| FAU Inventors
William E. Glenn, Ph.D.
Dist. Prof. and Director
Imaging Tech. Center IP Status
U.S. Provisional Patent App.
Filed on Sep. 28th 2007 Contact Information
Office of Technology Transfer
777 Glades Road, ADM 218
Boca Raton, FL 33431-0991 Kurt R. Moore
Assistant V.P. & Director
Ph: 561-297-1165
Fax: 561-297-2141
kmoore34@fau.edu Michelle Webb
Assistant Director
Ph: 561-297-0673
Fax: 561-297-2141
mwebb18@fau.edu Case Number
2007-22
02/18/2008
 . | Background Theatrical 3D images from the IMAX camera (in the 4K format) require two Sony 4K theatre projectors with Polaroid glasses. This method takes a minimum of a 16 foot special screen with at least a 40 foot distance from the projector and works well for theatrical applications but is rather cumbersome and costly for most of the applications, where the cameras are used for surveillance or for other program productions. Fortunately, there is now a 56 inch LCD color display in the 4K format. The technology is a method for allowing a direct-view wide screen 3D display. In the prior art, a 3D display developed by GE Research Labs in the 1950’s used two CRT (cathode ray tube) displays. One was facing the viewer and the other was facing up. A mirror was placed at 45 degrees between these displays so that the two images were superimposed when viewed. By wearing Polaroid glasses the viewer saw a 3D image when a stereoscopic pair of images were displayed on the CRTs. Since the field of view was quite small, the images looked like a puppet show in a one foot wide puppet theatre. Technology This technology replaces the two CRTs used in the 50-year-old prior-art with 56 inch LCD panels to obtain a 3D direct-view image. The light output from the LCD display is already polarized. Therefore, there is no light loss from polarizing the light as is the case in the previous system. The same mirror arrangement can be used. However, since both panels have the same direction of polarization one must have the direction rotated by 90 degrees. The rotation can be done using a liquid crystal plate with a 90 degree twist of the liquid crystal. This process rotates the polarization of all colors by 90 degrees with almost no loss of light. The image produced by this method will now look like a 3D image viewed through a 56 inches diagonal window. The minimum viewing distance is about 30 inches from the screen. The image can be viewed at a distance up to 45 inches before the viewer’s eyes limit the perception of detail. Polaroid glasses are still required for viewing in 3D. Applications - Surveillance
- Military Operations
- Education/ Training Purposes
- Corporate offices and presentations
- Personal usage in homes
- Other commercial usages
Advantages - More cost effective method for viewing in 3D
- Substantially smaller area and less equipment required to view in 3D
- Direct-view in 3D from 30 inches away from the screen
- Increased depth perception and overall better viewing experience for both professional and personal usage
Development Status - Prototype can be developed in 6 months
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