A Finnish company Upstream Engineering says it has come up with a new, patented technology called "Photon Vacuum" which allows it to create a matchbox-sized video projector that can run on batteries, with power consumption ultimately below 4 W. This technology could have a major impact on the design of portable TV sets, video players and laptops when it is introduced next year.
Details on the technology are limited. Upstream Engineering's technology page says little: "Upstream's unique and revolutionary technology, called Photon Vacuum, practically maximizes the amount of photons sent to the target from the light source in a minimum space. This is not an easy trick since the etendue law of light in physics requires more space for better efficiency. Our special technology enables us to get rid of a variety of components currently used in projectors that unnecessarily waste energy. The current table projectors extract typically only a few watts of light power out of 200 W of input power."
To find out more about the company and applications for the project, visit the Upstream Engineering web site. I first learned about the matchbox TV projector from slashdot.org. Visit that site for a discussion about the technology.
