Three-dimensional
(3D) movies, which require viewers to wear stereoscopic (i.e. related to the
technique of creating an impression of depth by showing two slightly offset
flat images to each eye) glasses, have become very popular in recent years.
However, the 3D effect produced by the glasses cannot provide perfect depth
cues. Furthermore, it is not possible to move one's head and observe that
objects appear different from different angles, a real-life effect known as
motion parallax. Now, A*STAR researchers have developed a new way of generating
high-resolution, full-color, 3D videos that uses holographic technology.
Holograms are
considered to be truly 3D, because they allow the viewer to see different
perspectives of a reconstructed 3D object from different angles and locations.
Like a photograph, a hologram contains information about the size, shape and color
of an object. Where holograms differ from photographs is that they are created
using lasers, which can produce the complex light interference patterns. However,
generating high-resolution, moving holograms to replace current 3D imaging
technology has proved difficult. To enhance the resolution of their holographic
videos, researchers at the Data Storage Institute in Singapore used an array of
spatial light modulators (SLMs).
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