Image: The research promotes a glasses-free system

New optics research carried out by a South Korean team of investigators has raised the prospect of glasses-free, 3D display technology being introduced in commercial cinemas.

The new technique has been outlined in a paper published by the Optical Society’s online Optics Express journal, which could be implemented at a lower cost than existing 3D technology.

In the research, the South Korean team created a system that removed the need to use glasses to create the depth cues interpreted as three dimensions in the brain. It also uses just one single front projector.

Byoungho Lee from Seoul National University and lead researcher said: "There has been much progress in the last 10 years in improving the viewers' experience with 3D.

"We want to take it to the next step with a method that, if validated by further research, might constitute a simple, compact, and cost-effective approach to producing widely available 3D cinema.

"Our results confirm the feasibility of this approach, and we believe that this proposed method may be useful for developing the next generation of a glasses-free projection-type 3D display for commercial theatres."

Click here for more information about how optical science could lead to glasses-free 3D cinema.

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