Rain Technology is a display technology innovator that has created the world’s most advanced directional and switchable privacy display technology and licenses its IP to tier one manufacturers and supply chain partners of laptops and monitors, smartphones, point-of-sale systems (POS), ATMs, automotive displays, AR/VR devices, etc. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Rain Technology Chief Executive Officer Robert Ramsey to learn more about the company.
Robert Ramsey’s Background
What is Robert Ramsey’s background? Ramsey said:
“As CEO of Rain Technology, I lead operations, including customer project relations and technical team management of scientists and researchers. Together, we have more than 30 years of optics, photonics and display technology expertise and groundbreaking innovation in polarization management to deliver view angle control within proprietary optical stacks.”
“As a result, our milestones include:
— 691 patents filed and 465 patents granted in 153 invention families.
— First to commercialize Switchable Privacy to protect enterprises and consumers against visual hacking, snoopers, and shoulder surfers.
— First to commercialize No-Driver-Distraction to bridge the gap between infotainment and safe driving and meet evolving legislative safety standards.
— First to commercialize Display Screen Branding for off-axis branding by marketers in retail, ATM, point-of-sale (POS), automotive and consumer electronics.
— First to advance extended reality (XR) optics with Anamorphic-XR™, a patented optical engine for augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) glasses.
— 4+ million units shipped to date, starting with early adopters Lenovo and HP licenses, with further adoption by established manufacturing partners such as Datecs, Tianma, Emerging Display Technologies (EDT), Flytech, Innolux, IVO, AUO, Cheng Mei Materials Technology (CMMT), and more.
Prior to joining Rain Technology, I was a research scientist at Agile Photonics, a co-founded venture with research thrusts in nanophotonic display technologies, novel nanolithography methods, and IR quantum dot lasing devices. I have a BS in physics, BS in electrical engineering, and Ph.D. in applied physics from the University of Texas. My LinkedIn address is www.linkedin.com/in/robert-ramsey.”
Formation of Rain Technology
How did the idea for Rain Technology come together? Ramsey shared:
“The mission at Rain Technology is to deliver excellence in directional display technologies that optimize revenue potential for consumer electronics manufacturers and supply chain partners, while protecting their customers from fraud and identity theft.”
“A key differentiator is that Rain Technology is committed to demonstrating that science and research can drive value-added contribution to commoditized technology (mobile, tablet, laptop, ATM, POS and automotive).”
Favorite Memory
What has been Ramsey’s favorite memory working for the company so far? Ramsey reflected:
“The spark that ignited the creation of Rain Technology is probably my favorite memory, when the company was working on technology for 3D cinema and realized that the ability to block the viewing angles of light was applicable to privacy.”
Core Products
What are the company’s core products and features? Ramsey explained:
“Rain Technology is a display technology innovator. The company created the world’s most advanced directional and switchable privacy display technology and licenses its IP to tier one manufacturers and supply chain partners of laptops, tablets, monitors, smartphones, POS systems, ATMs, automotive displays, and AR/VR devices. Key brands include Switchable Privacy, No-Driver-Distraction, Display Screen Branding and Anamorphic-XR and benefit enterprise IT departments, marketers and consumers.”
“Rain Technology enables manufacturers, enterprises and consumers in the following use cases:
— Laptop and Monitors – available today; early adopters Lenovo and HP
— POS – available today; early adopter Datecs
— ATMs – available today
— Automotive – available today; early adopter Tianma
— Smartphones – OLED and LCD available today
— AR/VR/XR – under development; Anamorphic-XR technical papers published in 2024
Technically speaking, Rain Technology holds the patent for creating a thin, embedded proprietary layer within the liquid crystal module of a display screen. The patented approach is focused on directing and controlling the light coming out of the displays — and then making it more efficient. The design parameters are determined during panel manufacturing and activated by a hardware or software trigger, electronically switching a display from share mode to privacy mode to control the viewing angle. The technology can enable as little as 0.3% screen visibility from a 45° viewing angle. The static reflective design is compatible with standard OLED, LCD, mini-LED and micro-LED displays.”
Challenges Faced
What challenges have Ramsey and the team faced in building the company? Ramsey acknowledged:
“Switchable Privacy technology is constantly adapting to the threats on the relevant threat vector — displays and screens — and visual security and privacy of the information shown on these screens. As a solution that prevents visual hacking on displays, we regularly improve our technology to accommodate viewing angles that are appropriate to the environment in which the screen is placed (e.g., ATM, kiosk, mobile phone, monitor or automotive).”
“During the optical design phase, the display ‘mask’ is engineered to deliver maximum privacy at the optimal viewing angles to prevent unintended viewing of the display by blocking the light precisely to those locations. For instance, at an ATM, we may have a more narrow viewing cone while in privacy mode vs. a monitor. Additionally, we continually make progress to block an increased percentage of light, currently only allowing as low as 0.3% of light visible at a 45° viewing angle.”
“Another risk to the viability of these types of visual security solutions are degradation due to use and traffic within the physical environment. Rain Technology works with display manufacturers to ensure the highest standards for quality and durability are met in all types of physical environments.”
“Lastly, as displays may be viewed in different environmental conditions and amounts of light (e.g., day vs. nighttime viewing), Rain Technology has patented innovations in the backlight and the proprietary liquid crystal layer itself to mitigate these challenges presented by various physical environments.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of the company’s most significant milestones? Ramsey cited:
— 30+ years of optics and photonics expertise and groundbreaking innovation in polarization management to deliver view angle control within proprietary optical stacks.
— 691 patents filed and 465 patents granted in 153 invention families.
— 4+ million units shipped to date, starting with early adopters Lenovo and HP licenses, with further adoption by established manufacturing partners such as Datecs, Tianma, Emerging Display Technologies (EDT), Flytech, Innolux, IVO, AUO, Cheng Mei Materials Technology (CMMT), and more.
— 2003 – Rain Technology team develops RealD 3D cinema based on core polarization management technology.
— 2012 – Consumer division formed to focus on bringing 3D displays to the mobile marketplace.
— 2015 – Successful 3D technology demonstrators repurposed to deliver best-in-class privacy performance.
— 2017 – RealD ME spins out from RealD, first license sale to early adopters.
— 2018 – Lenovo launches T480S laptop with “Privacy Guard” e-privacy optical stacks.
— 2019 – Optovate acquisition boosts mini-LED and micro-LED capabilities. Second major license sale.
— 2020 – HP launches DragonFly laptop with “SureView Reflect” using enhanced e-privacy optical stacks.
— 2021 – HP launches multiple PC laptop and Chromebook SKUs; investments from Falcon and HPS to support company growth; name change to Rain Technology.
— 2022 – HP expands its SureView Reflect product line by adding additional screen sizes to its offering in Q1-Q2 2022.
— 2023 – First point-of-sale (POS) product shipments with Switchable Privacy display technology; announcement of Anamorphic-XR AR/VR technology.
— 2024 – First-of-its-kind, first-to-market, commercial launch of Switchable Privacy, Display Screen Branding, and No-Driver-Distraction.
Customer Success Stories
When asking Ramsey about customer success stories, he highlighted:
“To date, more than four million laptop/notebook units have shipped with Rain Technology display innovation, starting with early adopters, Lenovo and HP licenses, with further adoption by established manufacturing partners such as Datecs, Tianma, Emerging Display Technologies (EDT), Flytech, Innolux, IVO, AUO, Cheng Mei Materials Technology (CMMT), and more.”
“Rain Technology’s POS Switchable Privacy is a game changer in the POS market sector,” said Ivan Iliev, chief operating officer at partner Datecs, a leading manufacturer, developer and seller of POS solutions. “We are excited to be the first POS display company to offer Switchable Privacy to large retail chains that assures customer privacy while completing transactions. Plus, when idle, the Datecs POS display can electronically promote retailer branding.”
Total Addressable Market
What total addressable market (TAM) size is the company pursuing? Ramsey assessed:
— Laptops, Tablets and Monitors – Whether on laptop, phone or tablet, enterprises and consumers already recognize the need for better privacy and are adding privacy films to millions of devices every year. The market today for privacy films is over $1 billion and expected to double over the next five years. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the efforts to address visual privacy on devices today are via aftermarket films adhered to screens of devices post-sale and have no ability to be controlled by IT policy or software.
— Point-of-Sale (POS) – Customer and staff-operated POS terminal numbers are expanding rapidly, and those same customers are increasingly sensitive to their purchases and data being “visually hacked,” particularly when the POS terminals are placed close to each other. The POS terminal market size is estimated at $100.24 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach $151.97 billion by 2029, according to Mordor Intelligence. LexisNexis’ 2021 True Costs of Fraud study found the average U.S. retailer faced 1,515 fraud attempts each month in 2020, and nearly half of those attempts were successful.
— ATMs – With more than three million ATMs around the world and a global ATM market size estimated to reach $28 billion by 2026, shopping, dining and withdrawing cash puts consumers as well as merchants, retailers and bankers at risk. In the U.S., identity theft alone accounted for over $10 billion of losses in 2023 and is expected to grow at 14% annually.
— Automotive – In 2022, distracted driving claimed 3,308 lives and injured an estimated 289,310 people in the U.S, according to the NHTSA. The U.S. Department of Transportation has taken note and is currently driving the adoption of guidelines which would disable the use of many electronic capabilities installed by automotive manufacturers while the vehicle is in motion, unless they are intended for use by the passenger and cannot reasonably be accessed or seen by the driver. Similar regulations are under consideration in the European Union as well.
— Smartphones – Over half (54%) of the global population — some 4.3 billion people —now own a smartphone, according to the GSMA’s annual The State of Mobile Internet Connectivity Report 2024. The number of smartphones in use is growing at an annual rate of 2.5%, with 177 million new smartphones coming into use over the past 12 months. Tackling the new age of cybersecurity and shoulder surfing for consumers, Rain Technology is working with smartphone manufacturers to integrate its embedded Switchable Privacy technologies, ensuring peak performance in optical clarity, color and luminance, while providing privacy modes for optimal protection. OLED Switchable Privacy and LCD Switchable Privacy are currently available.
— AR/VR – Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technology has been hyped for decades, but it has yet to realize its potential. Yet companies like Apple and Meta have invested heavily in the market sector that is projected to hit $40.4 billion this year — and over $210 billion by 2030.
Differentiation From the Competition
What differentiates the company from its competition? Ramsey affirmed:
“Rain Technology differentiates itself from other companies in this market sector simply on expertise in optics, photonics and display technology, as evidenced by the breadth of patents filed and granted. The company offers first-of-its-kind and first-to-market innovations in advanced directional display technologies. Of note, rather than manufacturing displays, Rain Technology’s approach to display innovation is proof that optics and photonics research can drive value-add contributions to both commoditized and developing technology (across mobile, tablet, laptop, ATM, POS and automotive).”
Future Company Goals
What are some of the company’s future company goals? Ramsey concluded:
“The vision at Rain Technology is to be the recognized creator and leader of the world’s most advanced directional display technologies for laptops, tablets, monitors, smartphones, POS systems, ATMs, automotive displays, and AR/VR devices, and beyond. As technology advances, Rain Technology will continue to keep pace with new devices and platforms as well as embrace the evolution of standards in OLED, LCD, mini-LED and micro-LED displays.”
