3D for Mobile Phones

Three-dimensional viewing has not yet made it in a big way onto our television and cinema screens. According to European researchers, the story of 3D TV is set to be quite different with mobile devices, as the right standards and technology fall into place. Simulating the third dimension is something of a Holy Grail for cinema and television. The key advantage of 3D film over the conventional two dimensions is the illusion of depth and the sense of ‘body’ the viewer experiences – as if the action is leaping out of the screen rather than occurring within it. Despite the images it evokes of high-tech wizardry, rudimentary 3D technologies have been around practically since the dawn of filmmaking. The mobile market has always been much more dynamic and receptive to new technologies than the television market, as the whole idea of mobility is based on dynamism. Viewing conditions, and hence technical requirements, for mobile devices are not as exacting as they are for cinema, which targets a mass audience who expect a thrilling experience, and television, which needs to be of ‘home entertainment’ quality. In mobile 3D technology, the viewing mode is personal, the required display size is small and the user is expected to adjust the display position for the best viewing experience.

The story of 3D television for mobile phones has been one punctuated by stops and starts. As early as 2003, Sharp launched a 3D mobile phone in Japan and Korea’s SK Telecom launched a 3D phone – from Samsung – in 2007, and Japan’s Hitachi just launched one in 2009. But the big challenges have been the paucity of content and coming up with a profitable business model. Apple’s iPhone also supports 3D television, but can currently only be viewed with special glasses. Mobile3DTV is developing the core elements of the next generation of three-dimensional television for mobile devices. The format should be adopted ideally by all industrial players and the project decided to build its system around the EU standard known as Digital Video Broadcasting – Handheld (DVB-H). Mobile3DTV is employing so-called auto-stereoscopic displays, which produce 3D images that do not require those awkward glasses to view them – which is good news for people who want to be incognito about their mobile viewing. Auto-stereoscopic displays use additional optical elements aligned on the surface of an LCD, to ensure that the observer sees different images with each eye. As mobile devices are normally watched by a single observer, two independent views are sufficient for satisfactory 3-D perception.

More information:

http://sp.cs.tut.fi/mobile3dtv/

http://cordis.europa.eu/ictresults/index.cfm?section=news&tpl=article&ID=90580