DynaFlash: High-speed 8-bit image projector at 1,000fps with 3ms delay

Summary

In the application fields including projection mapping, digital signage, user interface, AR (Augmented Reality), and so on, the projector technology for the image projection to the real-world object has become important. Also, in the industrial application fields such as robot applications, there are various developments of the image sensing systems which consists of a camera and a projector. However, the conventional projectors supposes to project to a static target such as a flat screen. Therefore, although they have high image quality, the frame rate, mainly targeted as 30-120 fps, is not enough performance for the applications described above. To solve this problem, we have developed a working prototype of the high-speed projector “DynaFlash”. DynaFlash can project 8-bit images up to 1,000fps with 3ms delay.

The developed high-speed projector projects 8-bit-level images up to 1,000 fps with the minimum delay of 3 ms using digital micromirror device (DMD) and high-brightness LED. Newly developed high-speed processing modules installed in FPGA control the two devices and this technology enables the performance of high frame rate. Moreover, our own original module of the communication interface is mounted in a computer and transfers images at high speed. This reduces the delay from the image generation to projection within 3 ms at the best performance.

We aim at the development of the new applications by integrating the high-speed projector and the high-speed vision that has ever been developed. As a first example application, we have realized a projection mapping system for the high-speed moving objects. This system recognizes the position of the object by the high-speed vision and projects images to the object with no delay using the high-speed projector. Conventional display technologies have no enough speed performance compared with the motion speed of the object. This causes the large misaligned gap in the interaction of the image projection to the moving object. Our system solves this problem based on the high-speed processing performance. We also plan to develop the sensing with the order of millisecond, for example three-dimensional measurement, whose moment cannot be perceived by human eyes.

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References

1. Yoshihiro Watanabe, Gaku Narita, Sho Tatsuno, Takeshi Yuasa, Kiwamu Sumino, Masatoshi Ishikawa: High-speed 8-bit Image Projector at 1,000 fps with 3 ms Delay, The International Display Workshops (IDW2015), (Shiga, Japan, 2015.12.11)/Proceedings, pp.1064-1065, 2015. Best Paper Award

Related page

• Research outline of "High-speed projector and its applications"