A novel barrier strip autostereoscopic (AS) display is demonstrated using a solid-state dynamic parallax barrier. A dynamic barrier mitigates restrictions inherent in static barrier systems such as fixed view distance range, slow response to head movements, and fixed stereo operating mode. By dynamically varying barrier parameters in real time, viewers may move closer to the display and move faster laterally than with a static barrier system. Furthermore, users can switch between 3D and 2D modes by disabling the barrier.

Dynallax is head-tracked, directing view channels to positions in space reported by a tracking system in real time. Such head-tracked parallax barrier systems have traditionally supported only a single viewer, but by varying the barrier period to eliminate conflicts between viewers, Dynallax presents four independent eye channels when two viewers are present.

Each viewer receives an independent pair of left and right eye perspective views based on their position in 3D space. The display device is constructed using a dual-stacked LCD monitor where a dynamic barrier is rendered on the front display and the rear display produces a modulated VR scene composed of two or four channels. A small-scale head-tracked prototype VR system is demonstrated. Performance data are analyzed while advantages, disadvantages, ongoing and future work are identified.

CR Categories: I.3.7 [Computer Graphics]: Three-Dimensional Graphics and Realism - virtual reality

Keywords: Autostereoscopic display, 3D display, virtual reality, Dynallax, Varrier, parallax barrier

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Peterka, T., Kooima, R.L., Girado, J. I., Ge, J., Sandin, D.J., Johnson, A., Leigh, J., Schulze, J., DeFanti, T. A., Dynallax: Solid State Dynamic Parallax Barrier Autostereoscopic VR Display, Proceedings of the IEEE Virtual Reality Conference 2007(VR ’07), Charlotte, NC, March 10th, 2007.