The phone with a projector • Hacker News Board

Re: The phone with a projector

#71

Post by [deleted] » Wed, May 02, 2012, 9:44 PM UTC

marcusf wrote: post #42

polshaw wrote: post #17

This is actually really neat. Another step along the 'phone is the only device you need' road. It would be great for quickly sharing stuff like a youtube video. Kids could use it to watch a movie in their room, or at a friend's, or grandma's. Similarly, it could be great for the travelling. I can see some really great augmented reality uses for this, provided there is enough developer interest. Don't scoff at it beca…

This does carry the hallmarks of disruption (in the true Christensen sense of the word). If I were a projector company, I'd invest heavily in designing low power projection chips to sell to handset makers / make phone-sized projects to integrate with handsets. Maybe that already exists (beyond this phone)? I have to say I'm not well read on the state of the art here.

[deleted]

Re: The phone with a projector

#72

Post by Schwolop » Thu, May 03, 2012, 1:26 AM UTC

Retric wrote: post #58

Schwolop wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd agree with this if it wasn't for wanting my contacts synchronised. That's enough of a reason to have a data plan on the phone for me. (I guess if someone did bite off this market, they could find a way around that.)

You mean like a USB charger that syncs with your PC.

Yes, but I think you'll agree that getting them over the air is better. However, this would be adequate, just not as good.

Re: The phone with a projector

#73

Post by Schwolop » Thu, May 03, 2012, 1:34 AM UTC

marcusf wrote: post #54

Schwolop wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a budding robot maker, I'd much rather they build a focus-less laser projector that's higher power and daylight visible. I don't give a rat's arse about handheld projection, but projectors on mobile robots are the future, and changing the focus of a regular beam projector on the fly by measuring the distance to the wall and then adjusting feels like a dodgy hack when I know there are laser devices in the market th…

Sounds cool. Are you working on anything in particular where you use a mobile projector today?

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3800926

I'm doing customer discovery/development at the moment before going too far into the actual prototyping. My current business model has changed a bit so the first product might end up being aimed at enterprises - essentially taking the top half of the robot platform described in that link and putting it in the middle of a conference table. The aim being to bring virtual conferencing, remote desktop assistance, and tele-presentations to the same level of efficacy as being there in person.

So the product lets you do things like background subtraction behind the presenter, then stitching their image into the actual presentation or screen. Simultaneously the presenter gets to see the augmented image on a nearby wall by way of the projector part (like a portable green-screen). If both sides of the communication have the device then you can do cool stuff like rotating the projector to simulate having one party actually in the room with the other party. Add to that gestural and voice-controlled interfaces and I think its a step change improvement from existing systems.

Re: The phone with a projector

#74

Post by instakill » Thu, May 03, 2012, 12:03 PM UTC

Projectors might be a bit gimmicky, but bundling certain functions into a phone's design can have drastic effects on a market. For instance, the most successful mobile phones in central Africa are those that have a torch and/or a radio, because that is what people in that area need. How many people will want a projector in a phone that will use it for serious business?