Matchbox Sized Color Projectors?

Justin Nolan sent in a very brief link about ultra small projectors which says "Upstream Engineering is willing to provide miniature color video projectors for use with portable video player, travel TV, laptops and handhelds next year. Upstream's patented technology, called Photon Vacuum, maximizes the amount of photons sent to the target from the light source in a minimum space and allows the creation of devices free of a variety of components currently used in projectors that unnecessarily waste energy. Photon Vacuum enables the smallest projector designs in the world, ultimately to a size of matchbox. The company says is going to push the power consumption of the whole device ultimately to below 4 watts while still gaining a travel-TV sized color projection" You can also read Upstream's website for almost as little information.

Comments

Mirror from creators website

[Anonymous Coward]

The projector:
http://www.upstream.fi/index.html

The Technology
http://www.upstream.fi/technology.html

Upstream's unique and revolutionary technology, called Photon Vacuum, practically maximizes the amount of photons sent to the target from the light source in a minimum space. This is not an easy trick since the etendue law of light in physics requires more space for better efficiency. Our special technology enables us to get rid of a variety of components currently used in projectors that unnecessarily waste energy. The current table projectors extract typically only a few watts of light power out of 200W of input power.

Photon Vacuum enables the smallest projector designs in the world, ultimately to a size of matchbox. It is possible to push the power consumption of the whole device ultimately to below 4 watts while still gaining a travel-TV sized color projection. There are a myriad of possible applications for this technology.

First in the world, Upstream Engineering introduces a revolutionary optical technology that will enable video projection from matchbox-sized device running on batteries.

Our expertise covers all the necessary areas from micro-optics to low-power digital electronics. We design custom projectors based on our unique technology.

Re:Cost

[surstrmming]

The new Swedish "OptiLight" projector for should drive prices down later in 2004. It's expected to retail for $500.

Pocket projectors from other projects

[pacc]

Optics.org had an article
this summer about a pair of other pocket projector projects. These includes using an array of lasers to limit scanning or a single higher powered light-source. If 'pocket' is the only thing that matters you might also look into a development of normal bar-code scanners.

Dream on!

[Tchaik]

Do you actually believe that you can project a reasonable image with _4 watts_ of power? You need energy to create photons. Even with zero heat loss, you can't get a luminous image out of 4 watts. This is vaporware at best.

Re:Dream on!

[rco3]

Given: 4 watts of total consumption to achieve a travel-size TV projection.

Assume: 2 watts of that are dedicated to the generation of light for that projection.

Possibilities:

1) Use a white light source, which means (for that size and power level) white LEDs. Those are commercially available at 25 lumens/watt. This gives us 50 lumens, which will not make for a wall-sized image viewable except perhaps in pitch-black darkness. However, for a smaller image... say, 16"x12"? ... this is equivalent in brightness to an 1800-lumen projector making an 8' x 6' image. That's fairly bright...

By 2005, 60 lumens/watt white LEDs will be out of the lab and into the market. This allows for our hypothetical projector to realize 120 lumens, or roughly 1/10 the output power of an 1100 lumen projector. You could make a 32" x 24" (40" diagonal) image at the same brightness as that 1100 lumen projector makes an 8' x 6' image.

2) use multiple colored light sources, again LEDs. Most of the 'brightness' comes from the green, less from the red, least from the blue. You can assume 50 lumens / watt off the shelf right now, which probably means a 32" - 40" diagonal image from those 2 watts, at the same brightness as an 1100 lumen projector making an 8' x 6' image.

Conclusion: *current* technology allows for TV-sized images to be produced, at brightnesses similar to those of larger images from brighter projectors, from only 2 watts of input power to the optical source.

Sources: Don's LED Page.

Disclaimer: comment author has been an A/V professional since 1987, holds masters in EE.

Re:Cost

[MoonBuggy]

In the shop I work in we demo projectors regularly. 1000 lumens can be seen adequately when projected through a sheet of perspex onto a blue wall in full indoor lighting. On a proper white screen with the lights dimmed 700 lumens should be fine. Even better for lumen-optimisation is using it to project onto a sheet of paper from behind - looks like a nice flatscreen TV, very portable and doesn't depend on light conditions nearly so much.

If I were buying a proper projector for home cinema I'd go for 1900+ but something cheap and portable to show up charts or a slideshow of my graphic work would work fine with 700.