A technology that allows you to watch 3D movies with your bare eyes without stereoscopic glasses is becoming a reality through the research of Professor Kookheon Cha of Seoul National University. This technology, based on research on polymer thin films in chemical biomedical engineering, has the potential to be applied to various industries and is expected to be used in future daily life, including virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).

Since the worldwide success of James Cameron’s film Avatar, many action and fantasy films have been made in 3D. I haven’t seen Avatar myself, but I’ve seen Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in 3D, which followed the craze. While the stereoscopic experience was definitely better than traditional 2D films, I found the need to wear stereoscopic glasses to watch the film to be a hassle, especially for someone who normally wears glasses. This is a common problem for non-glasses wearers as well. Not only do the frames of stereoscopic glasses interfere with vision, but the pressure on the nose is also one of the causes of discomfort. Therefore, ‘a technology that allows you to watch 3D movies with your bare eyes’ has long been a major challenge for 3D imaging technologists. Professor Kookheon Cha of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Seoul National University has made an important breakthrough to solve this problem. The Arrays of Lucius Microprism technology developed by his research team is a revolutionary technology that allows people to watch 3D films with their bare eyes without glasses.

How 3D imaging works and polarisation

The reason we routinely perceive the world in 3D is because we have two eyes. For example, if you hold an apple in front of you and alternately close one eye and open the other, you’ll notice that the apple looks slightly different when viewed with the left eye and the right eye. This is because there is a gap of about 6cm between the two eyes. This small difference causes the brain to combine the information coming from the two eyes and perceive it as three dimensional.
Modern 3D films are created using this principle. In order to see a 3D film, the visual information coming into each eye must be different. The stereoscopic glasses used in cinemas are the tools that create this difference. Stereoscopic glasses have polarising filters that direct light from different polarisation directions to different eyes. Light is an electromagnetic wave that propagates as electric and magnetic fields oscillate perpendicular to each other. The direction in which the electric field oscillates is called the polarisation direction. Natural light is a mixture of light with different polarisation directions. The polarising filters attached to the lenses of stereoscopic glasses allow only light of a certain polarisation direction to pass through, which is why the left and right eyes perceive different images.

Glasses-free 3D imaging technology: Lucius prism arrays

Lucius prism arrays are not the first glasses-free 3D video display technology. Previous technologies, such as the Parallax Barrier method, have existed, but they suffer from instability, where 2D and 3D are converted depending on the viewing angle. This has the side effect of causing dizziness or distracting the video viewer.
However, Lucius prism array technology has solved that problem. It uses a film made up of microscopic prisms (triangular columns) measuring tens of micrometres in size. One side of the prisms is coated with a special material that absorbs light, which directs it only in the desired direction. This ensures that no matter what angle the viewer is looking from, the image is tailored to each eye, providing a natural 3D effect. Thanks to this technology, you no longer need to wear stereoscopic glasses to enjoy 3D films.

Future applications in chemical biomedical engineering

Lucius prism array technology is not just limited to 3D cinema: it is part of polymer thin film research, which has a wide range of potential applications. Polymer thin film research involves the use of nanotechnology to create very thin films and control their properties. This research could have a wide range of applications in future high-value-added technologies such as organic transistors, organic solar cells, and semiconductors. In particular, it could be used in a variety of consumer electronics, such as home TVs and smartphone displays, as the technology can be easily attached to existing liquid crystal displays to enable 3D imaging. It will also be cost-effective, making it readily available to many households.

The evolution of 3D imaging technology and our everyday lives

The evolution of 3D imaging technology started in the film industry, but it’s now expanding into our everyday lives. With rapid advances in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technology, 3D displays have the potential to revolutionise education, healthcare, manufacturing, and more. For example, in healthcare, 3D images can help plan complex surgeries with greater precision, while in manufacturing, 3D design models can be visualised at close to scale to improve the design process.
Eventually, 3D imaging technology will become an increasingly important part of our daily lives – not just by allowing us to watch 3D films without stereoscopic glasses, but by providing realistic visual experiences in a wide range of digital environments. With technological advances in chemical biology at the heart of these changes, future research and development will enrich our lives even further.