After years of curiosity regarding the topic of 3D technology, it finally seems to be going mainstream. And CE devices, it appears are not the only ones to be affected by this; mobile will be too according to In-Stat. Nonetheless, mobile devices would need a higher performance level since usage of glasses may cause safety concerns and image capturing in 3D may become as significant as 3D viewing.
Capturing, viewing and processing 3D content are said to be the three main components that assure a well defined 3D experience in mobile devices. Since 3D for mobiles has to be glasses-free, a technology called autostereoscopy has to be used for the display. Lenticular lenses and Parallax barriers are the commonest forms of this technology. Due to its technological maturity and lesser cost, parallax barriers are being preferred over the lenses although both of them are capable of directing the eyes to specific pixels in an interlaced image to create the 3D illusion.
Current image sensors make it possible to produce very high resolution 3D pictures. But to account for the cost and high data rates, lower resolution solutions are being used frequently. Processing 3D content is not quite easy. So although the present range of mobile processors can only process 3D content with mediocre performance, thanks to the competition and drive for 3D in the market, its predicted that the coming generation of mobile processors will be capable enough to support higher levels of 3D.
Embedding 3D into mobiles, inspite of the progress in technology, would probably be slow because of drawbacks like eye strains and headaches caused by viewing 3D, increased cost of such devices, and content limitations. Though 3D had been developed decades back, this technology to be embedded for mobiles is quite recent and advanced. It’s believed that between 2013 and 2015, its adoption will increase as costs come down and the ecosystem matures.
Not only do mobile devices have to take into account image viewing, which is the main feature of other 3D solutions like movie theaters, TVs, and PCs, they also have to be concerned with image capturing. Being an important point of differentiation for device OEMs, image capturing may soon become as essential as 3D viewing for dedicated and multi-function devices like digital camcorders and smartphones respectively.