The device didn't actually work, but it gave us confidence that we were on the right track. We asked my uncle, who is blind (I think he's a Legally Blind), to try the device.
When he looked at the device he couldn't see anything more clearly or specifically. He just saw "something in red color"...I still have a lot of work to do on this project...
To understand how a RED LIGHT RETINA DRAW (RLRD) works, it's best to start at the beginning -- with a beam of red light -- and end on the retina.
While testing the system, I accidentally ripped the LCD cable! Oh...No!
We decided to redesign the system
-Removed a fresnel lens.
-Added a convex lens before the wide angle lens
-Use a 20w LED instead of a laser diode
Also, we are building a Resberry PI for video source instead using computer signals, and we will use a PI camera.
After a few days of struggling with improving the brightness of the laser source, we gave up temporarily. We decided to use a 20w LED instead.
But we keep having problems again! We still end up with blurry images even when we tried with a 100w light source.
On the other hand, the image seen through the Wide angle lens is very small. Why we're trying to use a wide angle lens? We need a Short Throw Mode projector because we need a close distance to the lens, in other words, the device will display images onto the retina at a close distance. A Short Throw Lens is too expensive, so we're trying with a wide angle lens.
Instead of using the signals from the cameras, we use the signals from the PC.
We tried to connect HDMI output from a computer to HDMI board of the LCD, and the images from the computer appeared on the LCD!
But we keep having problems! We have absolutely no idea how to handle a laser light source that is only 3mW so with the poor brightness, it will end up with blurry images.
a) The light source is very low power, we can't see anything.
b) The image will be display onto the Retina, so it cannot be too bright, in which it is needed to calculate the exact power.
c) If we want high power for it to be brighter, we need to pay attention to safety.
d) Wide angle lens is not a perfect solution, just give it a try.
e) The Red light is NOT the most visible light for normal people (We are not sure about blind people, so we are still researching).
f) The LCD does not support signal from some cameras. So, both attempts failed to produce any image on LCD.
