Volumetric display by inclined-image scanning and three-dimensional image transmission based on optical shape measurement

Abstract

Volumetric display systems based on three-dimensional (3-D) scanning of an inclined image are reported. An optical image of a two-dimensional (2-D) display device, which is placed obliquely in an optical imaging system, is moved laterally by an optical mirror scanner. Inclined cross-sectional images of a 3-D object are displayed on the 2-D display device in accordance with the position of the image plane. A locus of the moving image can be observed as a series of moving afterimages as a result of high-speed scanning. A 3-D real image is thus formed as a stack of 2-D cross-sectional images. This 3-D image can satisfy all the criteria for stereoscopic vision. A three-dimensional image consisting of 1024 × 768 × 150 pixels was formed by the constructed system using a digital micro mirror device. In addition, we propose a 3-D image transmission system, which can acquire the 3-D information of an object and display it as a volumetric image in real time. We constructed a high-speed 3-D measurement system based on the light-section method using an intelligent vision system, which can capture and process 1000 images per a millisecond. We demonstrate real-time volumetric image generation from the measured profile using the 3-D measurement system and the volumetric display system.