Smart speakers are becoming a common fixture in households as consumers continue to adopt smart home solutions. With on-demand virtual assistants and quality audio performance, incorporating display functionality is a logical next step for these “out all of the time” devices.

The first generation of smart displays incorporate relatively small 7-10” screens. Bigger screens, for example 15-40”, would be helpful for viewing from farther distances. However, larger flat panel displays would lead to larger smart displays that may grow too big for areas with limited space, like a kitchen counter top or a side table, or too bulky to be aesthetically pleasing. A solution to this problem is pico projection – it can enable large, on-demand displays from small devices.

TI DLP® Pico technology enables small, high-performance, low-power projection smart display solutions. A DLP Pico digital micromirror device (DMD), with up to millions of micromirrors, creates the image in sync with color-sequential illumination. A DLP controller on a nearby PCB accepts incoming video via a MIPI DSI or parallel RGB interface from a processor.

Features and Benefits

• High image quality
  • High contrast and wide color gamut enable vibrant images
  • Film-like image: high fill factor (>90%)
  • Resolution options from nHD (640 x 360) to 4K
• Flexibility and scalability
  • Short and ultra-short throw optics enable a large image from a short distance
  • Virtually, any surface can become a display
  • Compact optical engines can be integrated without compromising product size and aesthetics
• High optical efficiency
  • Low-power, high-brightness displays
  • Minimal thermal management required, including fan-free designs with high performance

Recommended Chipsets for Smart Displays

For the smallest display systems, DLP Pico chipsets that include a 0.2”-class micromirror array diagonal are recommended. These solutions enable extremely compact optical systems and the lowest possible power consumption, while 0.3” chipsets offer higher brightness.

Additional Technical Resources

• DLP® Pico™ technology for smart speaker displays whitepaper

• TI DLP® Display Brightness Requirements and Trade-offs video

• Optical reference design for .23” digital micromirror device (DMD) video

• Smart Speaker projection techniques video

• Creating a smart speaker projector with natural convection cooling videohttps://training.ti.com/creating-smart-speaker-projector-natural-convection-cooling