Volumetric display

Volumetric display

A volumetric display device is a graphic display device that forms a visual representation of an object in three physical dimensions, as opposed to the planar image of traditional screens that simulate depth through a number of different visual effects. One definition offered by pioneers in the field is that volumetric displays create 3D imagery via the emission, scattering, or relaying of illumination from well-defined regions in (x,y,z) space.

A true volumetric display renders a digital representation of a real object in a physical space ( volume ), the resulting "image" displays similar characteristics to a real world object enabling an observer to view it from any direction, focus a camera on a specific detail and see perspective meaning parts of the image closer to the viewer will appear bigger than parts that are further away.

Volumetric 3D displays are autostereoscopic, that is, they create 3D imagery visible to the unaided eye.

Volumetric 3D displays embody just one family of 3D displays in general. Other types of 3D displays are: stereograms / stereoscopes, view-sequential displays, electro-holographic displays, parallax "two view" displays and parallax panoramagrams (which are typically spatially multiplexed systems such as lenticular-sheet displays and parallax barrier displays), re-imaging systems, and others.

Although first postulated in 1912, and a staple of science fiction, volumetric displays are still not widely used in everyday life. There are numerous potential markets for volumetric displays with uses cases including Medical Imaging, Mining, Education, Advertising, Simulation, Video Gaming, Communication and Geophysical visualisation. When compared to other 3D Visualisation tools such as Virtual Reality, Volumetric Displays offer an inherently different mode of interaction, with the ability for a group of people to gather around the display and interact in a natural and sociable manner, without first having to put on 3D Glasses or other head gear. 3D objects rendered within a Volumetric Display can have characteristics that are the same as real-world objects, including focal depth, motion parallax ( the ability of the display to be viewed from any direction from multiple people at the same time, with each person having their own unique view) , and vergence ( the ability of human eye to focus on an object with the head is tilted