TI had a suite in Central Hall at CES 2017 where they showed off mostly customer-based products using DLP chip sets, plus other components. We focused on their HUDs, AR/VR headsets and projectors.
HUDs
TI has shown HUD demos like this in their suites for several years. Such displays need to be very bright to be visible in daylight and the unpolarized nature of DLP offers an advantage in efficiency here (including the ability to use the HUD with polarized sunglasses). Efficiency is not so much about electrical consumption, but thermal management of the light source. Care must also be taken regarding sunlight going back down the optical path and heating thing up from that direction. HUDs are a challenging technology.
TI seems to have evolved its design a bit. Now, they create an image on a screen, which is then projected off the windshield to create a virtual image. This helps to mitigate the ‘sun down the barrel’ problem. Overall, the system is 8% efficient.
Powering the HUD is a 0.3” DMD but this is not the new TRP design as it must be very rugged for automotive applications. The Field of View is 10 x 5 degrees with a focal distance of 7 meters (although TI says they can design it to be in the range of 2 to 20 meters). The demo looked bright and crisp with a good eyebox.
The company says there is a lot of activity in this area and they hope to make an announcement soon regarding a design win.
We also saw the aftermarket HUD developed by NAVDI. We were told to expect some news in this area soon as well.
AR/VR Headsets
I was surprised to see a Vuzix Blade 3000 Smart Glasses set in the suite, but there it was. It uses a 0.2” WVGA (854×480) DLP chip and is packaged in an eyeglasses form factor for AR applications. It will apparently be available in monocular or binocular form factors and Vuzix reports it should start shipping soon. This is a waveguide type design.
At Digital Experience, I also tried on another DLP based headset – the Glyph device from Avegant. This is a 1280×720 resolution binocular design that is NOT an immersive type – that is you can look up or down while wearing the headset. Nominally, this should be good for watching movies or doing other tasks where connection to the outside world is desirable.
Personally, I want to try using these on my next airplane trip. I have a hard time working on my laptop in coach, especially if the guy in front of my pushes his seat back. I am thinking this headset might be great as a monitor so I can still look down at my keyboard but get a decent image. I’ll have to contact them about that.
Projectors
TI showed a number of customer projector models in the suite, some of which I had not seen before. They usually try to showcase new or unusual items.
For example, the LG PH450 ultra short throw pico projector is billed as the smallest UST. It is a 720p model with a built-in HD TV tuner. The xGimi H1 is a smart home theater projector in a cube form factor that uses TI’s 0.47” 1080p chip and has built-in Bluetooth enabled speakers. The JmGO P2 is a portable pico in a tube form factor with 720p resolution and integrated speakers. There was also a phone/projector product as well. – CC
