What They Say
We published a press release from ViewSonic recently that highlighted the use of a Time of Flight sensor on its projectors to set the autofocus. We contacted the firm and conducted a short interview with the firm with a view to covering the technology in a Display Daily. Sadly, the firm decided after showing us some interesting graphics on what it is doing, and agreeing to send the presentation to us, that it didn’t want to share the presentation.
The firm told us that to get the best of the sensor, which is provided to speed-up the autofocus process to less than a second, you need to calibrate the system in production because of variability in the optics and focusing mechanism. The firm previously used cameras which took 3-5 seconds. They have some plans to develop the use of the sensor to support automatic horizontal keystone correction as well as autofocus. The ToF sensor also uses an accelerometer to detect movement, so that if the projector is moved, the system automatically re-calibrates.
What We Think
We asked if the depth sensor could be used for other purposes. For example, could you mask out a speaker or person in front of the screen? No, we heard, if you are worried about people walking in front of the projector, you should buy a UST device. Neither has the firm looked at the kind of research work that Microsoft was doing a few years ago to map a TV within a larger projection screen for more immersive gaming. (BR)
