New Laser System Displays Glasses-Free 3D Hologram: Study

Austrian scientists have invented a sophisticated laser system that creates a 3D effect without the need for special glasses.

It sends laser beams into different directions. Therefore, different pictures are visible from different angles.

The angular resolution is so fine that the left eye is presented a different picture than the right one - creating a 3D effect, said researchers from Vienna University of Technology.

Compared to a movie screen, the display is very vivid. Therefore, it can be used outdoors, even in bright sunlight.

With the startup firm TriLite Technologies, researchers have created the first prototype that has a modest resolution of five pixels by three but it clearly shows that the system works.

"We are developing a second prototype which will display colour pictures with a higher resolution," explained Jorg Reitterer from the team of professor Ulrich Schmid at Vienna University of Technology.

3D movies in the cinema only show two different pictures - one for each eye.

The newly-developed display, however, can present hundreds of pictures.

Walking by the display, one can get a view of the displayed object from different sides just like passing a real object - like a hologram.

For this, however, a new video format is required which has already been developed by the researchers.

"Today's 3D cinema movies can be converted into our 3D format, but we expect that new footage will be created especially for our displays - perhaps with a much larger number of cameras," added Franz Fiedler of TriLite Technologies.

The second prototype should be finished by the middle of this year, the commercial launch is scheduled for 2016, the team concluded.