6 Futuristic Uses for Projectors
Projector technology continues to advance every year. From laser projectors to 4K options, today’s latest and greatest tech seemed unreal just a few years ago. But designers and engineers are incorporating projectors into more non-traditional uses, and in the future, it’s likely projectors are going to be used for a lot more than business presentations and home entertainment. [caption id="attachment_990" align="aligncenter" width="1280"]
Ikea Kitchen Projector[/caption]
Just in the last year, projectors have been incorporated into a range of mind-blowing applications, including augmented reality, real-time communications, and in the kitchen. Here’s a look at a few of these futuristic sounding applications, but don’t expect to see them available to consumers in the near future. A few are still light years away.
Real-Time Cookbooks
At Milan Design Week, furniture maker IKEA unveiled the cookbook of the future: a projector-enabled, augmented-reality recipe book. Essentially, using a camera and projector, IKEA envisioned a product that would provide recipes based on the ingredients on your chopping blog. The recipe is then displayed on the counter via a projector. So, for instance, if you had a tomato, some bread and cheese, a recipe for melted cheese sandwiches and tomato soup would be projected. Sounds far out, right? Well, don’t expect the real-time recipes anytime soon – IKEA’s design was for a kitchen in 2025.Projected Jewelry
Here’s an interesting idea: Light jewelry. That’s right. What if you could wear a projected necklace made of light? That’s the idea behind NECLUMI. The designer’s “necklace” is actually an image coming from a tiny pico projector that’s attached to the wearer’s clothing. The projector then displays a piece of jewelry that’s sent from a smartphone app. This really leaves the door open for a variety of light-enabled displays, bringing traditional jewelry into the 21st-Century. [caption id="attachment_991" align="aligncenter" width="1280"]
NECLUMI[/caption]
An Immersive Video Game Experience
Virtual reality is progressing quickly, and one of the latest developments centers around a projector-enabled set-up. French start-up Catopsys and an R&D firm recently unveiled the Immersis projector. The projector displays a panoramic, virtual reality image throughout a room. On screen, you see the game that you’re playing, but the projector adds the additional parts of the image that aren’t visible. Thus, gamers are completely immersed in a virtual reality world. The firm successfully raised funds for the project via Kickstarter, so keep your eyes peeled for reports on its developments. [caption id="attachment_992" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
Catopsys[/caption]
Digital Game Boards
This one isn’t exactly futuristic, as it’s still possible now. But the use of a projector to display a Dungeons and Dragons board is pretty clever. One reddit user recently showed how he used a projector to display a digital version of a D&D board onto a tabletop, making for a completely unique gaming experience. Who knows maybe we’ll start seeing this more and more.Car Dashboard Projections
A San Francisco-based company is currently working on a projector-enabled dashboard mount for every vehicle. Essentially, the designers are using a projector to display an image on a small reflective screen. The projector is synched with the driver’s smartphone and the car’s computer, and then information is displayed on the reflective screen. So, if you receive a text message, a notification would pop-up on the screen. Currently, this project is in development stages. [caption id="attachment_993" align="aligncenter" width="614"]
Car Dashboard Projector[/caption]