea and transformed it into an ergonomically comfortable, full functioning video headset with a compelling list of advance features:

• High quality 15" virtual color video display
• Full color high resolution streaming video over industry standard Bluetooth 2.0
• Simultaneous remote control of up to seven devices and/or networks
• Mini-USB port and removable Micro SD card capable of supporting up to 32GB of data
• Hands-free voice access to all digital information
• Broadcast programming and Internet services
• Bluetooth remote PC wake-up and establishment of WiFi or cellular link through a host device
• Ability to read e-mail messages and webpage content in most common languages

Kopin engaged IDE to be part of the Golden-i™ design and development team comprised of a handful of the best available independent design and engineering consultants. This team of top consultants worked closely with Kopin’s internal designers and engineers to design, develop and manufacture 10 working Golden-i™ headsets for the 2008 CES demo.

The development pace was intense to say the least, with IDE’s industrial design research kicking off in June 2007, just seven short months before the desired demonstration date. IDE began the project by addressing the myriad ergonomic challenges associated with a head wearable device. IDE was particularly well suited for this, having designed two (cabled) video HMDs, several generations of stereoscopic eyewear for StereoGraphics (now Real-D), and numerous audio headset devices for Plantronics and GN Netcom.

Ideation concepts and wearable mock-ups were generated at a furious pace allowing the design team to quickly review possible solutions with the Kopin team. Ideas flowed from all development team members and IDE was able to turn them into physical models literally overnight, using rapid prototyping.

Once the ergonomic and human factors solutions started to rise to the surface, the design team started generating aesthetic concepts while IDE’s mechanical engineering team worked on solutions for the articulating mechanisms. All of this activity moved forward concurrently with several major presentations and reviews with Kopin’s top management.

November 18, 2007, we received the ‘green flag’ from Kopin management to produce 10 full functioning prototypes for the January 2008 CES show. The team had just 13 weeks to complete the engineering, fabrication, fit-up and assembly of 44 custom tooled parts. IDE’s design team worked passionately, meeting with Kopin’s project manager almost every afternoon to achieve this very aggressive schedule. The product was successfully demonstrated at the show (under NDA) to potential Golden-i™ customers. In a little over a year from its debut, Kopin and Motorola have jointly announced the new Motorola Golden-i™.