Dimension Technologies Inc. (DTI) launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for the delivery of a 27” glasses-free 3D/2D display that is adapted from its work with NASA on 3D/2D cockpit displays and optimized for gamers and movie fans. The company announced the campaign Sunday at Immersed, a global virtual reality and 3D event in Toronto.
"Why should astronauts and pilots have all the fun?" asked the company’s Kickstarter campaign page. It goes on to explain how the campaign dubbed "Mission Critical 3D" emerged from a desire to bring gamers the same situational awareness technology DTI developed to enable NASA pilots to make better decisions in moments of crisis when lives are on the line.
"This is a first-of-its-kind offering, a glasses-free 3D display that delivers the same depth of field as glasses-based 3D displays," said Tom Curtin, DTI’s director of business development. "And unlike other glasses-free 3D displays, we do not compromise resolution or brightness to achieve our incredible depth of field."
In addition to promising full 1080p resolution in 2D and 3D with no loss of brightness, the company said its 27-inch display will use eye tracking to eliminate sweet spots, support two viewers, have no crosstalk (ghosting), and provide performance with 120 Hz refresh rates and less than 5 ms gray-to-gray response times.
"We’ve shown our 3D/2D displays to 3D experts at events and to leaders in the aerospace and automotive worlds. When they see our depth of field without glasses, the reaction is almost always some variation of 'wow'," said DTI CEO Arnie Lagergren.
"Other glasses-free 3D displays use optics or barriers in front of LCDs to create 3D images. These limit resolution by dividing the available pixels. DTI generates its 3D images using a patented Time Multiplexed Backlight in combination with a fast, off-the-shelf LCD that sends light from all pixels to all viewing positions in a time-sequential fashion, making full resolution 3D images visible from all positions," according to DTI Chief Scientist and Inventor Jesse Eichenlaub.
"DTI founders Arnie Lagergren and Jesse Eichenlaub have been working at the forefront of autostereoscopic technology since 1989. The Time Multiplexed Backlight that Jesse invented is a game changer in 3D displays. Glasses have been a major barrier to widespread 3D market acceptance. We’re removing that barrier," Curtin added.
As with most Kickstarter campaigns, DTI project supporters can pledge at various levels, from a $5 pledge that is rewarded with "a heartfelt Thank You" to a pledge level of $995 that is rewarded with a DTI 27-inch Glasses Free Mission Critical 3D/2D display.
"We are also offering a First Mover Pledge Level of $895 to the first 25 backers who want to own this one-of-a-kind breakthrough glasses-free 3D technology," said Curtin.
The DTI Kickstarter campaign will run from November 23 to December 23 with a goal of raising $150,000. The company said funds will be used to scale the DTI 3D/2D Backlight Unit for a 27-inch display, source and integrate the eye-tracking, and then source and upgrade a commercially available LCD.
According to DTI’s Kickstarter campaign page, if funded, the estimated delivery date for the Mission Critical 3D display would be June 2015.
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