1. An optical system for displaying an image to a viewing position, comprising:
a housing comprising an interior, a reflective interior surface, and a first opening;
a spatial light modulator disposed proximate the first opening;
a light source disposed within the interior of the housing, the spatial light modulator modulating light emitted by the light source to form image rays;
a first light redirecting film disposed proximate the first opening between the spatial light modulator and the light source and recycling at least a portion of light emitted by the light source; and
an optically absorptive film disposed proximate the first opening between the spatial light modulator and the viewing position, the optically absorptive film receiving the image rays from the spatial light modulator and displaying the received image rays to the viewing position.
2. The optical system of claim 1, wherein the reflective interior surface of the house is diffusively reflective.
3. The optical system of claim 1, wherein the housing further comprises a black exterior.
4. The optical system of claim 1, wherein the reflective interior surface includes a reflective coating.
5. The optical system of claim 1, wherein the reflective interior surface includes a reflective film laminated to the interior surface.
6. The optical system of claim 1, wherein the light source comprises a plurality of light emitting elements.
7. The optical system of claim 1, wherein the light source comprises an LED.
8. The optical system of claim 1, wherein the first light redirecting film comprises and array of linear prisms.
9. The optical system of claim 1 further comprising a second light redirecting film disposed proximate the first opening between the first light redirecting film and the spatial light modulator and recycling at least a portion of light emitted by the light source.
10. The optical system of claim 1, wherein the optically absorptive film comprises:
an optically absorptive layer; and
a plurality of optically transparent beads partially embedded in the optically absorptive layer, the embedded portion of the beads facing the viewing position.
11. The optical system of claim 1, wherein the spatial light modulator forms the image rays within an emitted cone having an emitted angle, and wherein the optically absorptive film has an acceptance angle that is at least as large as the emitted angle.
12. The optical system of claim 1 further comprising a cover attached to a viewing side of the optically absorptive film facing the viewing position.
13. The optical system of claim 12, wherein the cover and the optically absorptive film are releasably attached to the housing.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A computerized method for determining, for a plurality of individuals having a common interest, locations relevant to that common interest, each individual in the plurality possessing a user terminal that has a location, the method comprising:
in a first computer process, receiving search parameters pertaining to the common interest via a data communication network from a given user terminal possessed by an individual in the plurality;
in a second computer process, determining a collection of locations that provide goods or services satisfying the search parameters as a function of the locations of the user terminals possessed by the plurality of individuals;
in a third computer process, identifying clusters of locations in the collection of locations;
in a fourth computer process, providing a cluster score to each cluster based at least on the proximity from the cluster to the locations of the user terminals; and
in a fifth computer process, transmitting, toward the given user terminal via the data communication network, data indicating the clusters according to their relative cluster scores.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the common interest is automatically determined by a messaging application executing on the given user terminal.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the collection of locations includes determining a geographic center of the locations of the user terminals.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein determining the collection of locations further includes searching within a circle centered at the determined geographic center that contains the locations of the user terminals possessed by each individual in the plurality.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying clusters of locations includes applying a flood fill algorithm to the collection of locations.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein each cluster score for a cluster is a function of one or more of: a satisfaction rating of a location in the cluster, the number of locations in the cluster, an average distance from the cluster to the individuals in the plurality, a crime rate of a geographic area of the cluster, a trendiness of a geographic area of the cluster, and accessibility of a geographic area of the cluster.
7. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying text or images representing the clusters on the given user terminal.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein clusters having a plurality of locations are represented by shaded areas on a map.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the shaded area for each cluster is colored as a function of the cluster score of the cluster.
10. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting advertisement data, relating to a good or service provided by a location in the collection of locations, toward the given user terminal for display thereon.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein the search parameters are determined automatically by analyzing a messaging conversation provided by a messaging application executing in the given user terminal.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of determining, identifying, or providing takes into account a preference of at least one individual in the plurality.
13. A computer program product for determining, for a set of one or more individuals having a common interest, locations relevant to that common interest, each individual in the plurality possessing a user terminal that has a location, the product comprising a non-transitory medium on which is stored computer-useable program code for:
receiving search parameters pertaining to the common interest from a given user terminal possessed by an individual in the plurality;
determining a collection of locations that provide goods or services that satisfy the search parameters as a function of the locations of the user terminals possessed by the plurality of individuals;
identifying clusters of locations in the collection of locations;
providing a cluster score to each cluster based at least on the proximity from the cluster to the locations of the user terminals; and
transmitting toward the given user terminal data indicating the clusters according to their relative cluster scores.
14. The product of claim 13, wherein the common interest is automatically determined by a messaging application executing on the given user terminal.
15. The product of claim 13, wherein the program code for determining the collection of locations includes program code for determining a geographic center of the locations of the user terminals.
16. The product of claim 15, wherein the program code for determining the collection of locations further includes searching within a circle centered at the determined geographic center that contains the locations of the user terminals possessed by each individual in the plurality.
17. The product of claim 13, wherein the program code for identifying clusters of locations includes program code for applying a flood fill algorithm to the collection of locations.
18. The product of claim 13, wherein each cluster score for a cluster is a function of one or more of: a satisfaction rating of a location in the cluster, the number of locations in the cluster, an average distance from the cluster to the individuals in the plurality, a crime rate of a geographic area of the cluster, a trendiness of a geographic area of the cluster, and accessibility of a geographic area of the cluster.
19. The product of claim 13, further comprising program code for transmitting advertisement data, relating to a good or service provided by a location in the collection of locations, toward the given user terminal for display thereon.
20. The product of claim 13, wherein the program code for at least one of determining, identifying, or providing takes into account a preference of at least one individual in the plurality.