One
of the big video stories from CES 2009 was 3D. Whether it was LCD, Plasma, DLP,
flat panel, front projection or rear projection it seemed like every booth had
a crowd of people standing around wearing plastic glasses with polarized
lenses. If goofy glasses aren’t for you, then you might be excited by
Alioscopy’s autostereoscopic, glasses-free, 3D technology. Instead of using the
left-eye, right-eye images of other 3D technologies, Alioscopy mixes eight
slightly offset views of a scene in real time. An optical lenticular lens is
attached to the front of the display screen, and hundreds of micro-lenses
operate like miniature magnifying glasses to display the eight points of view
that change according to the viewer’s position. While it’s not the same as
being there, the video gives you a taste of the 3D effect.—John Sciacca
