See True 3D Without Glasses!

Ever since the success of Avatar, 3D has been gaining a lot of hype. Everything is now coming out in 3D, from movies to games, from TVs to laptops and even handheld consoles like the Nintendo 3DS, due out next year. No matter what hardware or software is used, the main objective is to provide the user with a feeling of depth. Currently, there are a few methods (Real D, Dolby 3D, Active Shutter, Polarisation, Anaglyph, Autostereoscopy, etc) used to give the viewer the 3D effect. However, they either rely on special viewing glasses or in the case of autostereoscopy, a special screen.

A "Real D" 3D glasses, which are used in Shaw Cinemas here in Singapore.

A "Dolby 3D" glasses, used by GV and Cathay. It is heavier and not as comfortable to use as the Real D one.

But did you know that there is a type of 3D that can be viewed on your monitor or screen right now? That requires no special glasses at all?

And it can offer true 3D images with depth and can be viewed at any angle to the screen. It has been around for more than 10 years too. I am talking about the stereogram, better known as Magic Eye, the company that made it famous.These stereogram images are generated by computer and the hidden 3D image can be viewed using two methods, either keeping your eyes parallel or crossed. The perceived image can be described as popping out of the screen and feels as if you can just reach out to touch it.

An example of a stereogram. This one uses random computer generated dots.

Click here to see the actual 3D image.

I've attached an image here to try. To see it, first look at the image. Then slowly relax your eyes and let it go out of focus, or you can try looking into a distance beyond the screen. When your eyes are relaxed and not focusing on anything, look at the image below, keeping your eyes out of focus. Tada! The image is popped right out of the screen and you can see true 3D! =D

I've seen these images lots of times in my younger days. But it was only about 6 years ago that I finally managed to get the parallel technique right and can view the 3D images in all the wonderful depth that it was meant to have. Since you have to relax your eyes and let them go out of focus for the parallel method to work, there is no doubt that viewing these images are very soothing and relaxes you. Good for de-stressing. The best thing is that you don't need any special equipment and can view it anywhere, whether on the bus, in school or at home, and on anything, such as phone screen, monitor or paper. Try it for yourself! ^.^