Patent 9596440 was granted and assigned to MicroVision, Inc. on March, 2017 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A scanning laser projector includes a proximity sensor and a planarity detector. When the proximity sensor detects an object closer than a proximity threshold, laser power is turned down. The scanning laser projector can measure distance at a plurality of projection points in the projector's field of view. If the projection points lie substantially in a plane, laser power may be turned back up.