Researchers in South Korea have created a convenient way to watch 3-D movies without the glasses, according to news reports.

Humans see the world in three dimensions because of the spacing between our eyes. The brain takes in the visual input from both eyes and is able to generate depth perception.

The trick to achieving 3-D movies is to slightly offset the images for each eye.

Therefore, in typical 3-D theaters, two different projectors display two images on the same screen. This is why the movie appears blurry when you take off the glasses.

The 3-D glasses correct this problem by separating these images; the left projector’s movie goes to the left eye, and the right projector’s movie goes to the right eye.

Although there was technology found earlier to watching 3-D movies without glasses, the technology was not widespread because it was too expensive and most theaters were not built to accommodate the necessary items.

With this new method, all movie theaters can keep everything exactly the same.

The simple optical technology consists of a filter that will sit in front of the projector and polarize its light. Each eye, sitting at different angles, will only be able to see part of the screen. The left eye will pick up the left-eye pixels, and the right-eye will pick up the right-eye pixels.

The new method of screening a 3-D movie is much more manageable than the alternative ways. However, through this technology, some light is blocked from the eyes. Because of this, the current image resolution is quite low.

Still, John Koshel, a physicist who studies optical science at the University of Arizona, stated, “This technology is still in its infancy, but it’s a new step that was hidden for a long time.”

The research was published in Optics Express on Aug. 20.


From news reports
(khnews@heraldcorp.com)