OFF-THE-SHELF "HOLOS".

Displaying 3D computer graphics with a realistic sense of depth for more than one viewer at a time--without intrusive stereoscopic glasses or elaborate user position-sensing devices--has been a long-standing goal of imaging scientists. A few months ago we reported on new autostereoscopic 3D displays being developed in university laboratories in the United States and Japan (see "Degrees of Freedom," pg. 36, May 2001).

Now, various firms are beginning to make displays for unencumbered viewing of desktop-scale 3D images commercially available. The technologies involved differ, but they all aspire to the eye-catching brightness and depth-of-field of holograms, still ...