Toshiba Mobile Display has announced that it has developed a 21-inch autostereoscopic high-definition display for use in next-generation 3D monitors that will enable users to view three-dimensional images without the need for special glasses.
InAVate, amongst many other commentators, has expressed doubts before about the uptake of 3D in various applications whilst it requires viewers to wear glasses, perhaps this is the answer.
Until glasses-free, or autostereoscopic, display technology is widely available, 3D display technology won’t be able to break into key markets such as digital signage or DOOH advertising.
The new product from Toshiba employs an integral imaging system (a “light field” display) to reproduce a real object as a 3D image that can be viewed without glasses over a wide range of viewing angles.
The company says that the integral imaging system offers a significant reduction in eye fatigue during long periods of viewing, and features a multi-parallax design that enables motion parallax, which cannot be achieved by systems using glasses.
The multi-parallax approach results in images that change depending on the viewer’s position. In addition, the viewing angle is wide, and the resulting stereoscopic image is natural and smooth. In some previous integral imaging implementations, there have been issues raised relating to the loss of effective image resolution. In previous implementations, if the number of pixels in the display is kept constant and not increased, then the multi-parallax approach will reduce the effective resolution of the 3D display in an inverse proportion to the number of parallax positions. We have addressed this problem by applying LTPS (low-temperature poly-silicon) technology to develop an ultra-high-definition LCD module for this newly-introduced high-definition and large-screen 3D display.
It sounds impressive, and you are luck enough to be there, you will be able to view the demonstration product at the SID 2010 International Symposium, Seminar, and Exhibition, from May 25 to May 27, 2010, in Seattle, USA on booth #631.