Technical / Research

A researcher from the National Taiwan University has created a new pico-projector and camera setup. They have combined the two into a gadget that can be powered by a standard lamp socket. As we've seen before in such combinations, the camera can track objects and hand gestures. They have also added pressure sensors to the desk, so they know how hard the user is pressing.

LG has filed a patent called “Mobile terminal with image projection”. It's a system that allows a gesture/touch user interface on a projected image. The idea is a system that identifies a pointer (finger), the shadow of the finger on the projected image and the distance between those two. When you touch something on the image, the distance is shorter - and thus you have a 'touch event'. Gesture interface is done similarly.

Researchers from the Japanese National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) have created a new 3D hologram table that can be viewed from 120-degrees (although the researchers say that they can take this to 360-degrees). They have used convex mirrors and an impressive range of 96 (!) pico-projectors (they are using 3M's old MPro-110 projectors) in order to create this.

The images themselves are low resolution, and only 5 centimeters high.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a $50,000 SBIR phase 1 grant for Mezmeriz, to develop their carbon-fiber MEMS laser pico projector. This is actually a continuation of an earlier grant of $150,000 from earlier this year.

Syndiant is introducing a new display controller ASIC for pico-projector - the SYA1022. The new ASIC provides more functionality, better power efficiency and lower production cost - and is also smaller than the previous controller (the SYA1012). Syndiant is already shipping samples to several companies. Production quantities will be available in September 2010.

The controller combines the control and frame buffer in a small 9x9 mm package so no external memory is required. Additionally, the SYA1022 supports all of Syndiant’s LCOS display panels, from 854x480 pixel Wide-VGA up through and including Syndiant’s industry leading SYL2061 1024x600 pixel Wide SVGA panel.

Remember the LuminAR project? It just won $15,000 from Audi, as part of their Tony Stark Innovation Challenge. The money will be used to further development of this interesting project. Hopefully it'll help these guys get someone interested in actually commercializing this. Here's the video showing what's LumiAR is all about:

LuminAR is a project from MIT that "reinvents the traditional incandescent bulb and desk lamp, evolving them into a new category of robotic, digital information devices". The LuminAR Bulb combines a Pico-projector, camera, and wireless computer in a compact form factor. It has a gestural user interface, and just-in-time projected information.

Nichia's green laser for pico-projectors is ready, and the company will start shipping samples in August. They plan to start volume production in summer 2011. The oscillation wavelength of the laser is 510nm, which is a little short for green color, but Nichia claims that the laser looks green.

Nichia says that their laser directly emits green light (as opposed to infrared with a second harmonic generation or blue laser converted to green using fluorescent materials). So the diode is smaller than what's currently available.