A HIGH RESOLUTION AUTOSTEREOSCOPIC DISPLAY

INNOVATIVE COMPUTER GRAPHICS TECHNIQUES FOR THE VISUALIZATION OF COMPLEX THREE-DIMENSIONAL FLUID FLOW PHENOMENA ARE NEEDED. SUCH COMPLEX 3-D SHAPES ARE OFTEN DIFFICULT TO INTERPRET WHEN DISPLAYED IN PERSPECTIVE ON A 2-D SCREEN, EVEN WHEN COLOR, SHADING, AND OTHER MONOCULAR CUES ARE USED. A MONITOR THAT PROVIDES TRUE DEPTH PERCEPTION TO THE USER IS THUS NOT ONLY DESIRABLE, BUT NECESSARY TO INTERPRET ACCURATE RESULTS. AN EASY TO USE, VERSATILE FLAT PANEL 3-D DISPLAY WOULD HAVE MANY OTHER POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS WITHIN NASA, INCLUDING CAD, REMOTE TELEROBOTICS OPERATIONS, AND THE POSITIONING OF PAYLOADS WITHIN THE SHUTTLE AND OTHER SPACECRAFT. THIS PROJECT'S LONG TERM GOAL (PHASE I - PHASE III) IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF A FLAT PANEL AUTOSTEREOSCOPIC (3-D) DISPLAY PROVIDING COLOR, HIGH RESOLUTION, AND DEPTH PERSPECTIVE IMAGING CAPABLE OF BEING SEEN WITHOUT OPTICAL AID BY SEVERALOBSERVERS SITUATED ACROSS A WIDE ANGLE IN FRONT OF THE DISPLAY. THE SPECIFIC AIM OF THE PHASE I PROJECT WILL BE THE CONSTRUCTION OF A "BREADBOARD" DEMONSTRATION MODEL OF THE BASIC OPTICAL ILLUMINATION TECHNIQUE THAT WILL PROVE THE CONCEPT. THE MODEL WILL ESTABLISH THE FOUNDATION FOR FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF A FULL PROTOTYPE DURING PHASE II AND FURTHER IMPROVEMENTS AND COMMERCIALIZATION DURING PHASE III.