Glowing images in glass, missile defense agency briefing on super imaging's technology
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rivers with poor eyesight may soon have technology in automobiles that will help them see a road’s edges or possible hazards more clearly, and shop owners may be able to display colorful images onto their store-front windows because of a projection system innovation. The system, developed by SuperImaging, Inc. (Fremont, CA), employs a specialized projector that directs invisible light onto glass that has been infused with nano- materials, which con- vert the wavelengths of invisible light into visible wavelengths, causing them to glow in every direction, creating an image. MDA originally funded SuperImaging (previously known as LS Technologies) through a 2004 Phase I SBIR contract to develop a high-performance image projector that would cre- ate simulations to test sen- sors as well as guidance, tracking, and navigation systems. Today, the company continues to fine-tune its product while pursuing commercial applications in the automotive and marketing industries. Its most devel- oped product, which it calls TransPlay™, has been licensed by General Motors. The car manufacturer took SuperImag- ing’s product and added its own software to develop a smart windshield that displays road markings similar to the pro- jected first-down yellow lines seen when watching televised football games. d Similarly, the military could use the same technology in its tanks, trucks, helicopters, and jets to help pilots and driv- ers avoid obstacles when environmental conditions create low visibility. TransPlay also has an application in directional signage, much like with GPS devices. Blinking arrows appear on the windshield, telling drivers where to turn or to go straight. While the technology has an advantage over GPS navigation aids, in that im- ages are displayed on the windshield as opposed to in a small device outside the driver’s field of vision, company officials do not anticipate the application to replace GPS products for a year or two because SuperImaging’s technology displays only in one color and without depicting the driver’s position on a map. The company believes its greatest commercial- ization potential lies in the retail signage market. Company developers envi- sion a final product that will allow shop owners, for example, to display large three-color advertise- ments, up to three meters square in size, on their store-front windows, or on display cases, such as in jewelry stores. “Companies have tremendous merchandizing expenses for their seasonal launches,” said Doug Bragdon, director of business development for SuperImaging. “If we’re a large clothing retailer and we’re coming out with a spring line or a new line of clothing, we have to send out new posters, new Tech Update Missile Defense Agency Fall 2009 www.mdatechnology.net D E P A R T M E N T O F D E F E N S E M I S S I L E D E F E N S E A G E N C Y continued on next page This article is reprinted from the MDA TechUpdate newsletter, a publication of the MDA Technology Applications program. This article does not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the Government; no official endorsement should be inferred. Glowing Images in Glass Projection system, nanomaterials create new driving aids, marketing tools. by Dale McGeehon/[email protected] s A visitor checks out technology by SuperImaging, Inc., which has devel- oped an application combining nanomaterials, clear glass, and a special projector. The system enables images to be emitted from glass in a 360- degree field of view.
Transcript of Glowing images in glass, missile defense agency briefing on super imaging's technology
rivers with poor eyesight may soon have technology in automobiles that will help them see a road’s edges or possible hazards more clearly, and shop owners may be
able to display colorful images onto their store-front windows because of a projection system innovation. The system, developed by SuperImaging, Inc. (Fremont, CA), employs a specialized projector that directs invisible light onto glass that has been infused with nano-materials, which con-vert the wavelengths of invisible light into visible wavelengths, causing them to glow in every direction, creating an image. MDA originally funded SuperImaging (previously known as LS Technologies) through a 2004 Phase I SBIR contract to develop a high-performance image projector that would cre-ate simulations to test sen-sors as well as guidance, tracking, and navigation systems. Today, the company continues to fine-tune its product while pursuing commercial applications in the automotive and marketing industries. Its most devel-oped product, which it calls TransPlay™, has been licensed by General Motors. The car manufacturer took SuperImag-ing’s product and added its own software to develop a smart windshield that displays road markings similar to the pro-jected first-down yellow lines seen when watching televised football games.
d Similarly, the military could use the same technology in its tanks, trucks, helicopters, and jets to help pilots and driv-ers avoid obstacles when environmental conditions create low visibility. TransPlay also has an application in directional signage, much like with GPS devices. Blinking arrows appear on the windshield, telling drivers where to turn or to go straight.
While the technology has an advantage over GPS navigation aids, in that im-ages are displayed on the windshield as opposed to in a small device outside the driver’s field of vision, company officials do not anticipate the application to replace GPS products for a year or two because SuperImaging’s technology displays only in one color and without depicting the driver’s position on a map. The company believes its greatest commercial-ization potential lies in the retail signage market. Company developers envi-sion a final product that will allow shop owners, for example, to display large three-color advertise-
ments, up to three meters square in size, on their store-front windows, or on display cases, such as in jewelry stores. “Companies have tremendous merchandizing expenses for their seasonal launches,” said Doug Bragdon, director of business development for SuperImaging. “If we’re a large clothing retailer and we’re coming out with a spring line or a new line of clothing, we have to send out new posters, new
TechUpdateMissile Defense Agency Fall 2009
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This article is reprinted from the MDA TechUpdate newsletter, a publication of the MDA Technology Applications program.This article does not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the Government; no official endorsement should be inferred.
Glowing Images in GlassProjection system, nanomaterials create new driving aids, marketing tools.
by Dale McGeehon/[email protected]
s A visitor checks out technology by SuperImaging, Inc., which has devel-oped an application combining nanomaterials, clear glass, and a special projector. The system enables images to be emitted from glass in a 360- degree field of view.
marketing materials to all of our locations. What if, instead of that, you had projection devices at all these locations and you just sent them new files?” The company claims that its approach, named Media-Glass™, can generate images that glow three times as bright as competing, heads-up-display technologies. And, com-pared with similar technologies, the SuperImaging projector can be placed three times farther away from the glass, allow-ing engineers more flexibility in how retail window displays are designed. An additional key discriminator of SuperImaging’s technology is its viewability. In reflected heads-up displays, a viewer must be located at a certain angle to see an image displayed on a screen. With MediaGlass, however, a viewer can see the image from a broader angle because the light from the glass emits in 360 degrees. The technology also could provide higher-contrast images to the home entertainment industry. On typical home entertainment screens, black spaces are really just the screen’s surface without any projected light reflected onto it. In contrast, SuperImaging’s system could make a black screen glow in any color because the wavelength would be converted on the screen. SuperImaging currently offers a one-color (blue) com-mercial signage system, and company leaders plan to release a two-color version (with green) in 2010. For a third color—red—to be displayed on glass, the projector’s laser diodes need to emit a certain wavelength, but those diodes are not on the market yet because they are expensive to manufacture. The company is looking for a partner that could help them in that regard, and hopes to have that color available in 2011.
CONTACT INFODoug BragdonSuperImaging, Inc.Tel: (831) 334-1840E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.superimaging.com
www.mdatechnology.netMDA TechUpdate Fall 2009
Glowing Images in Glass from page 1
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s An outline of a creature is drawn on clear glass (top) by SuperImag-ing’s TransPlay projector (bottom). SuperImaging now offers a one-color product that produces blue-light images, but company leaders plan to release a two-color version in the coming year.
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