Volumetric three-dimensional display

Abstract

A true three-dimensional monitor is being developed for the direct display of three- (or higher-) dimensional information. The device is constructed of a three-dimensional array of pixels, actually voxels or volume elements, which in their quiescent state are transparent. When these elements are excited optically through a fiber-optic pigtail, they fluoresce. The sum of many fluorescing elements thus compose a three-dimensional image.

Fabrication and characterization of a volumetric three-dimensional display using ion-exchanged integrated waveguides

“…1 and in US Patent 5,801,666. There, a three-dimensional volumetric display using a fiber optic architecture was first described.…”

“…An index-matching solution was used to eliminate Fresnel scattering from the interfaces of the glass fibers, the host material for the dye, and the glass supporting structure. 1 Reference 1 reported a monochrome static fiber-based display with 600 emitters. Direct engineering improvements, particularly in robotic assembly, made in the years since publication have made possible the successful construction and testing of a 0.6-m 3 hemispherical display with 76,000 voxels.…”

Operating scheme for the light-emitting diode array of a volumetric display that exhibits multiple full-color dynamic images

“…[1][2][3][4] Viewers can observe the 3-D images from any surrounding viewpoint without requiring additional devices. Therefore, volumetric displays could be applied for 3-D visualization in many fields.…”

Autostereoscopic, Partial Pixel, Spatially Multiplexed, and other 3D Display Technologies

“…Meerholz et al (1994) successfully recorded high diffraction efficiency holographic gratings in photorefractive polymers. Some of the dynamic, 3D display techniques developed prior to the mid-1990s included holographic movies, aperture synthetic 3D display systems, partial pixel stereoscopic display systems, LCD stereoscopic display systems with diffractive optical elements, polarized stereoscopic display systems, color-coded (red-blue) stereoscopic display systems, and virtual reality (VR) rendering systems (Joachimowicz and Gold, 1990;Palais and Miller, 1996;Ernst et al, 1996;Kulick et al, 1995;Travis, 1990;MacFarlane 1994;St. Hilaire et al, 1992;Takeda et al, 1995).…”

“…In principle, the primitive optical fiber for visible wavelengths is considered a light pipe that conducts light waves. A volumetric display was developed using optical fibers to transport light from the source to a 3D fluorescent resin (vexel) array (MacFarlane, 1994). In medical imaging applications, light pipes also transmit images from the inside of a patient, and allow physicians to make visual examinations of the disease.…”