Now, watch 3D TV without glasses

Fraunhofer research scientists are optimising a technology that makes it possible to watch TV in 3D without technical aids such as 3D glasses. “A breakthrough in 3D television would only come when you don't need glasses. Wearing them is just too uncomfortable and tiresome,” says Frederik Zilly, of the Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications, Heinrich Hertz Institute (HHI), Berlin. Research scientists at HHI are now working with 12 partners in the MUSCADE project to develop such a technology.

For this, autostereoscopic displays are needed. These are coated with special optical foils. They create two different images each—for both eyes—the basic principle for three-dimensional vision. To allow different viewing positions—for instance, when the viewer moves his head—these displays use five to ten different views of an image. As conventional stereo productions only have two views, the captured images have to be converted before transmission. In order to reliably determine depth information, more than the usual two cameras are used. The MUSCADE project partners use four cameras, but this makes the already complex stereo production extremely intricate and expensive.