I hate 3D films because of the headaches they give me and uncomfortable glasses I must wear. Well, it looks like that is all about to change. French researchers at Engineering Human-Computer Interaction (EHCI) have developed a method for a glasses-free 3D experience. By utilizing the front-facing camera of mobile devices such as the iPhone and iPad 2 they have managed to create the effect without the need for the accelerometer. Amazing.
Head-Coupled Perspective (HCP) on mobile devices allows to create a glasses-free monocular 3D display. It is based on a efficient head-tracker that uses the front-facing camera of the device. We use an off-axis projection in order to adapt the perspective of the 3D scene according to the head’s position of the user. Such spatially-aware mobile display enables to improve the possibilities of interaction.
Can you imagine the applications for this technique? 3D modeling for medicine, fashion apps, 3D video conferencing, games. Seeing is believing. Check out the video – it’s amazing how well you can see this effect even on a 2D YouTube clip.
[via macstories and EHCI]