Date: Jan 02, 2012 Source: Company Data (
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New Technologies Enable 3D Passive Portable Projection Devices
SUNNYVALE, CA, Jan. 2, 2012 - SBG Labs today announced its DigiLens®-3D Light Engine for the fast growing Ultra-Portable projector display market. The new optical module combines Red Blue and Green LED or Laser light and is able to switch polarization at very high speed. This in turn allows 3D "Passive" projection using stylish low cost glasses instead of the current electronic glasses sold today costing up to $200 each and requiring constant recharge. Initially, SBG Labs is targeting the rapidly emerging smart phone portable video player requirement for LED illuminated "companion" HDTV projection.
DigiLens®-3D Light Engine is a radical departure from industry standard lenses and mirrors, offering not only superior efficiency and miniaturization but also software controllable 3D stereo projection. Immersive 3D technology has evolved dramatically from the days of red and blue cardboard glasses. New 3D technology is redefining entertainment, offering viewers a truly immersive, high-definition experience. SBG is already collaborating with leading Japanese and Taiwanese manufacturers to combine the revolutionary LED light collection system with DLP microdisplays. DLP technology uses millions of microscopic, digital mirrors that reflect light to create a stunning picture for the best projectors on the market. This imaging technology is so fast, it can actually produce TWO images on the screen at the same time: One for the "left" eye and one for the "right" eye. Then 3D glasses combine the two images to create an amazing 3D effect. The DigiLens®-3D Light Engine can be configured into many types of low-cost, small, lightweight projection displays. Dr. Jonathan Waldern, SBG Labs founder and CTO, commented, "With the explosion in portable video content on smart phones, the chief consumer electronics companies (our customers) are gearing up for a major expansion of 3D technology into consumer homes. This advancement makes 3D technology and content widely available and increasingly added as a "standard feature" to higher end models. SBG's new light engine is not only brighter, it offers several new software controllable features like 3D that only electro-optics can. It advances passive 3D and enables low cost large group audiences in the two largest projection segments, Education and Business.
According to leading industry analyst Insight Media, "reduced lumen projectors," i.e. those with lumen outputs of 35 to 700+ lumens over the 2008-2013 time frame, "represent one of the best opportunities for unit and revenue growth in the projection industry." LED and laser sources will supplant lamp-based projection systems where industry leaders like Samsung have already committed to exclusively use only LEDs in future display products and have taken a leadership role by launching their 5mm thin LED/LCD panels at CES2009.
A recent Texas Instruments DLP study conducted by Impulse Research, surveyed 500 K-12 educators across the U.S. on their thoughts about the use of 3D projectors in the classroom. The survey found that more than 60% of teachers think students would benefit from learning with a 3D projector, and 62% believe the majority of classroom lessons will be projected in 3D in less than 10 years. Furthermore, almost half of respondents think that using a 3D projector would make them better teachers, and 93% of teachers think that students would be interested in learning via projected 3D lessons. Today, teachers would be forced to pay $100-200 set of electronic glasses whereas the SBG solution does not increase the projector price but the glasses begin at $2-4 each -- a dramatic saving for a class of 30 students.
About SBG Labs Inc. Located in Silicon Valley, California, with worldwide distribution and support, SBG Labs Inc. is an optical technology company that has developed a revolutionary new electrically switchable holographic device called a Switchable Bragg Grating. The technology merges breakthroughs in material science and optical software processing by recording holographic optics into a unique electrically switchable, liquid crystal photopolymer. The switchable lens has broad applications in many everyday products, including displays, imaging devices, optical switches and LED consumer lighting.
