Creative Projection

A collection of videos highlighting the fun and creative uses of projectors.

We caught a glimpse of pico projectors in use in the biking world back in 2011 when through the magic of the video they took, I was able to watch and admire a couple of Czech artists who took bike safety matters into their own hands using a pico projector. A reader alerted me to the fact that my two artists may have been inspired by the Lightlane Project belonging to Evan Gant and Alex Tee.more

The local pool hall is the place on the planet where another human might actually think I'm pretty smart in math. While a complete failure in algebra, my geometry skills are not too shabby. I usually know exactly how and where a ball should be hit. The problem is my hands and my eyes rarely do the bidding of my brainmore

With all eyes on New York City as world leaders met at the UN, protesters lit up the exterior wall of Bobst at NYU with images and messages that could not be ignored.more

Just when I thought I understood the needs of gamers in terms of projection purity I come across this video which features the coming together of smartphone, pico projector and tripod projector for casual gaming on the fly. While I was absorbing data on lag time and frame interpolation and trying to understand how to achieve projected gaming nirvana, LaserVR was creating Alpha Range a video projector and laser pointer game available exclusively for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. Looks like this throwback is providing a quick fix to happy iOS device users.

Samsung Galaxy Beam--the smartphone with the built in pico projector has finally hit the UK and is making its way toward markets here in the US...although we still don't know when.more

Microsoft researchers are using the Microvision Show WX laser pico in their PICOntrl project. This prototype has the pico projector directly control physical objects as well as to project the user interface and embedded control information to sensor units integrated with the device.

Projectors are a cornerstone of Googles "Goggles" project. These augmented reality glasses, still in the development phase, have been designed to allow the wearer to capture video , utilize apps and perform everything one usually does online.more

There is a lot of news coming out of Microsoft Research lately. This one reminds me of a product I covered in an earlier post. The Microsoft version pairs a pico projector with a Kinect motion controller and shoulder mounting device--wearable technology. The objective is to enable users to project onto any surface at any time for image interactivity.

In the beginning there were vinyl records and the DJ's who knew their every groove and subtle nuances. It's not just about the sound--it's a visual thing. One day the DJ community said "We need a way to manipulate music on our computers." Alas bestowed upon them was a way to use their vinyl turntables to control the digital music on their laptops. But every blessing carries a curse and for today's DJ's this current setup means that rather than focusing on their turntables, their eyes must be glued to their computer screens. Featured in this video is E.N.S's solution to this dilemma which uses a projector to transform the user interface and display it directly onto the mixing surface.

Here is another great video from TK labs featuring the Lightbeam "nomadic" pico projector. It's actually Microsoft Kinect paired with an AAXA L1 Pico Projector with the intent of creating a projector that can track and reorient the image it projects so that any surface can become suitable for display. Potentially anywhere will become fair game for projection. Make sure you don't miss the trick with the coffee mug at the end of the video.