Manufacturer 3M is projecting big things with its latest innovation: a tiny projector for electronic gadgets.

The company has developed an LED-illuminated projection engine that’s designed to be incorporated into “virtually any personal electronic device”. It claims the engine can project at least a 40in, 640 x 480 image when it's incorporated into, say, a mobile phone.

3M's projector could find its way into mobile phones this year

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Although relativity little’s been said so far about the engine’s technical make-up, the company has stated that it’s combined of a Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCoS) electronic imager and 3M’s own optical technology.

The unit appears to be about the size of a cockroach, but 3M’s official measurement is that it’s less than 1in thick and about the size of a Bluetooth wireless earpiece.

3M will partner will unnamed electronics companies this year to help market the projector, which is on display at this year’s CES show in Las Vegas.