Projector Glasses
While I give this idea away freely, here's what I'd like if you decide to make my idea come true.
- Be a beta tester
- 48 of the finished product
- 10 units every time there's a major upgrade
Crowding Around a Phone Screen is a Pain
You're sitting around a table with friends and want to share something on your phone with the group. Only about one third of your guests can see the phone at once. The remaining two thirds cannot share in the experience until the other guests pass the phone to them.
This poses several problems:
- You are distracted from telling your story as you facilitate phone passing
- Some of your guests can't immediately see what you're describing, reducing the impact and engagement of your story
- If the content you're sharing is a video, the previous two problems are exacerbated because each third of the table needs to view your phone longer
- Interacting with the phone is impractical because you're not in possession of it
Share Your Phone Screen With Projector Glasses
A small projector sitting atop the frames of your glasses that projects your screen onto the table or a wall. Now everyone at the table experiences the content at the same time. You tell your story without distraction. You can even interact with the content- swiping to between pictures or interacting with an app, enhancing the presentation experience for the guests.
Features
- Small and lightweight, it unobtrusively attaches to the frames of your glasses
- Press power button to instantly start projecting your screen
- Uses Miracast for Android phones and AirPlay for iPhones
- 45 minutes of battery life
Is It Feasible Today?
Probably not. Size, weight, brightness and battery life are likely the primary limiting factors with today's technology.
Projector size
The projector needs to be small enough to wear unobtrusively all day long. ¾" W x ¾" H is probably the upper limit for comfortable daily wearing.
Depth could help make this practical. The projector could likely run most of the length of the temple on the glasses- about 3.5". Plus, the projector likely needs to stick out from the glasses frame by about ¼" so the wearer doesn't see the glare of the projector.
This makes the total practical size ¾" W x ¾" H x 3.75" D.
The Kodak Luma 75 is among the smallest, commercially available "pico projectors" today. Its dimensions are 3.46” x 3.46” x 0.91”. Projector Glasses will have fewer components and a smaller battery, though, getting us closer to the practical size.
Luma parts removed or modified in Projector Glasses:
- Speakers and Earphone Jack Projector Glasses would rely on the phone's speakers
- MicroSD, USB, HDMI Ports Projector Glasses would use Wi-Fi to transfer video data. These large ports and associated chipsets are not necessary
- Physical Controls Projector Glasses are completely controlled by the phone, with the exception of a small power button. Skip, pause and other buttons found on the Luma 75 aren't needed
- Battery Size Projector Glasses intended to show pictures and short video clips. A 45 minutes of battery life should suffice. The Luma 75 offers 1.5 hours of battery life with a 2,800 mAh capacity (about half the capacity of modern cell phones). Projector Glasses could likely use a battery half the size of the Luma's battery.
Weight
Projector Glasses need to be light enough to be unobtrusive. Since they are on one side of the glasses only, they could make the glasses lopsided if the device is too heavy. The battery is the heaviest component.
Perhaps placing a second battery on the opposite temple could both balance out the glasses while extending the battery life. It will need a cable running across the glasses to connect the additional battery, though.
Battery life
Batteries will likely consume most of Projector Glasses' physical space. Given the device must be small and unobtrusive to the wearer, battery life may be a limiting factor.
Brightness
A projector's brightness is measured in ANSI Lumens. To project an image on a 10" screen, the projector needs about this many lumens, according to projector-maker BenQ:
- Dimly lit room 10 ANSI Lumens
- Brightly lit room 30 ANSI Lumens
- Outdoors 60 ANSI Lumens
As the screen size gets larger, the lumens required gets drastically larger. A 40" screen in a dimly lit room, for example, requires 100 lumens
The Kodak Luma 75 provides 35 ANSI Lumens. That should be enough to project onto a table in most environments. Projecting to a wall would require significantly more lumens, though.
Everyone Feels Included With Projector Glasses
No more passing around the phone to share what's on your screen. Now everyone in your party can share your media experience at the same time. Just aim your gaze at a table or wall and dazzle your friends and colleagues with your projector glasses!