The future of this company has been demonstrated behind closed doors at this year's CES show.
The Picoprojector. Two. Cubic. Inches. "What may be the smallest front-projection system ever developed."
This astonishing breakthrough in package size/performance is due to the combination of new laser light sources from Novalux with the same super-miniature MEMS scanner that powers the Nomad, MicroHUD, Electronic View Finder, et al.
For the most part, the platform is built. The large majority of the huge cost of developing and miniaturizing the company's light-scanning platform is paid for. What's left is just the incremental cost to integrate the platform with different types of light sources and electronics to enable killer new applications like the Picoprojector, gaming glasses, wireless eyewear, etc.
This company had been waiting for a long time for suitable light sources for low-cost, full-color laser displays. Novalux is bringing those to the table.
The Picoprojector is the perfect application for Microvision to pursue for a few reasons:
1. Microvision's light-scanning platform uniquely enables a high-performance projector in a package size that no one has ever accomplished before. There's no backlight lamp as in every type of LCD display, burning batteries, and giving off heat. According to Digitimes, "it certainly seems possible to make the device even smaller [than two cubic inches], which would open up the possibility of projectors integrated into cameras, camcorders, portable media players and even mobile phones."
2. There are no ergonomic or social issues to deal with for a pocket-sized projector as compared to a head-mounted display. Billions of people own cell phones, and they just keep them in their pockets. Bring along your two-cubic-inch Picoprojector and you can display all the multimedia on your cell phone or PDA on any flat surface, through Bluetooth. This is the killer companion device to smartphones that run Windows Mobile 5.0. With a wireless fabric keyboard, like this one from Eleksen, you now have a totally portable computing system where the computer, the monitor and the keyboard can all fit in your pocket. This is a revolution. Bluetooth enables 'Body LANs'. Smartphones pack computing functions in tiny handheld packages. But you couldn't give a presentation to somebody, or share your content in a large format (or at all), before the advent of this device.
3. A Smartphone, a Picoprojector and a Fabric Keyboard. This is the computer of the second half of this decade. And it's not just for computing...an iPod or any personal media player with Bluetooth could stream your movies to your Picoprojector. How about a portable gaming console? Two. Cubic. Inches. Full color, and high performance. And heck, maybe there's something to that Mobile TV stuff after all...
With the Picoprojector and the development of the new light sources from Novalux, now we are starting to get into an area where the value of what the company's technology makes possible is really, truly compelling. The time is right. Video is going mobile. Everything is going wireless. But only Microvision can enable this kind of performance in such a tiny package size.
That's why we're here, with our Microvision stock. To own the rights to devices that no one else can come close to building, due to our incredible technology and competitive advantage. The content is there, the applications are there, there's no ergonomic issue about head mounted displays to contend with. Just a hugely compelling product that could easily be mass produced and sold by the hundreds of millions.
Have a great weekend everybody!
Also note the price projection mentioned by Novalux within this excerpt from July 2005:
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"Greg Niven of Novalux perhaps portended the competitive phase the illumination side of the industry is about to enter with some pretty caustic statements about the competition. In one fell swoop he rendered UHP lamps void of any (major) improvements going forward, and dismissed LED technology as too little, too late in adequately addressing the needs of projection. The laser advantages in projection were rattled off in a litany of slides with the most impressive being an etendue chart. Here, laser illumination showed a flat line for coupled energy efficiency at 95% for any MD size, against the traditional UHP lamp curve topping out at 60% on large etendue systems.
It was the cost savings review that really captured the interest of the audience beginning with the promise that the lasers themselves will be cheaper than a traditional UHP lamp. But that’s just the beginning according to Novalux. Lasers will enable completely new light engine designs eliminating major components in a traditional DLP system.
According to Niven, a laser illumination system in quantities of 1M/year will be < $75. Designers can use a single or separate RGB lasers depending on 1 or 3 panel systems and the lower etendue allows for cheaper projection optics. An RGB module for a 3 panel system eliminates the color wheel and cooling fan, is more efficient than a lamp, and since each color is “on” only 33% of the time, they yield longer life than traditional lamps. That’s compelling technology, not going unnoticed by the industry."
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http://www.insightmedia.info/emailblasts/07-05PMSummary.htm
HN
So glad I stumbled across your BLOG today. I have been following MVIS for about 4 years and have way more invested in it than is rational. But the technology is so compelling. There is so little MVIS information available out there that I am really enjoying going through your archives. The recent leadership turnover at MVIS is bound to have a major impact. Does anyone have a take on whether this is a change for the better or worse? Getting great technology to market will take great leadership. Do they have it?
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Hey Bkoz...
ReplyDeleteyou and me both!
this is a change for the better. in the words of one analyst, this is 'the best possible thing that could have happened to the company'.
thanks for reading!
I plan to stop by every day. At 62, I may be your oldest reader. Keep up the great work.
ReplyDeleteBKoz
Any photos and details of the picoprojector available online? Could someone post a link please?
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