Sharp Notebook Can Display 3D Images Without The Use of Special Glasses

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,112418,tk,dn091103X,00.asp' target='_blank'>http://www.pcworld.com/news/article...n091103X,00.asp</a><br /><br /></div>"Sharp has unveiled a notebook computer with a display that gives the illusion of depth and can display objects in three dimensions without the use of special glasses. The new notebook is scheduled to be on sale in Japan and the U.S. before the end of this year. The PC-RD3D is the first computing product from Sharp to feature the 3D LCD technology. It is being targeted at developers writing application software or creating content that will make use of 3D technology either in the notebook or subsequent products, Miyuki Nakayama, a spokesperson for Sharp in Tokyo, said on Thursday."<br /><br />Imagine - a Pocket PC that could display 3D images! The problem, of course, is that you have to have a 3D image to start with. That might be east enough for games, but any sort of photo would remain in 2D - unless you had a 3D camera hidden away some where. Still, it's refreshing to see the march towards 3D displays continues.

[Programmer]

". Still, it's refreshing to see the march towards 3D displays continues.

I can't really see the use of such a display except for maybe a few games. :roll:

[jlhorng]

". Still, it's refreshing to see the march towards 3D displays continues.

I can't really see the use of such a display except for maybe a few games. :roll:

I disagree. There are lots of academic research that requires 3-d image. For example, in the field of neuro-ophthalmology, that requires analyze ocular motor in reponding to 3-d target. Or, Chemists who need to analyze 3-d molecular sequence. Car industry, another example, who needs to simulate a real world driving situation in order to test the newly developed vehicle.

There are tons of it I can think of but just "a few games".

[Jason Dunn]

Addionally, don't underestimate what people might be able to come up with if we had 3D displays - developers are clever people. :-)

[jlhorng]

Addionally, don't underestimate what people might be able to come up with if we had 3D displays - developers are clever people. :-)

Exactly, Jason. One application that can instantly take adventage of this new technology is Pocket Earth. :)

[felixdd]

". Still, it's refreshing to see the march towards 3D displays continues.

I can't really see the use of such a display except for maybe a few games. :roll:

I disagree. There are lots of academic research that requires 3-d image. For example, in the field of neuro-ophthalmology, that requires analyze ocular motor in reponding to 3-d target. Or, Chemists who need to analyze 3-d molecular sequence. Car industry, another example, who needs to simulate a real world driving situation in order to test the newly developed vehicle.

There are tons of it I can think of but just "a few games".

Or at the neuroscience lab I worked at, one person used a 3-D technology to study proteins and their structure (he analyzed structural homology to infer function). The technology was very cool:

We had a screen that refreshed at an extremely high frequency, but everytime it refreshed, instead of drawing the same frame again, it drew a slightly different one to stimulate the image's difference from each eye. The viewer wore a pair of goggles wired to the computer and are designed to amalgamate these two images and create a 3D image to cast into your eyes. The whole process doesn't involve use of blue-red images and glasses -- all color is preserved (important in research).

It was also very expensive -- I think $4000. That was the price of a one year discounted license!!

I think this technology is more useful than it looks. Our computers are currently a 2D workspace. Microsoft has tampered with 3D GUI's to maximize workspace efficiency and also to better simulate the real world in which we live in -- one with depth. Even today's GUI's infer a bit of 3D-ness: for example windows pile up on one another in a cascade. A 3D GUI would be much easier to use: the increased tactile features would allow us to "put away" a window that we don't need to a specific location, instead of minmizing it to a location we must learn. This is how computing should be. Does using a desk, chair, and a piece of paper to write stuff on have a learning curve? Of course not. Neither should using a computer.

[maximus]

When I was covering the Bali bombing, I saw that the australian police officers assigned there were using a 3D mapping equipments to record the exact contour of the surrounding area. During the interview, they show us the importance of that 3D map to obtain the precise location of the bomb, the speed of detonation, etc. They also mentioned that it is currently a pain to make detailed calculation, since everything is still in 2D.

This 3D monitor will help this guys a lot.

On a more personal note, I think other than playing games, 3D monitor will be super cool to be used to view movies also. Imagine 3D movies at your home. :rock on dude!:

[caywen]

Porn.

All tech is created to serve it.

[Crystal Eitle]

There's already a consumer digital camera (http://reviews-zdnet.com.com/Pentax_Optio_230___digital_camera/4505-6501_16-9833718-2.html) that can take 3D pictures. (It works similar to the way "photostitching" for sweeping panoramic shots works; you snap one photo, the camera freezes it in the viewfinder, then tells you where to take the next one to simulate the distance between the eyes. Voila! Stereoscopic pictures.)

[Noel.Holland]

Apart from the suggestion that caywen has already made, and I agree that market is definately one which will drive the requirement for such technology (There are already porn sites specialising in 3d for use with the 3d digital glasses)

But I think the biggest (socially acceptable) consumer demand for 3d will be one market - First Person Shooters.

Games like Medal of Honour, Unreal Tournament and Battlefield 1942 are already hugely improved by 3d technology. I've never tried the current batch of digital 3d glasses but I know a number of players who absolutely swear by them and would never want to go back to 2d play. I for one would definately buy a monitor if it gave me 3d enviroments without even having to bother with the glasses.