3D glasses with red and blue filters have become the iconic symbol for three-dimensional movies, but Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers are developing game-changing tech. The MIT scientists have made glasses-less 3D display technology that can be used in movie theaters. 3D technology without glasses is already available through devices such as Nintendo's 3DS handheld but is designed for single users.
3DS' tech would have a big problem in theaters. It would not work in a Cineplex theater with hundreds of seats because each moviegoer has a different viewing angle.
MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) has developed a new 3D movie theater that solves the problem. People can enjoy 3D images from any seat in the movie house without wearing special glasses, according to Tech Crunch.
CSAIL teamed up with Israel's Weiszmann Institute of Science. The research universities developed a prototype they call "Cinema 3D."
American and Israeli scientists used a system of lenses and mirrors to create a group of "parallax barriers". This device allows each eye to view a different set of pixels, which creates a three-dimensional image. The display can then work with any angle in the movie theater based on different seat locations.
Several 3D TV systems also use parallax barriers. However, viewers must be at a set distance from the screen, which would be a problem due to the various angles and heights of movie seats, according to The Christian Science Monitor.
Researchers developed the tech for theaters because the movie audience will sit in fixed locations. They will also probably not change seats or greatly alter their viewing angle by moving their heads while watching a film.
The university researchers' 3D display tech is around the size of a letter-size notepad. They hope a commercial version will hit the market within time.
This was not the first glasses-free movie screen that has been developed. However, other systems result in lower image resolution because the movie projector itself handles all the possible angles of view.
Such 3D projector tech greatly reduces the number of pixels that each person sees. Meanwhile, MIT's new 3D technology maintains the same resolution so every user sees a clear image.