More about Sony Single-Lens 3D Approach

Tech-On: Sony single-lens 3D camera is based on the concept that it is possible to achieve enough stereoscopic and depth effects with an interocular distance of several millimeters. The concept, which is called "microstereopsis," was announced in 1995.

There are two major advantages in using the new monocular video camera. First, it does not cause disagreement between the focal point of the eyes and the intersection point of the lines of sight (accommodation-vergence conflict), which is typical of normal 3D images. Second, though it requires special glasses to view 3D images, the images do not split into two even without the glasses.

Carnegie Mellon University group spent some time on microstereopsis principle research at the beginning of this decade. The approach relies on human vision perception psychology when surprisingly small disparities between left and right eyes are adequate to stimulate binocular stereopsis. So, even if the stereo base is much smaller than 6.5cm, typical for human eye-to-eye distance, a good 3D perception can be achieved.