PowerPoint Projected From Your Cell Phone?PowerPoint Projected From Your Cell Phone?

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicon Technology in Germany are working on a tiny digital projector small enough to fit in a cell phone.

They've already built a functioning prototype based on a laser beam flashed at a tilting micromirror that builds up the picture at a resolution of 320 by 240 pixels line by line at high speed. The mirror measures just 1.5 millimeters in diameter, and could be mass-produced on a microchip.

The microprocessor constantly monitors the projection, and makes corrections with a backup laser if there are errors caused by moving the projector or vibrations.

The prototype is currently too large to be lifted by a single rat or fit inside a cell phone. It also projects only red light, as current technology enables only red laser light to be bright enough. The future device will eventually be no larger than a cube of sugar (mmmmmm, sugar...) and project the full spectrum of colors.

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