SID 2010 – Is 3M behind Nintendo 3DS?

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Unlike traditional lenticular/parallax barrier glass-less 3D systems, there’s no scratchy holographic-postcard effect here – just smooth, fast, bright 3D action. The technology behind it is deceptively simple – a micro-engineered transparent lightguide directs light from two columns of LEDs, one on each side of the display. As each LED column fires in turn, light is directed to your left and right eyes alternately.

The effect is extremely effective, if rather narrow – each display is tuned to a precise viewing distance. Outside that sweet spot, the display degrades seamlessly to 2D, with no loss in resolution.

The only downside? The film needs a 120Hz panel and a hefty graphics processor to maintain a fluid 60Hz 3D image. 3M wouldn’t comment on any potential customers but all (may) be revealed at E3 in just two weeks’ time.

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Dan is Editor-in-chief of Stuff, working across the magazine and the Stuff.tv website. Our Editor-in-Chief is a regular at tech shows such as CES in Las Vegas, IFA in Berlin and Mobile World Congress in Barcelona as well as at other launches and events. He has been a CES Innovation Awards judge. Dan is completely platform agnostic and very at home using and writing about Windows, macOS, Android and iOS/iPadOS plus lots and lots of gadgets including audio and smart home gear, laptops and smartphones. He's also been interviewed and quoted in a wide variety of places including The Sun, BBC World Service, BBC News Online, BBC Radio 5Live, BBC Radio 4, Sky News Radio and BBC Local Radio.