Light Blue Optics Announces Joint Development Agreement with Thales

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Joint agreement to develop miniature projection display products for aerospace & defence applications.

LBO’s patented holographic laser projection technology ideally suited to safety critical applications.

CAMBRIDGE, UK

Light Blue Optics (LBO), the industry-leading developer of miniature projection systems, today announced a joint agreement to develop a range of display products with Thales, the world-class aerospace & defence company. Under the agreement, LBO will provide Thales with engineering samples of its miniature projection system in a collaboration to produce advanced displays that meet the high-performance and demanding safety requirements of cockpit applications.

LBO’s patented holographic laser projection technology delivers large, full-colour, high-quality video images in focus at all distances – even on curved or angled surfaces. LBO’s Director of Business Development and co-founder Dr. Edward Buckley explained, “LBO’s proprietary projection technology provides a range of benefits including exceptional levels of brightness and a robust, lightweight optical architecture that is highly tolerant to a range of microdisplay defects. Such differentiating advantages make our technology ideal for use in safety critical markets such as aerospace & defence and automotive.”

Bruno Vazzoler, Thales’ Vice President General Manager of Cockpit Interactive Solutions said, “At Thales, we are permanently looking for leading-edge technologies with ground-breaking capabilities, and are therefore delighted to announce this development agreement with Light Blue Optics. We have identified a range of early revenue opportunities for LBO’s technology and look forward to delivering these advances in display technology to customers in the near term.”

Light Blue Optics’ CEO, Dr. Chris Harris said, “This development is a strategic collaboration that will bring LBO’s unique command of holographic laser projection together with Thales’ unrivalled understanding of human interaction with information display systems. Coupling our flexibility with Thales’ tremendous engineering capacity opens up a range of near-term opportunities in aerospace & defence, and we anticipate it will form the basis of a long-term relationship.”

Notes to Editors:

Light Blue Optics (www.lightblueoptics.com)
Light Blue Optics (LBO) is a dynamic, privately-owned company, developing miniature projection systems.

LBO’s patented holographic laser projection technology delivers large, full colour, high-quality video images that remain in focus at all distances. The technology’s efficiency, small form factor, robustness and cost advantages make it ideally suited for deployment in multiple markets including automotive, digital signage and consumer electronics.

LBO is funded by a group of investors including 3i plc, the FTSE 100 listed global venture capital firm.

For further information, please contact:

Light Blue Optics:
Tamara Roukaerts
Marketing Manager
+44 (0)1223 421063
tamara.roukaerts@lightblueoptics.com

About Thales (www.thalesgroup.com)
Thales is a leading international electronics and systems group serving defence, aerospace and security markets worldwide, supported by a comprehensive services offering. Thales offers a capability unmatched in Europe to develop and deploy critical information systems. Thales employs 70,000 people in 50 countries and generated revenues of € 10.3 billion in 2006.

For further information, please contact:

Natasha Harvey, Thales
+33 (0)1 34 81 40 50