Japanese researchers are working towards integral 3D TVs

Researchers from Japan's NHK (the Japanese Broadcasting Corporation) and from JVC Kenwood are working towards integral 3D TV system. This is actually a 100-year-old technique that uses a large (400x250) lens array to create glasses-free 3D images.

To record images, a large array of many convex lenses is placed in front of a Super Hi-Vision camera, which records the direction and intensity of light as viewed from slightly different directions. To display the images to a viewer, a Super Hi-Vision projector projects the images onto a diffusion screen, in front of which is an identical convex lens array. This set-up can recreate the direction and intensity of the light that was originally recorded. Since each lens looks slightly different at different viewing angles, the images look slightly different from different directions, giving a 3D impression.

via PhysOrg