From: Steve DeGroof Subject: SCI: 3D display techniques Organization: Computer Science, Indiana University Here's the latest list. Credit's been given to the the people who sent me the info. In some cases I've paraphrased, in others I've quoted and in still others I've added my own comments. Feel free to email me additions, updates or corrections. List updated Aug 12. SD ======================================= 1. Head mounted LCD displays + good for immersive VR - one person per display, high per-person cost 1a. BOOM (from Fake Space Labs): pair of CRT's mounted on counter-balanced mechanical linkage with optics to create wide field of view. From: uselton@nas.nasa.gov (Samuel P. Uselton) + good for immersive display + much(!) better resolution than LCD - one person, high cost 2. Multiplexed CRT display with shutter glasses + multi-person viewing - flickers - glasses add a per-person cost 3. Red-blue video on CRT and glasses + low-cost + multi-person viewing - colour distortion 4. Multiplexed CRT display, active polarizer and polarized glasses + low-cost glasses + multi-person viewing - flickers - polarizer adds to initial cost 5. Two CRTs, passive polarizers, optical combiner, polarized glasses From: Nick England + low-cost glasses + multi-person viewing - bulky 6. Two CRTs, separate optical paths From: Nick England + no glasses - one set of optics per person - restricts viewer's movement 6a. Cyberscope by Simsalabim Systems (device attached to monitor, creates a 3D view merging the left and right half of the screen) From: "R.J.D.Elias" (same as #6, but with one split CRT) 7. Two image lenticular display, alternating left an right images at angular increments From: "J. David Beutel" There's a flat-screen 3D display from Dimension Technologies in Rochester, NY. It can be viewed by several people, and requires no glasses (the people just have to be in several "sweet spots" around the display to get the 3D effect). It uses a special flat lens or diffraction grating in front of the LCD screen to make every other column of pixels visible to one eye (and the alternate columns visible to the other eye). + no glasses + low-cost - restricts viewer's movement 8. Multi-image lenticular display From: Keith Lucas ---- sillywiz@dcs.warwick.ac.uk , csugq@csv.warwick.ac.uk What about the auto stereo displays where the screen emits differing pictures at different angles so ideally you eyes get a different picture. + multi-person viewing + no extra hardware needed + true 3-D .. it has a viewing arc of up 90 degrees. - no colour yet - they can't make a RED phosphor that decays fast enough. - massive amounts of bandwidth consumed .. ideal display is about 32 pictures pe r frame.. that only gives HORIZONTAL 3-d .. if you want to be able to look DOWN on the objects you need another 8ish vertically making a total of 512 times the amount of info of a TV signal !! ( When we had a lecture on it here I asked the guy if he thought they'd finally found something to fill up the bandwidth of fibre-optics and he looked sheepish .) - they have to be connected to a computer cos no-one can work out how to build a camera :-) 9. Vibrating multi-focus mirror From: driscoll@src.honeywell.com (Kevin Driscoll) From: uselton@nas.nasa.gov (Samuel P. Uselton) + multi-person, no special glasses, etc + scans an entire volume - requires VERY fast refresh monitor, to avoid smearing in depth dimension - ghost-like images - no natural hidden line/surface removal available 10. Laser beam and rotating helix From: uselton@nas.nasa.gov (Samuel P. Uselton) Texas Instruments has shown a product(?) that reflects a laser beam off a rotating helix, creating visible points of light within a 3-space volume. Their is a bit of technical desription in the Visualization '92 conference proceedings. + multi-person + scans an entire volume + viewable from any direction - no color yet 11. Rotating LED matrix From: uselton@nas.nasa.gov (Samuel P. Uselton) Originally developed at MIT, but displayed last year on the SIGGRAPH show floor by a company whose name I forgot (in one of the "low rent" booths), a rotating paddle covered with LED's. The LEDs are switched on and off to leave an afterimage in a specific 3D location. + multi-person + scans an entire volume + viewable from any direction - no color yet 12. Two projectors, passive polarizers, metalized screen, polarized glasses From: driscoll@src.honeywell.com (Kevin Driscoll) + low-cost glasses + multi-person viewing - bulky 13. Electron beam and spinning phosphor-coated disk From: Jun Hamaoka (Similar to #10.) 14. LCD with orthogonal polarization on adjacent pixels in checkerboard pattern and polarized glasses From: park@netcom.com (Bill Park) + low-cost glasses + multi-person viewing + no flicker + inexpensive, passive polarizer film applied to LCD panel during manufacture. 15. Virtual Retinal Display (images drawn on retinas by laser) From: pulkka@cs.washington.edu (Aaron Pulkka) + great for immersive VR + small, lightweight, low-power consumption - one person per display, high per-person cost - not yet commercially available ============================================= New entries 16. Liquid Crystal Hologram From: kulick@ebs330.eb.uah.edu (jeff kulick) + true 3D, not stereoscopic + multi-person viewing - not yet commercially available 17. 3D Lamp Matrix (a box full of lights) From: payson@cs.wisc.edu ( Payson) + true 3D, not stereoscopic + multi-person viewing + 360 degree viewing - translucent display - expensive (1024x1024x1024 = 1 billion lamps) 17a. 3D Sphere Matrix (each sphere is either transparent or opaque) + true 3D, not stereoscopic + multi-person viewing + 360 degree viewing + solid display - expensive (1024x1024x1024 = 1 billion spheres) - anybody know how to make even 1 sphere? 18. Random Dot Stereograms From: dfb@physiol.ox.ac.uk (Dhugal Bedford) + no special equipment + multi-person viewing - difficult to visualize images ============================================= The following techniques are unclear to me. Can anyone illuminate? --- laser projection holograms From: moselecw@elec.canterbury.ac.nz --- Stereoscopic Viewer w/o Glasses: Dimension Technologies Inc. 315 Mt. Read Blvd Rochester, NY 14611 (716) 436-3530 From: cam4257@cs.rit.edu (Chris A Meaker) --- How about acoustic wave modulation and fibre optic bundles, don't ask for details for i have none, but these are two techniques that are being looked into. From: Mathew Verdouw =============================================