World's First DIY Collimated Display

World's First DIY Collimated Display

Three Epson projectors, a projection screen, a mirror made of Mylar with a ShopVac holding it taut, copper tinsel to detect overstretch, and an IR LED / detector pair to provide feedback for the vacuum system -- all to provide a collimated 220 degree horizontal by 40 degree vertical out-the-window display for a home-built flight simulator. Photos and videos show how it was all put together.

Mirror collimation: Mike's Flight Deck

Diagrams and discussion of how collimation works and why it's used in commercial flight simulation, with notes on the practical problems of creating the right shape frame for a Mylar mirror, and pointers to more technical discussions of the optics involved and to related patents. Elsewhere on the same site, there are explanations of the challenges involved in tricking a human's visual processing system into thinking objects are much farther than the projected image.