Panasonic shows off new 100-lumen, 7.5mm-thick laser projector prototype

It may look like the alien machines from the Steven Spielberg movie War of the Worlds, but this little optical imaging unit aka OIU (which is just a fancy name for a laser projector) claims to be the slimmest 100 lumen laser projector in the world. Created by Panasonic, the OIU was shown off at the CEATEC 2012 albeit in a prototype form. According to stats released by the company, the tiny projector can beam pictures in 800 x 480 resolution with a 100-lumen brightness. What’s truly amazing is that this pint sized projector measures just 7.5 mm thick and could actually beam out a much higher res picture by the time it makes its way into the consumer’s hands.

Panasonic unveils new optical imaging unit at CEATEC 2012

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Panasonic unveils new optical imaging unit at CEATEC 2012

Panasonic unveils new optical imaging unit at CEATEC 2012

The other device shown off by the company at the event was a scan-type OIU that beams out a 400 x 300 resolution picture which may actually see the technology being shrunk down even further for use in mobile phones. Since it doesn’t need to pass the light beam through an LCD filter, the extraordinary projector doesn’t need to take any time to focus and uses a single beam to scan the image. Panasonic has not yet revealed much information about when this tiny projector would be made available for retail though it is almost certain that we would see a few more steps in the projector’s evolution before it is seen in stores. Panasonic has also not revealed the pricing scheme for the device.

Via: Engadget