Light Blue Optics

There seems to be some problems over at Light-Blue-Optics (LBO). Today we learned that the company's CEO Chris Harris left in August (and was replaced by Barak Maoz). The company's CFO, Stuart Darling, also left the company - just 5 months after he started working. Stuart says that he thought the company will start commercialization, but LBO has decided to halt these plans and return to an R&D-focused stage. Back in July 2010, Dr. Edward Buckley, LBO's Biz-Dev VP and co-founder left the company as well.

LBO light-touch

LBO's technology is based around a Holographic Laser Projector with a wide throw angle and also includes an infra-red touch sensor. Their first product, the Light-Touch can project 10" images and supports touch.

Light Blue Optics' Light Touch- the holographic laser projection (HLP) projector - passed through the FCC - which probably means it's coming to the US, hopefully soon. Originally LBO said that they will only offer it through OEMs and will not make it themselves - but perhaps plans have changed now. The light touch is a small touch-projector that can project images up to 10", and includes an infra-red sensor for the touch ability.

The Light Touch runs Adobe Flash Lite 3.1 for applications, has 2GB of internal memory and a micro-SD slot. It also includes Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, so applications that connect to the internet are possible. LBO think that the Light Touch is not just as a consumer device - it also can be used in retail spaces, the workplace and the home.

Opnext announced the HL45023TG: a new high-power, 60mW, 445nm blue laser diode for pico-projectors. The company claims that the new laser uses 30% less power than other blue lasers on the market. The HL45023TG comes in a 3.8mm package size and it performs with a small aspect ratio of 2.1, which is close to being the same aspect ratio as the red high power laser diode Opnext currently provides for pico projector applications. The HL45023TG will be available in sample quantities next month, and will be in mass production in April.

In their press release, Opnext reveals that Light-Blue-Optics are using their red lasers in their light-touch 10" touch-enabled pico-projector product.

A few weeks ago we reported about eye-safety in LBS projectors paper by Dr. Edward Buckly. The conclusion was that class-1 safety classification limits the brightness to 1 lumens, and class-2 to 17 lumens.

Now Dr. Edward has written another paper, this time analyzing the eye-safety of laser-based LCoS projectors. The results here show that class-1 safety will limit such projectors to 20 lumens, while Class two will be able to provide several hundred lumens. So a laser LCoS projector will be able to be a brighter than a LBS projector (although brightness perception is logarithmic, so it'll not be a 20x increase!).

Dr. Edward Buckly has written a paper in which he analyzes eye-safety in current laser-beam-steering projectors. Using the IEC 60825-1 standard he comes to the conclusion that class-1 safety classification limits the brightness to 1 lumens, and class-2 to 17 lumens.

Dr. Edward Buckley was Light-Blue-Optics' Biz-Dev VP and co-founder but left the company in July 2010. Back in 2009, we posted an interview with Dr. Edward.

Light Blue Optics (LBO) has raised $13 million, in one of the largest UK early-stage investments in 2010. LBO says they will use the money to develop the next-generation Light-Touch and Light Work (a dashboard display unit that projects data on a windshield). LBO also revealed that they're working with BMW on 'future applications'. Here's a nice hands-on demo of the Light-Touch:

LBO's technology is based around a Holographic Laser Projector with a wide throw angle and also includes an infra-red touch sensor. Their first product, the Light-Touch can project 10" images and supports touch. Back in 2009, we posted an interview with Dr. Edward, LBO's co-founder (Dr. Edward left the company in July 2010).

Dr. Edward Buckley, Light-Blue-Optics's Biz-Dev VP and co-founder has decided to leave the company. He's heading for Alces Technology, a new company based in Jackson, WY. Alces is developing a 1D MEMS-based microdisplay technology for high resolution laser-based projection applications.

Here's a short quote we got from Edward today: "I feel very privileged to have founded a company which grew from a demonstration on an optical bench at Cambridge University in 2003, all the way through to a hugely successful product launch at CES 2010. It has been very exciting watching the pico projector industry grow and I look forward to watching it fulfil its potential."

Back in 2009, we posted an interview with Dr. Edward. We wish him luck in his new venture!