Pico Projector companies

3M

Company description:

3M is fundamentally a science-based company, producing thousands of imaginative products: from health care and highway safety to office products and abrasives and adhesives. 3M has over $25 billion in sales annually, and are traded in the NYSU (ticker: MMM).

3M have an active pico-projection program, with 3 generations already released, all based on LCoS technology. 3M were one of the first companies to actually offer a pico projector, the MPro-110. In August 2009 they have released their 2nd generation projector, the MPro-120 (here's our review), and have recently added the MPro-150 (here's our review).

You can follow 3M Pico Projector news here.

3M's web site

10/05/2009

Asia Optical

Company description:

Asia Optical is based in Taiwan and is involved mainly with Optics: lasers, lenses, fiber optics, imaging, DVDs and more.

Asia Optical is working on both Laser-Beam-Steering projectors (making the modules for Microvision) and DLP based pico projectors.

Asia Optical's web site

02/02/2010

bTendo

Company description:

bTendo is an Israeli company (founded in 2006) working on laser-scanning/MEMS based Pico Projector modules - offering those to stand-alone projector makers or as an embeddable module inside mobile devices.

We have visited bTendo in May 2009, they have given us a nice demostration and a lot of info on their pojection modules...

bTendo's web site

04/06/2009

Coretronic

Company description:

Coretronic is a provider of projection and display solutions, based in Taiwan. Coretronic makes DLP projectors, and claims to have around 15% global market share.

Coretronic also has a subsidiary, Young Optics which makes pico projection modules based on TI's DLP chips.

Coretronic's web site

02/19/2009

Display Photonics Systems

Company description:

Display Photonics Systems (DPS) is a new start-up that has developed a new single-panel projection technology called Angular Color Projection (ACP). They claim that their solution is more efficient, brighter, smaller and cheaper than current solutions.

DPS has already been granted some patents and created a fully working prototype. They are now seeking funding to complete product development and create a pilot production line in China.

Here's more info about their ACP technology.

Display Photonics' web site

03/16/2010

Explay

Company description:

Explay was an Israeli start-up focused on Pico Projectors, and were bought by ADM (for only $555,000) towards the end of 2009. Explay were working on a pico-projector module , but also wanted to make standalone projector (to be called the OiO).

It's not clear what will happen to the company now that they have been bought, we'll have to wait for news from ADM.

Explay's web site

02/10/2009

Greenlight optics

Company description:

Greenlight Optics provides engineering services and products to help companies develop or integrate the latest picoprojector technology. They offer custom and off-the-shelf engines, concept evaluation, optical and system design, prototyping, production design, and manufacturing.

Greenlight optics web page

07/31/2009

Himax

Company description:

Himax Technologies is a fabless driver IC design company founded in 2001, Headquartered in Tainan, Taiwan.

Himax designs, develops, and markets complete driver IC solutions for various TFT-LCD applications. Himax has an LCOS pico-projector solution with USB interface.

Himax's web site

03/26/2009

Light Blue Optics

Company description:

Light Blue Optics is a UK based company working towards touch-enabled Holographic Laser Projection modules.

Their modules support WVGA-QVGA images at 10 lumens. LBO’s proprietary technology has an ultra-wide throw angle and the ability to correct for optical aberrations using software. These features enable LBO’s miniature projection systems to switch between conventional front projection onto a wall and a novel table-down projection mode where the device is placed on a table and the content is projected down onto the surface in front of it. They also incorporate a infra-red touch sensor.

In January 2010, LBO has announced their first product, the Light Touch.

LBO's web site

06/02/2009

Lite-On Technology

Company description:

Lite-On Technology (based in Taiwan) is a provider of innovative products including imaging products, enclosures, power supplies and LEDs. Lite-On has over 35,000 employees and 37 factories worldwide.

Lite-On is developing LCoS pico-projector modules and stand-alone projectors on an ODM basis. They hope to start shipping modules in Q2 or Q3 2010.

Lite-On's web site

01/21/2010

Luminus

Company description:

Luminus Devices develops and manufactures high performance, solid state lighting solutions for a variety of illumination applications. Their LED prodcuts are called 'PhlatLIght'.

PhlatLight LEDs can be used to light pico projectors. We know of two such devices: Samsung's Show mobile phone and the BenQ GP1. In February 2010 Luminus raised $19 million from Venture funds.

Luminus' web site

02/15/2009

Maradin

Company description:

Maradin is an Israeli startup company, working on miniaturized laser-diode projector (MLP), based on MEMS technology. The MLP enables the projection of true colored data, by raster scanning a low power laser beam, to achieve high resolution, video quality images.

Employment of MEMS technology enables the miniaturization of the projection platform without reduction in both resolution and quality, which adds up as a very attractive display technology.

Maradin is still in an early stage, hoping to have products (chips) ready by 2010. In May 2010, they announced that their chipset is "pre-production ready".

Check this report on Maradin we made in July 2009.

Maradin's web site

03/09/2009

Mezmeriz

Company description:

Mezmeriz (based in Ithaca, New York, USA) design and deliver MEMS mirror systems for use within a scanning laser pico projector. The company's carbon-fiber MEMS mirror systems are based on patented technology developed at Cornell University.

Mezmeriz are backed by several venture capital firms, and are currently working with development partners that will help them build and deliver embeddable pico-projector module to the market.

Mezmeriz's web site

03/12/2009