Paradigm Shift: An Eco-friendly Approach to Create and Display Stereoscopic Geometric Designs

Abstract

Conventionally, a 2D image can be captured by a camera, composed and painted by a 2-button mechanical mouse (a digital brush) with a digital palette. A 3D object can be modeled by 3D (translate, rotate, scale, transform) software or formulated by equation-based method. Be it 2D images or 3D objects, the result can be displayed on a 2D image on screen or print it on a given surface. The color and lighting conditions can be embedded in the software in a single or multi-step process. While stereopsis is as old as the built-in capability of the human or animal (cats and apes), the desire for enabling stereopsis was first noted by Leonardo da Vinci, 15 th Century. Subsequently, various stereoscopic 3D displays was manifested in 3D imaging by David Brewster, 1807, lenticular display in 1915, 3D television by John Logie Baird, 1928, the latest being the US235 million 3D movies Avatar premiered in December 2009. Many attempts have been made to reproduce human stereo vision deploying sophisticated software and hardware at prohibitive costs, albeit with mammoth commercial success. To experience this 3D phenomenon, a common practice to view such illusion-of-depth effects is to provide the archetype 3-D glasses to view anaglyph images, or polarized 3D glasses from the 80s, or LCD shutter glasses using the ellipse method and the increasing emergence of new 3-D viewing systems without special glasses. Autostereoscopic LCD displays include the lenticular lens-based Alioscopy 3D LCD display screens since mid 1990s, Sharp Actius RD3D notebook, 2004, Hitachi mobile phone in 2009, and handheld gaming device Nintendo 3DS, 2010. To date, autostereoscopy has increasingly become a method of displaying stereoscopic images without the use of special headgear or glasses by the viewer, albeit there is still the “obligatory” 3D display hardware in use. In lieu of such commercial euphoria, there is a pertinent need and hence to device a method to produce autostereoscopic effects on existing flat-panel display. This paper offers and presents an eco-friendly and cost effective possibilities to create and view two categories of illusion-of-depth effects, viz: lenticular lens and stereoscopy instantaneously. Fundamentally, it is based on the rudiments of colors, the principal of spatial visualization and the language of spatial constructs. The approach is to define a geometric design, create a structural displacement, coupled with appropriate color interactions to resonate the perception of eyes, and hence provide the illusion-of-depth effects. As such, this conjugation demonstrates the results of an unprecedented create-and-display stereoscopic efforts of a huge repertoire of generative or non-generative simple and/or geometric designs with moderate complexities. It includes, but is not limited to 3D metallic threads, bamboo and rattan weaves, fabrics such as batik, linen, tweed and tartan. Therein, interlaced images, sequels, coleuraille (beyond grisaille and grunaille ) as well as true depth-of-illusion effects can be achieved without additional hardware manufacturing, software development and operational costs. With this native access to the viewer's own display technology without the need for special configuration settings. This approach ensures high availability, no device compatibility trans-codings with on-demand performance efficiency. It illustrates the single process create-and-view direct approach based on the concept herein. More research will be conducted in the near future to achieve stereoscopy for a wider range of subject matters.