Zecotek says 3D displays need not cause eye fatigue, calls for better industry standards
Vancouver, BC, Canada--Zecotek Photonics, a developer of photonics technologies for medical, industrial and scientific markets, announced that its Real-Time 3D2D Display System featuring patented 3D display technology should not be confused or identified with recently introduced stereoscopic 3D televisions that require viewers to wear special glasses. Zecotek is calling for industry to develop 3D standards for safe viewing in the consumer markets as some experts in human visual perception are expressing concerns that these stereoscopic 3D televisions could cause eye strain and related health problems.
“Zecotek’s unique and patented 3D auto-stereoscopic display does not require viewers to wear glasses, and because the 3D effect is produced using the widest possible number of views it offers a much more natural viewing experience than 3D television,” said A. F. Zerrouk, chairman, president, and CEO of Zecotek Photonics. “Our system is completely volumetric so the image can be shared among a group of viewers, and it can be viewed in natural light which is important to the overall efficiency and clarity in diagnostics, design and operational planning. The Real-Time 3D2D Display System was designed for images derived from medical imaging, rendering, geo-physical data, and other industrial and military applications. We are currently working with OEM’s and end users to develop systems which can meet the demanding technical and human requirements of these environments.”
3D films that use polarized glasses are also coming under criticism due to the impact they have on the human eye. Polarized 3D glasses are used to produce a three-dimensional effect by projecting the same scene into both eyes, but depicted from slightly different perspectives. See also "Active-shutter LCD glasses bring 3D home".
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.
Zecotek's Real-Time 3D2D Display System is based on the auto-stereoscopic principle, but with substantial innovative and patented improvements. Zecotek says the auto-stereoscopic 3D display system requires no eyewear and has an effective viewing angle of 40 degrees with 90 concurrent perspectives allowing for multiple views at the same time. Another unique feature of the 3D2D Display is constant motion parallax within the viewing angle, which they say eliminates the sense of imbalance and dizziness during normal observation which can occur with polarized and shutter glasses used with other commercial systems.
Zecotek is in the process of preparing the 3D2D Display system for manufacture and is also working to establish industry standards to ensure consumer safety, product stability and long-term market adoption.
Gail Overton | Senior Editor (2004-2020)
Gail has more than 30 years of engineering, marketing, product management, and editorial experience in the photonics and optical communications industry. Before joining the staff at Laser Focus World in 2004, she held many product management and product marketing roles in the fiber-optics industry, most notably at Hughes (El Segundo, CA), GTE Labs (Waltham, MA), Corning (Corning, NY), Photon Kinetics (Beaverton, OR), and Newport Corporation (Irvine, CA). During her marketing career, Gail published articles in WDM Solutions and Sensors magazine and traveled internationally to conduct product and sales training. Gail received her BS degree in physics, with an emphasis in optics, from San Diego State University in San Diego, CA in May 1986.