3D Technology
In 1838, Sir Charles Wheatstone first described the process of stereopsis: the process by which humans perceive three dimensions from two highly similar, overlaid images. Or, the process by which Avatar looks like a mind-blowingly immersive alien landscape instead of a bunch of brightly colored fuzz.
WHAT IS 3D TECHNOLOGY
If you are looking for an informative resource to gain info on 3d technology, then this is the right place for you. The purpose is to offer you in depth information on what is 3D technology, the history as well as the latest technological developments in this field.
3D technology explained here also points to an important fact that it is not just confined to films being shown in theaters and now the broadcasts made by televisions and direct-to-video films have also started to incorporate similar methods, principally for marketing purposes.
3D is short for 3-dimensional (e.g. width, length, and depth). Our physical environment is three-dimensional and we view the world in a 3D way every day. Human have two eyes which are about 2 inches apart so we are able to perceive the spatial relationship between the things just by looking at them. Thus we see the surroundings objects from two different perspectives which will be processed together in the brain and generate the sense of depth for a 3D visual experience.
Stereoscopy 101
3D, or "stereoscopy," refers to how your eyes and brain create the impression of a third dimension. Human eyes are approximately 50 mm to 75 mm apart — accordingly, each eye sees a slightly different part of the world. Don't believe me? Hold up a pen, pencil or any other thin object. Close one eye. Now switch.
The image on either side should be pretty similar but slightly offset, like that line behind the woman's head in the picture above. These two slightly different images enter the brain, at which point it does some high-powered geometry to make up for the disparity between the two images. This disparity is "3D" — essentially, your brain making up for the fact that you're getting two different perspectives of the same thing.
This is also, essentially, what modern 3D technology is trying to replicate. All those silly sunglasses and silver-coated projectors are all designed to feed your individual eyes different perspectives of the same image. Easy, right?
Well, yes. It is pretty easy for your brain to figure out the disparity between the two images. Your brain can automatically figure out all the angles and math and geometry to sync the images. The hard part is getting a camera to do the same thing, and to get those individual images to your individual eyes without butchering the whole effect.
Anaglyphic Processing (Red/Blue Filters)
It is the original 3D movie system. In such 3D movie, the image from one projector is tinted blue or green and the image from the other is tinted red. The views wear special glasses with tinted lenses which blocks one of the images tinted by the other color. In this way, each eye of the view will perceive two slightly different angles of the same picture, which leads to a sense that the appearance of objects in the movie seem to jump off the screen.
Polarized Light System
It is a new and most common 3D system for cinemas. In such 3D movie, no tinted lense is used while each image is polarized instead. That is to say, the waves of light for each image are oscillated in different orientations. Thus, each eye of the audience with a pair of particular 3D glasses will perceive only one of the image which is passing through a special direction of light oscillations. Similar with the red/blue version, the audience will be provided by a feeling of depth for a 3D visual experience.
Available and Upcoming 3D Technology
3D TVs and Home Theater
The first products in the consumer electronics market to receive the 3D treatment were televisions and Blu-ray players. Throughout 2010, most major manufacturers rolled out 3D-enabled TV sets, which shipped with battery-powered shutter glasses.
Console Gaming
It's been sixteen long years since the launch of Nintendo's ill-fated Virtual Boy console. You can't blame Nintendo for trying, but their head-mounted "true-3D" blunder was released just slightly ahead of its time.
3D Handheld Devices
As yet, the only handheld device available for purchase is Nintendo's recently launched 3DS, which makes use of a parallax-barrier screen to work its 3D magic.
3D PCs
Since 2008, 3D technology has been available in both laptop and desktop PCs using NVIDIA’s3D Vision graphics package.
Other Devices:
In addition to improving today's current devices, 3D developers will likely push the technology into a wider range of electronics. Don't be surprised to see 3D webcams, photo frames, portable Blu-ray players, and a lot more dedicated 3D television channels.
The rest of 2011 should be an exciting time for 3D technology, with TVs continuing to evolve and the emergence of the 3D smart-phone market.
The Future of 3DTechnology
- Reducing Eye-strain: Eye-strain is typically encountered when the eye is forced to adjust rapidly to different 3D depths. This can be alleviated somewhat as content developers continue adapting to the 3D medium and learn what techniques are least troublesome to the eye.
- Glasses-free 3D: Glasses-free 3D is already emerging in the handheld market and manufacturers are working to bring the effect to larger screens. Toshiba has previewed a well-received 3D laptop that requires no glasses, but the technology is much more difficult to adapt for larger screen sizes. Read up on glasses-free 3d
- Passive 3D at Home: Scheduled to arrive in consumer television sets very shortly, passive 3D uses the same polarized glasses worn in movie theaters. Far less bulky than the active-shutter glasses of today's 3D TVs, they also cost less and require no batteries. Visit our discussion on active vs. passive 3D.
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