VR is more than goggles. RGB Laser Projection offers most immersive environments.

Thanks to Stewart Wills for the great article in Optics & Photonics magazine about The Wide World of (Consumer) Imaging.

In his article Stewart is recapping May's CLEO Conference (Twitter @CLEOConf ?) Executive Forum about imaging technologies. The topics of the session focused on the role of optics & photonics in "the wide world of consumer imaging". I read the article with anticipation. Image -in the form of projection technology- is being disrupted currently and is very much of interest to me. Laser light sources are replacing Xenon bulbs in projectors at an astounding rate in large venues including movie theaters. My anticipation was soon dashed as the emphasis seemed to be on Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR).

Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality are great applications but I don’t see how the CLEO session organizers could omit one of the most popular forms of consumer cmaging - Projection. It's not like millions of people flock to 160,000 movie theaters globally spending 100's of millions of dollars every week.

While Oculus, HTC, and Sony make great VR goggles, VR isn't exclusively the domain of VR Goggles. There are other imaging technologies in the consumer VR space– VR isn’t only goggles.

My bias is probably obvious. For clear disclosure, Power Technology makes laser light sources for large projectors that service cinema, VR, amusement parks and large venue markets. For the sake of clarity, I will only talk about the highest quality type of laser projection. This means RGB laser projection and not phosphor based projection is the focus of my thoughts.

One of the most important aspects of laser projection is very relevant to the discussion of Virtual Reality. Since laser projection produces the widest color gamut of any display technology, it produces the most lifelike image possible. How better to simulate a Virtual Reality but with the display technology that is most like real life. 

Radian Vision Systems, a company that focuses on measurement and testing light and color in optical systems was mentioned in the article. Color calibration of projectors and VR Goggles is a critical step in creating life like immersive environments. It was refreshing to see that the CLEO organizers though to include color calibration as part of the conversation.

 Jacob Mullins, manager of Shasta Ventures Camera Fund, foresees the biggest VR opportunities in the consumer market in the near term, with the enterprise market to follow later. This is an interesting contrast to the RGB laser illuminated projection market. With RGB laser projection, the enterprises markets are leading the charge. Markets like cinema, amusement park, simulation and large venue have been the first to adopt RGB laser projecton. The consumer markets, like board room and home theater, are expected to adopt RGB laser projection as price points are driven down by enterprise adoption.

Industry is adopting RGB projection technology first because it reduces operating cost significantly. RGB projection eliminates expensive Xenon bulbs that last 1000 hours and cost over $1000 each. RGB projection also reduces electrical consumption by up to 50%. Since Xenon bulbs draw 4-6kW the electrical savings add up quickly.

RGB laser projection technology is commercially available now. Older projectors can take advantage of the latest technology via upgrade options offered by Power Technology. Buying new projection equipment is not the only option if you want the most life-like environments possible in your immersive environments. If I can help you create these immersive environments, contact me or leave comments below.

Beyond a theoretical example, laser projection is well suited for CAVE style Virtual Reality environments. Power Technology offers a free white paper on the application of RGB laser projection in VR environments. It is written by the inventor of the CAVE VR environment, Dr. Carolina Cruz. Cave style VR uses three projectors to project on three walls and two projectors to project on the floor.

Send me your email if you would like a copy of the white paper.