ST to develop picoprojector for smartphones with bTendo

Using two micromachined mirrors to create world's smallest projection engine

By Nick Flaherty

STMicroelectronics is working with bTendo of Israel to jointly develop the world’s smallest Pico Projector for smart phones and other portable consumer-electronics devices. The solution is based on bTendo’s Scanning Laser Projection engine technology and ST’s MEMS (Micro-Electro Mechanical Systems) expertise, video processing know-how and semiconductor process technology.

Less than 2.5cm³ in volume and below 6mm high, the jointly developed embedded projector solution will offer a focus free, vivid colour, sharp and crisp image, superior to current pico projection solutions, says ST. With two MEMS-based micro-mirror-actuation devices within the system’s optical engine and an advanced video-processing chip, the engine is optimized for smart phones, offering low power consumption and built-in support for MIPI (Mobile Industry Processor Interface) to ensure swift and easy integration.

“People want to share their media with others and enjoy the option of expanding their display even for their own personal viewing,” said Benedetto Vigna, Group Vice President and General Manager, MEMS, Sensor and High-Performance Analog Division at ST. “ST selected bTendo’s technology due to its small size, low power and focus-free features, which are all critical for embedded projection modules. ST has a long history in the development of innovative technologies and this joint cooperation will further extend our MEMS sensor expertise, while also complementing and reinforcing our leadership in MEMS gyroscopes and accelerometers for advanced user interfaces."

“We are very excited to collaborate with STMicroelectronics, the world leader in MEMS technologies for mobile handsets, to bring to the market our cutting-edge technology for embedded Pico Projectors,” said Dana Gross, CEO of bTendo Ltd. “ST’s best-in-class semiconductor process technology and design capabilities will enable a cost-effective, low-power solution perfect for personal consumer devices.”

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Pico projector market booms

Shipments of embedded pico projectors will rise to more than 3 million units in 2013, up from less than 50,000 units this year says market researcher iSuppli, a sixtyfold increase driven by the rise in portable multimedia devices.
It defines pico projectors as front projectors weighing less than 2 pounds—or about 0.9 kilograms—and sized at less than 60 cubic inches—or about 983 cubic centimeters—without a battery pack. Despite their small sizes, pico projectors produce large displays, with some products capable of showing bright, 50-inch diagonal images on a wall or other surface.
This combination of small physical size and large image makes embedded pico projectors a perfect fit for space-constrained mobile devices.

“Mobile electronic devices offer consumers and corporate users the portability they desire, causing an increasing number of users to employ products like smart phones and netbook PCs as their primary platforms for computing and Internet access,” said Sanju Khatri, principal analyst, signage/projection, for iSuppli. “However, a major obstacle blocking the use of mobile devices in this fashion has been their tiny displays relative to desktop PCs. Embedded pico projectors promise to enlarge these displays, making mobile devices more capable as primary computing and Internet-access platforms.”

Pico projectors are likely to find initial acceptance in the corporate market, allowing businesspeople to make presentations directly from their mobile PCs, smart phones or PDAs. However, they also have a strong allure to consumers, allowing large-sized display of video, Internet sites and applications.
Smart phones
Smart phones represent a promising market for embedded pico projectors. Samsung Electronics fired the starting gun for this area with the unveiling of its Show smart phone at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January. The Show, which presently is only being sold in South Korea, employs Texas Instruments Inc.’s Digital Light Processing (DLP) projection technology. Other smart phones equipped with pico-projectors are likely to be introduced soon.
Besides DLP and other Microelectromechanical System (MEMS) display technologies, Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCOS) technology shows equally strong promise in the embedded pico projector market.
Digital cameras
In an example of the use of LCOS, Nikon announced it will ship in September its Coolpix S1000pj digital camera, which employs pico projection technology for the display of pictures and video.
While iSuppli predicts fast growth for embedded pico projectors, they still will account for a tiny fraction of overall mobile device shipments through 2013.

“The growth potential for embedded pico projectors will be limited during the next few years due to challenges in areas including power consumption, size and manufacturing,” Khatri said. “As these issues are resolved, pico projectors will appear in many more mobile electronics devices.”

Handheld projectors for mobile phones

A post from the Embedded blog shows how displays are evolving to provide high resolution outputs for mobile phones