jectors and is expected to retail for about
$430.
Light Blue Optics (LBO), a startup in
Cambridge, UK, recently secured another
$15 million in funding for its holographic
laser projection technology. With its system, a diffraction pattern of the desired
2-D image is calculated using patented
holographic algorithms, then shown on an
LCoS microdisplay. When illuminated by
coherent laser light, the desired 2-D image
is projected. Three techniques, two proprietary, are used to remove speckle and improve the image.
LBO’s “cool” factor lies in its ability to
turn the projected image into a touch
screen via an infrared beam – invisible to
the eye, superimposed over the projected
image – and a sensor that detects when
and where the image is touched.
LBO announced in June that its first
product will be released to OEM customers in the fourth quarter of 2009.
The WWW.Brighter.Eu (World Wide
Welfare: High Brightness Semiconductor
Lasers for Generic Use) Project aims to
push the limits of current laser diode technology toward high brightness for health
care, telecommunications and displays such
Light Blue Optics’ laser technology turns the
projected image into a touch screen. Courtesy of
Light Blue Optics Ltd.
as mobile projectors, head-up displays and
rear-projection TVs. The € 16.2 million program, a consortium of 23 companies and
research institutions, began in 2006 with
€ 9. 7 million in European Union funding.
It is scheduled to end in January 2010.
Over the course of the project, Brighter
announced a series of firsts in lab-based
records for red, infrared and green lasers.
In the coming months, the red and green
laser modules will be tested for display
application feasibility. The goal is to create devices featuring the technology over
the next two to five years.
Late last year TI began selling a DLP
Pico projector development kit, called DLP
Discovery, that allows developers to incorporate DLP into emerging applications.
“The open source community is using
the Pico kit in a variety of interesting
ways: for example, 3-D optical measurement systems and augmented reality overlay of information,” said Arun Chhabra,
business development manager of DLP
Embedded at TI. Based on feedback from
developers, he said, “We plan to introduce
kits that are targeted at more specific application areas” to accelerate experimenta-tion-to-development time.
“Stay tuned over the next six months
for exciting developments on this front,”
he added.
Microvision also is working with OEMs
to design products that embed its PicoP,
which is about the size of an Andes chocolate mint. Those products might be introduced in 2010 or 2011, Nichols said.
melinda.rose@laurin.com
Make the Impossible, Possible
With Newport Replicated Mirrors
Need to minimize system cost? Locate a mirror in an otherwise inaccessible
location? Design the exact optical instrument you want? Newport Opticon
Replicated Mirrors can help you accomplish these seemingly impossible missions
and more.
A great alternative to conventional optics, these mirrors are typically made
of low-cost metal and ceramic substrates, providing both the design and
manufacturing flexibility to:
• Reduce instrument weight and size
• Increase instrument stability
• Improve ease of assembly
• Drive down instrument costs
Newport’s Opticon Mirror Products team has many years of experience designing
and manufacturing creative solutions for OEM applications. To see what’s possible,
visit us at
www.
newportfranklin.com or call 1-800-598-6783.
©2009 Newport Corporation
