Microvision unveils tiny projector for mobile devices

There are monstrous projectors, run-of-the-mill renditions, small versions, and then there's ridiculously tiny ones, but we've got love for 'em all. It looks like Microvision tends to favor the diminutive kind, however, as the company is looking to showcase its "ultrathin, miniature full-color projection display" at next week's CES. Hoping to cram this bad boy into your next mobile phone, PDA, or other handheld gizmo, the firm is touting its incredibly small form factor as the next coming of mobile displays. Taking up the same amount of space as Apple's 2G Shuffle, the display can project "extremely sharp and vivid" imagery onto walls, bodies, screens, or skyscrapers, with a maximum image size "similar to a big screen plasma TV." Sure, we're fully aware of the sensationalism they're tossing in, but this type of development could refine mobile video and the ability to view it on a decent sized screen, so hopefully we'll catch a glimpse of this miniscule PJ in just a few days.

[Via Uber-Review]

[JoKeR @ Jan 5th 2007 1:21PM]

Is that a piece of chocolate on the left?

[byaah @ Jan 5th 2007 1:27PM]

Haha you're right, it does look like one of those "Andes" chocolates

[OiD @ Jan 5th 2007 1:35PM]

I hope for a CF SD variation for PDA/Cellphone devices xD. And yes thats chocolat

[iptydafu @ Jan 5th 2007 1:36PM]

Incorporate it into a PDA with an appropriately oriented keyboard, and laptops could start taking a nose-dive for the person on the go. -So long as they have something to project it on when they're going.

[jaded @ Jan 5th 2007 2:03PM]

Cool stuff indeed, but Microvision's forte is designing and building prototypes which give no indication of its ability to develop manufacturable designs which is what brings in the money.

This particular image doesn't show the huge stack of electronics required to drive and control the MEMS and lasers. Apple's 2G shuffle my ass. It also has a serious speckle problem which makes the image look like crap.

Also they don't tell you how much just the green laser costs. It will be quite a number of years before anything like this will come into the price range to be able to be stuffed into essentially a disposable cell phone. Call me back when they actually have signed a contract that guarantees them money. Until then its a pipe dream.

[Tai @ Jan 5th 2007 2:33PM]

Jaded, how much do green lasers cost?

[branko.milojic @ Jan 5th 2007 2:37PM]

would be great in these articles too find links as to "where" we can get more details / a contact to get prototypes.

oh and yes, iptydafu!
with the new size of PDA's, we could bring the size of a PDA to 50% being the battery, the rest of electronics, a tiny 3 or 4 inches OLED
bright and thin for normal use
with a folded keyboard (or the projected keabord a company created 2 or 3 years ago (project the keys on any surface and knows which you put your finger on)
with this projector for normal / laptop / video use.

indeed good pocketable full laptop.

[Aaron @ Jan 5th 2007 3:12PM]

Very cool, I'm excited to see where this goes. However I'd be much more excited if someone came up with something similar that could project into the air, making a truly portable screen. I wonder how long that'll take?

[snowglyder @ Jan 5th 2007 3:26PM]

branko.milojic,

What would be sweet is to have a pda with the new solid state hdd, and mix this projector with the projection keyboard tech for a project-able tablet pc. Oh man.... that would be sweeter than that Andes mint, and those are damn good!

[soopergooman @ Jan 5th 2007 3:33PM]

green laser are not as expensive as blue ones. :P I think these would be great for projecting porn en masse!!!!WOOT W00T PORNO!!!

[TIMMAH! @ Jan 5th 2007 3:59PM]

Actually this kinda brings up a good point. Why even have a LCD on a notebook. Why not just have a nice LED w/LCOS or DLP based projector in the keyboard/base unit. Your "monitor" would then be whatever vertical surface was place in front of the base unit.

[Peter Carpenter @ Jan 5th 2007 5:30PM]

why a PDA id be happy to have one the back of macbook screen

[jaded @ Jan 5th 2007 6:55PM]

I believe the green laser they are using was $6000 - $8000. The blue lasers are most definately cheaper. And considering that they have been busting balls for the last two months to get just one or two prototypes, don't expect to call up and order one.

[mozart533 @ Jan 5th 2007 11:04PM]

@jaded

Green laser diodes @ 350mw are much less than $2000. You can use a green laser of less power than that to do what they are doing. Blue lasers are not as bright as green (to human eyes, the green will appear brightest at the same power level), and blue lasers are (were?) much more expensive than green lasers at the moment.

[mozart533 @ Jan 5th 2007 11:08PM]

Also, you don't need a lot of huge electronic power supplies to power a green laser diode. Everything required for that small projector is probably inside it already.

[THEKorean @ Jan 6th 2007 4:41PM]

dosnt mean that LCD laptops are gonna die out, i mean how practicle is a laptop with a projector?, sure its small, but what if you want to use it in your car? at a coffe shop? outdoors? LAN party? Also, if its attached to a PDA that means you have to keep it PERFECTLY STILL while you type so the projected images dosnt shake on the wall, i mean who the heck types with their PDA on a flat surface (id much rather hold it in my hands with a LCD)

[Only Linux @ Jan 7th 2007 6:38PM]

THAT is my new heads-up display for my Honda Insight!

[unknwn @ Jan 7th 2007 8:06PM]

Putting these in cellphones would be a decent idea, but why? When us notebook buyers would have so much more use for a projector on-the-go.

TIMMAH!, Your comment defeats the main purpose of a notebook, they're intended for either work or gaming on the go, and most people don't want to display their work on a 50" screen for everyone to see.


And about those green lazers, they're anything But expensive. they cost about the same as a red one to produce.

I'm hoping that we're going to see these things for about 50$ in the next few years, as an option on notebooks and PDAs.

[jaded @ Jan 8th 2007 12:16PM]

Guys, you have to realize that the lasers required for doing this type of thing are NOT the same lasers you find in a stupid laser pointer or even a blu-ray player where all you have is on and off. This device essentially combines the three lasers to create what might be considered a white laser beam. The lasers are then modulated in RGB fashion to create colors, and the MEMS mirror scans the laser top to bottom, left and right to paint an image. The lasers are contantly changing at a very fast intervals.

Each of the red, green, and blue lasers must be infinitely adjustable from off to full power, and have that output perfectly repeatable, stable, and not change over the temperature range of the device. That is why these lasers cost more than you think, and that is why this product is not yet on the market. There is simply no green laser that meets the specifications required for a commercial product of this type. Microvision is working with a couple of laser manufacturers to develop something, but that takes a lot of time. The 6-8k laser is the best they have been able to do so far.

And as far as the extra electronics being all inside that little box? Fat chance. That little box holds the three lasers, some combining optics, and the MEMS mirror for scanning the spot. It is the control circtuitry that takes a video input and then controls the lasers, and drives the MEMS that takes a lot of space right now. Don't expect anything like this for quite a number of years from Microvision.

BTW, I used to work there and have seen the protoypes and the development of this product.

[punit @ Sep 4th 2007 5:10AM]

can i make it by own
can you help me