Sharp’s 3-D Monitor — No Glasses Required!

TechBytes: New computer screen creates illusion of 3-D

Sharp is introducing a $3,300 computer with a screen that creates the illusion of 3-D vision without special glasses or other gimmicks, the Associated Press reports.

The screen on the Sharp’s Actius RD3D looks like a perfectly normal laptop LCD until the “3-D” button is pressed. Then, if you’re using applications or games that simulate three dimensions, the screen appears to deepen.

Sharp is positioning the Actius, a fully featured laptop, as a tool for architects, engineers, and chemists who need to work on 3-D objects, but some gamers are no doubt going to be tempted by the technology.

The viewer has to keep his head in a particular spot for optimal 3-D effect. Only one person will see proper 3-D at a time.

Also, the 15-inch screen darkens when the effect is activated, and a faint overlay of vertical lines muddies the image somewhat.

Here’s how it works. A typical laptop screen consists of two layers: an image-forming liquid-crystal layer and a light-emitting layer behind it. Sharp’s technology adds a layer between them, which is transparent when the 3-D effect is off.

When the user hits the “3-D” button, the middle layer turns into a fine pattern of alternating black and white vertical bars. The black bars block the light from the backlight at some angles, meaning the screen can present different images to the right and left eyes.

The ability to turn the effect off is pretty crucial – legibility of plain text suffers quite a bit when 3-D is on.

The screen’s extra dimension may help in designing 3-D objects, but its greatest use will probably be in presentations because of its sheer wow factor. A program that comes with the computer can be used to make 3-D PowerPoint presentations.

Then there’s games. Most of today’s games simulate a 3-D world on a regular screen. Remarkably, they will be in true 3-D on Sharp’s screen without any further modification, Sharp says.

Apart from the screen, the Actius RD3D is a fairly standard high-end laptop in the “desktop replacement” category. At 10.2 pounds, its not something you want to carry far, and the battery only lasts about 1 hour and 20 minutes.

For now the laptop is sold only through Sharp’s Web site (www.Sharp-usa.com) and some corporate channels.