 |
Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
|
 |
Explay Nano Projector Pocket Display
The Explay nano-projector engine, a matchbook-sized projector, has been successfully tested. Science fiction Grandmaster Jack Vance would be pleased.

(Explay nano-projector engine)
The display is under development by Kopin Corporation in cooperation with ExPlay. Kopin provides microdisplays for military and industrial buyers; ExPlay specializes in the consumer market. Dr. Bor-Yeu Tsaur, Kopins executive VP for display operations explains:
“A key requirement for a nano-projector is high brightness at low power consumption. We have engineered the display pixel technology to increase the effective optical aperture and transmission, which significantly increases optical efficiency. We believe our proprietary compact, highly transmissive microdisplay combined with a unique optical engine technology from Explay should enable an ultra-compact nano-projector.”
(Explay Matchbox-Size Nano-Projector Engine for Mobile Applications)
In addition to its small size, the ExPlay nano-projector is always focused, using its laser-based diffractive diffractive optical technology. The projected image can be as small as 7 inches diagonally, or as large as 35 inches. The displays are in full color.
Science fiction writers have been specifying this device for more than a generation. In his 1971 novel The Anome, Jack Vance wrote about a mysterious Earthman (Ifness) who used a remarkable display device.
Ifness drew from his pocket a tube of dull black metal an inch in diameter, four inches long. Along the flattened top a number of knobs caught the light and glittered in Ifness' hand. He made an adjustment, pointed the tube at the wall beside Etzwane, and projected a cone of light.
Etzwane had never seen a photograph so detailed. He glimpsed several views of the Corporation Plaza, then Ifness made new adjustments, sending a thousand images flickering against the wall.
(Read more about Jack Vance's pocket display projector)
For other science-fictional technologies that are now real, take a look at the Heliodisplay midair projector and the True 3D Plasma dispay (with real plasma!). I love these small projectors; when can I have one for my camera (to show pictures directly), for my daughter's iPod (that's one tiny screen - if I paid for the video content with allowance money, I should get to see it, right?) and for other stuff I haven't even thought of yet. What would you use it for? Thanks to writer & editor Dominic Brown for sending the tip for this item along with a quote and citation. Read a bit more about this device at ExPlay.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 7/2/2006)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.
| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 3 )
Related News Stories -
("
Display
")
iPhone Air Fulfils Jobs' Promise From 2007 - A Giant Screen!
'... oblongs were all over the floor and surfaces.' - Kazuo Ishiguro, 2021.
Transparent 4K OLED Wireless TV From LG
You will note that HG Wells also figured out the aspect ratio of the future!
DOTPad Braille Device Offers Live Access
Amazing tactile display.
Transparent MicroLED Screen From Samsung
Has Samsung nailed the Look of Things To Come?
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!)
is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for
the Invention Category that interests
you, the Glossary, the Invention
Timeline, or see what's New.
|
 |
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Natural Gait With Prosthetic Connected To Nervous System
'The leg was to function, in a way, as a servo-mechanism operated by Larry’s brain...'
Woman Marries Computer, Vonnegut's Dream Comes True
'Men are made of protoplasm... Lasts forever.'
Spidery 'Walk Me' Toyota Autonomous Wheel Chair Like Star Wars
Walk along with the emperor.
Dancing Robots Taught Dance Moves
'A clockwork figure would be the thing for you...'
Proof Of Robothood - Not A Person
'Who are you people? - Show 'em.'
Indonesian Clans Battle
'The observation vehicle was of that peculiar variety used in conveying a large number of people across rough terrain.'
The 'Last Mile' In China Crowded With Delivery Robots
Yes, it's a delivery robot. On wheels.
Tornyol Microdrone Kills Mosquitoes
'The real border was defended by... a swarm of quasi-independent aerostats.'
PLATO Spacecraft, Hunter Of Habitable Planets, Now Ready
'I ... set my automatic astronomical instruments to searching for a habitable planet.'
Factory Humanoid Robots Built By Humanoid Robots
'...haven't you a section of the factory where only robot labor is employed?'
iPhone Air Fulfils Jobs' Promise From 2007 - A Giant Screen!
'... oblongs were all over the floor and surfaces.'
ChatGPT Now Participates in Group Chats
'...the city was their laboratory in human psychology.'
iPhone Pocket All Sold Out!
'A long, strong, slender net...'
Did The Yautja Have These First?
What a marvel of ingenuity the little device was!
Jetson ONE Air Races Begin, Can Air Polo Be Far Behind?
'If you're one of those rarities who haven't attended a rocket-polo "carnage", let me tell you it's a colorful affair.'
Will Space Stations Have Large Interior Spaces Again?
'They filed clumsily into the battleroom, like children in a swimming pool for the first time, clinging to the handholds along the side.'
More SF in the News Stories
More Beyond Technovelgy science news stories
|
 |