Light Blue Optics launches interactive projector with touchscreen

 

 

 

 

Portable interactive projector turns any flat surface into a touch screen

Cambridge startup Light Blue Optics (LBO) has launched its first product, the Light Touch  interactive projector that turns any flat surface into a 10″ touch screen. Light Touch is a reference product and will be made available to Light Blue Optics’ OEM customers and other strategic partners. It uses LBO’s proprietary holographic laser projection technology (HLP), creating bright, high-quality WVGA resolution video images that are always in focus. HLP enables extremely wide throw angles, resulting in large images being created at close proximity to the projector’s aperture. It can also correct for distortion and optical aberrations in software, enabling novel table-top projection. A unique optical architecture delivers a Class 1 laser safety classification making HLP and devices that incorporate it eye safe.
It uses an infra-red touch sensing system that transforms the projected image into a virtual 10″ touch screen. The user can control the projector and interact with multimedia content and applications simply by touching the projected image. It runs Adobe Flash Lite 3.1, leveraging a large existing developer community and enabling the rapid development of innovative applications. WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity enable device to device communication and applications that connect directly to the internet such as social networking, multimedia sharing and electronic point of sale. Light Touch is equipped with 2GB of onboard Flash memory and has a Micro SD card slot that supports up to 32GB. Light Touch can be wall powered or battery operated, with a run-time of 2 hours before recharging is required.

Light Blue Optics’ CEO, Chris Harris said “At LBO, we believe that today’s consumer is no longer a passive viewer of multimedia content. People expect to engage, interact and share content and our first product enables them to do that in new and exciting ways. The opportunities for Light Touch extend beyond consumer electronics into retail spaces, the workplace and the home, profoundly changing the way people interact with multimedia content and the built environment. By enabling such diverse and compelling use cases, LBO aims to become the world’s leading supplier of miniature projection systems.”

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Portable laser projector company raises $15m

Cambridge mini-projector company Light Blue Optics has raised $15m to expand its range of laser-based pico projection systems. The money will enable LBO to accelerate its product development roadmap across multiple markets including automotive, industrial and consumer electronics. The Company’s first product – a projection engine suitable for integration into an accessory pico projector to sit in or alongside a smartphone – is scheduled for release to OEM customers in Q4 09.
A unique aspect of the projection system is it can be touch-enabled, meaning any flat surface such as a table can be instantly transformed into a touch-sensitive display, eliminating the need for a touch screen and allowing users to interact with multi-media content.

Light Blue Optics’ CEO, Dr. Chris Harris said “This $15 million financing round will enable LBO to accelerate its product development roadmap and address a wider range of applications. It’s a very exciting opportunity, not least in the consumer electronics space where the market for pico projectors has been forecast to exceed US$1 billion within 5 years. We now have the world-beating technology, experienced team and strong investor syndicate in place to realise that opportunity and become the world’s leading supplier of miniature projection systems.”

LBO showed its first product in June, a projection engine suitable for integration into an accessory pico projector. This is scheduled for release to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) in Q4 09.
The engine creates a bright, high-quality video and still WVGA – QVGA images, producing 10 lumens or more depending on the content shown. As the technology is laser-based, images remain in focus at all distances from the projector and the need for a focus wheel is eliminated. A unique optical architecture enables the systems to be safe under all conditions of normal use, meeting the most stringent Class 1 laser safety classification and opening up a range of high-volume applications in markets such as consumer electronics.
LBO’s proprietary technology has an ultra-wide throw angle and the ability to correct for optical aberrations using software. These features enable LBO’s miniature projection systems to switch between conventional front projection onto a wall and a novel table-down projection mode where the device is placed on a table and the content is projected down onto the surface in front of it. The user is then able to view and share content in a comfortable way, without needing to hold the projector steady in their hand for extended periods of time.
An additional product configuration allows the user to control the projector and interact with multimedia content simply by touching the projected image. Any flat surface such as a table can be instantly transformed into a touch-sensitive display, eliminating the need for a touch screen and opening up new opportunities in device, application and user-interface design.