Microvision Signs VAR Agreement with Liberty Aerospace; Companies Offer Head-up Display for Two-Seat General Aviation Aircraft

Business Wire, August 15, 2002

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

BOTHELL, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 15, 2002

Microvision, Inc. (Nasdaq:MVIS), a leader in light scanning technologies for personal displays and imaging solutions, today announced that it has signed an agreement with Liberty Aerospace, Inc. of Montrose, Colorado to resell the Nomad Personal Flight System.

Liberty Aerospace, www.libertyaircraft.com, is an emerging leader in the design and manufacture of two seat general aviation aircraft.

Liberty Aerospace will offer the Nomad Personal Flight System as a wearable, see-through, sunlight-readable, head-up display (HUD) within their newly released XL-2, a two seat touring aircraft that has been specifically designed to meet the needs of the private owner/pilot. The XL-2 has been heavily featured by leading general aviation trade publications as one of the most exciting new additions to the general aviation community. Utilizing the head-worn Nomad Personal Display as a HUD, coupled with a full Electronic Flight Instrument System (EFIS), pilots of the XL-2 will have a back-up system for the primary flight instrumentation. The Nomad System consists of the PCFLIGHTSYSTEMS attitude reference module and software coupled with a GPS receiver. The entire Nomad Personal Flight System operates independently of the avionics on the aircraft.

The Nomad System will be featured by Liberty Aerospace in their upcoming tour of the United States where pilots will be able to "test" fly the XL-2. The USA tour begins in mid-August in Atlanta, and continues through October. The route and sign-up information can be found on the Liberty Aerospace web site at http://www.libertyaircraft.com/shows/shows.htm

"Our partnership with Liberty Aerospace represents a truly historic event," stated Bruce Westcoat, Aerospace Marketing Manager for Microvision. "This is the first time in aviation history to our knowledge that a general aviation aircraft manufacturer has included a head-up display system as part of the aircraft's purchase offering. Liberty Aerospace's customers benefit because the Nomad System acts not only as a backup avionics system but also improves situational awareness for pilots by allowing them to pay more attention to the environment outside the aircraft.

With steady increases in air traffic, controlled airspace, and overall pilot workloads, we expect to see growing demand in the general aviation market for the Nomad System because of its important potential safety benefits," concluded Westcoat.

Ken Starnes, Liberty Aircraft Vice President, Sales & Marketing stated, "We at Liberty Aerospace are pleased and excited to be the first general aviation manufacturer to offer the Nomad Personal Flight System as a factory option in new airplanes. We believe the Nomad System gives our customers an added dimension of safety and situational awareness."

Microvision's aerospace sales and marketing team is currently marketing the Nomad Personal Display System to potential value added resellers, OEMs and private pilots within the general aviation market. The company recently featured the Nomad Personal Flight System at the EAA Airventure Exposition in Oshkosh, Wisconsin and received overwhelmingly positive responses. Microvision presently has agreements with seven value added aerospace resellers for the Nomad Personal Display System.

Based on Microvision's patented light scanning technology, the recently introduced Nomad Personal Display System is a high-resolution, head-worn display that presents images and information to the user on a see-through virtual 17-inch screen. This unique precision display instrument enables hands-free access to information such as diagrams, instrumentation, maintenance records, moving maps and interactive training manuals, superimposing the information on the user's view and creating "augmented vision." The Nomad System features full daylight-readability, allowing users to view high contrast images in even challenging ambient lighting conditions. High quality, Super VGA resolution makes the Nomad System immediately compatible with a broad range of existing applications and content.

By enabling users to merge their information space with their work-space, the Nomad System brings critical information to the point of task. From flight paths to factory floors, surgical suites, and more, the Nomad System can deliver major improvements in productivity, quality and safety for virtually any type of manual task. The company is targeting applications for workers in four vertical markets -- industrial, aerospace, medical, and military -- that enable customers to keep information in front of people engaged in manual tasks or on the move, allowing access to information at the point of task and information, anywhere. The Nomad System retails for approximately $12,000 and is distributed through the company's value added resellers network.

About Microvision

The company, located on the web at www.microvision.com is headquartered in Bothell, Washington. Microvision Inc. is the developer of the patented retinal scanning display technology and a world leader in micro miniature optical scanning technology for display and imaging applications. The company's technology has applications in a broad range of military, medical, industrial, professional and consumer information products. Nomad is a trademark of Microvision, Inc.