Holographic Imaging and Stereo Perception
Using 2-D Images to Create 3-D Perceptions
Psych 221:
Visual Imaging Systems
March 2008
Anaglyph of Prof. Brian Wandell, Stanford University.
Courtesy Center for Multi-Disciplinary Teaching and
Research.
In this paper, I study several methods of presenting a 3D image on a 2D
viewing surface. The production of these
types of 3D images represents few technological challenges, but the drawbacks
inherent in using 2D surfaces to present 3D information suggests the need for
more sophisticated viewing devices. I
conclude with a brief discussion of other possibilities in the field of 3D
imaging, either using 2D viewing surfaces or other means, and its significance
to the future of the display industry.
Introduction
At the moment, display technology is quickly
approaching a fundamental limit: the ability of the human eye to see fine
detail. As technology giants like
Samsung and Panasonic achieve higher and higher densities of pixels within
their flat-panel displays, the display industry faces the problem that
resolution scaling will no longer make a difference to human perception.
The standard limit of human perception is
approximately 300 pixels per inch, or PPI.
PPI is an absolute measure of display resolution that is independent of
the size of the monitor. Therefore, a 2”
cell phone screen with 600x600 resolution and a 72” TV screen with 17280x12960
resolution both exhibit 300 PPI (Fig. 1). Building a smaller cell phone display or
increasing the TV screen’s resolution will yield no benefits to the end-user,
because the human eye will sense no difference in resolution past the current
point