Apr 30 2010
Zecotek Photonics Inc. (TSX VENTURE:ZMS)(FRANKFURT:W1I), a developer of leading-edge photonics technologies for medical, industrial and scientific markets, today announced that it is demonstrating the Company's latest generation Real-Time 3D Display System at its Vancouver laboratories.
Demonstrations to interested manufacturers and potential licensees from North America and Japan have been scheduled to coincide with 48th annual SID International Symposium, Seminar and Exhibition, May 23-28, 2010, in Seattle. Demonstrations are on an invitation only basis.
Zecotek's 3D Display system requires no glasses and provides for multiple-user viewing where, just as in life, each viewer sees an object from their own unique perspective. By providing a true volumetric image, viewers can move around to gain different perspectives, a key requirement for the medical, engineering, industrial, geological, and security sectors as well as home entertainment and advertising displays.
Zecotek's 3D display is scalable and offers both small 3D display screens for use in the transportation, personal computing and gaming industries, and large 3D display screens designed to meet the expected demand for industrial, advertisement, medical and home entertainment markets. The 5th generation system has been specifically designed to accommodate the emerging next-generation LED, OLEDs and fast control systems, which will allow for both flat, thin panel 3D displays as well as powerful back projection desk top configurations.
The Next Stage of Evolution for 3D Systems
While there are several commercially available systems which offer the 3D experience, most or all have limitations in both the viewing experience as well as in further development of the technology. Some require glasses; others require eye tracking or fixed viewer positioning, restrictions which can contribute to a limited or uncomfortable viewing experience. There is also growing concern that some systems, in particular those which require glasses, may be harmful when viewed incorrectly or for long periods of time.
In comparison, Zecotek's Real-Time 3D Display does not require glasses or eye tracking or other extraneous or viewer dependent devices. Unlike conventional stereo systems, which render only two views, Zecotek's 3D system operates by forming a very large number of perspective views which, together with its wide viewing angle, allows multiple viewers to each have their own unique perspective. The combination of views, viewing angle and high resolution offer a viewing experience closest to the visual perception of real objects. Zecotek's 3D system can be used naturally and effectively with images derived from medical imaging, rendering, geo-physical data, and other industrial and military applications for enhanced situation and process analysis, fast decision making, and problem-solving.
Other unique features of Zecotek's 3D include constant motion parallax and the occlusion effect within the viewing angle. Motion parallax is the apparent difference in the speed or direction of moving objects produced when an object in the foreground moves relative to an object in the background. The occlusion effect is the blocking of one object by another opaque (non-transparent) object located in front, but where the hidden object can still be seen if viewed from a different angle, for example, in the side view. The combination of motion parallax and the occlusion effect eliminates the sense of imbalance and dizziness which can occur with polarized and shutter-type glasses and which are contributing to concerns over health and safety of 3D viewing.
User Safety and Comfort
3D films that use polarized glasses are coming under criticism due to the impact they may have on the human eye. 3D glasses create the illusion of three-dimensional images by restricting the light that reaches each eye, an example of stereoscopy which exploits the polarization of light. To present a stereoscopic motion picture, two images are projected superimposed onto the same screen through different polarizing filters. The viewer wears eyeglasses which also contain a pair of different polarizing filters. As each filter passes only that light which is similarly polarized and blocks the light polarized in the opposite direction, each eye sees a different image. This is used to produce a three-dimensional effect by projecting the same scene into both eyes, but depicted from slightly different perspectives.
Specialists of Russia's Eye Microsurgery Institution have found that a person watching a 3D movie with polarized glasses may feel discomfort and dizziness during the first 30 minutes after the film ends: the muscles responsible for the crystalline lens become weak and the color response decreases. There is concern that this may have long term effects.
Researchers in the United Kingdom have been conducting studies on eye movements and stereoscopic 3D displays and have expressed concern about the use of stereo displays becoming very widespread, especially if younger children are routinely exposed to them.