Ceres Holographics partners with TQ Technology to develop projection systems supporting holographic-enabled display solutions

Ceres Holographics an innovative developer of thin-film Holographic Optical Elements (HOEs) for next-generation transparent display (TD) and augmented reality head-up-display (AR-HUD) solutions, announced a partnership with lighting and projector expert TQ Technology to develop projection systems to illuminate its display solutions.

The partnership leverages TQ Technology’s extensive experience working with Texas Instruments DLP® technology which is a key element in Ceres’ solution for in-plane displays of information on any type of transparent surface.

The two companies are developing proof-of-concept systems for a range of applications, including driver-facing displays of cluster instrumentation, infotainment and guidance in passenger vehicles, and navigation and route information in last-mile delivery vehicles. TQ Technology provides complete engineering service to customize solutions for OEMs’ specific requirements and ramp the systems into production quickly.

The projectors are designed to minimize the total form factor and package size that the combination of TI and Ceres technologies enable, with total space required being less than one liter in volume in most cases.

The projection system leverages the Texas Instruments DLP technology to enable a bright, clear transparent display where the image is projected in the plane of a windshield or other transparent surface.

The initial projectors will use the TI DLP5530 LED chipset to illuminate a holographic film laminated in the intended display surface. The holographic film, designed and programmed by Ceres Holographics, acts as a precision-engineered reflective diffuser, diffracting the light rays from the projector into the driver’s eye box.

“The partnership with TQ will allow us to address the strong interest we are seeing in both the automotive and commercial sectors for cost-effective and easy-to-implement transparent display solutions using our scalable HOE technology,” said Andy Travers, CEO of Ceres. “TQ’s expertise in implementing DLP-based solutions makes them well-qualified to develop projection platforms that take full advantage of the benefits of our unique approach.”  

“This is a combination of strengths that integrates truly game-changing holographic display technology with our proven experience in optical efficiency and performance for many different types of applications,” said Alex Wang, CEO of TQ Technology.

The projectors implement a significant advantage of the Ceres’ digitally-mastered in-plane solution: the ability to precision program every pixel to an arbitrary light reflecting geometry which supports on- and off-axis projection.

From an optical design perspective, this means the projector’s angle of incidence does not need to equal the angle of reflection. Off-axis projection allows for flexibility in projector placement, which is especially beneficial for projectors placed in highly constrained spaces like a vehicle’s dash or supporting challenging windscreen angles such as the near-vertical windscreen angles found in commercial vehicles.

The companies are currently working with a number of automotive OEMs and commercial entities in the development of custom proof-of-concept systems.