More realistic 3D TV: allow the eye to focus
kck.st
kck.st
Q:
Why does better 3D TV matter?
A:
Desktops, then Laptops, then Mobile, then Touch: It has always been hardware revolutions that have enabled a burst of new software products and software companies.
3D is at the tipping point where it is not quite realistic enough to be heavily favored by consumers. We hope that the innovation of allowing the viewer's eye to accommodate will make 3D realistic enough that it will tip over the threshold where every consumer will want it for every product.
Imagine 3D laptops, 3D smartphones, and 3D tablets. Imagine when every web service and every application seem as tangible and vivid as reality.
Beyond that comes virtual reality. Light field 3D gets us one big step closer.
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See this reddit post. http://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/hmjej/how_the_3d...
Specifically, look at the first comment and its reply:
zz33ke: But why does it make me dizzy and nauseous?
joatmon3: The 3D effect makes it look like it's popping out at you, but the image is still actually on the screen (where your eyes have to focus), so the difference between where your brain says the image is and where your eyes are focusing causes many people to get dizzy and nauseous.
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As joatmon3 says, the parallax barrier technique (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallax_barrier) can provide binocular parallax, but it does not provide the depth information required for a viewer to focus their eyes on each virtual object.
Our prototype will do both.
When a character seems to do pop out at you, it will be both because of a parallax barrier providing different images to your two eyes, but also because a lens in front of that screen is adjusting the focus distance of that part of the screen. That way, when your eyes try to focus on the virtual object's virtual distance, that is the optical distance at which the screen will be sharp.