Trilite Trixels: autostereoscopic 3D technology for outdoor digital signage screens

Trixels is the concept, based on laser beams and moving mirrors, developed by the Austrian startup Trilite to make effective the production of 3D images at the size of a signage screen and outdoor digital signage without loss of viewing angles, as if it were a kind of hologram, y sin necesidad de gafas 3D.

The development of Trilite, in collaboration with the Vienna University of Technology and Funding from the European Union, to produce Trixels, a technological concept based on laser beams and moving mirrors, aims to display autostereoscopic 3D images (without glasses), such as those already offered by many televisions, but on large format outdoor screens.

Each pixel, or Trixel in the name of Trilite, consists of three laser diodes (red, green and blue) which are combined with a small mobile mirror that allows to generate different colors that are directed to the eyes of the spectators. The mirror directs the laser beams through the field of view, from left to right. During that movement, the laser intensity is modulated so that different laser flashes are sent in different directions

The measurements of whole units of 9x6x5 mm., make the average distance at which viewers or users usually view a large-format digital signage screen merge into a single 3D image (at an inappropriate distance, passers-by will only see a 2D image).

As Fernando Saint Julien assures, CEO of Trilite, "We are taking the next step in the evolution of large-scale outdoor digital signage displays., allowing viewers to view the images of these systems in 3D, all this without having to wear special glasses".

Applications of autostereoscopic systems are often limited in terms of screen size, brightness, number of zones and maximum 3D display distances, mandatory requirements for effective operation in large format dooh systems. In addition, conventional autostereoscopic elements used indoors, such as lenses or parallax barriers, cannot adapt to these types of outdoor displays due to the inherent loss of resolution and brightness, which would reduce both image quality and readability in sunlight.

In this sense, Trilite's Head of Technology, Franz Fidler, explains that "we have developed a multi-view autostereoscopic concept with modular laser display that offers, theoretically, thousands of 3D view zones, at a maximum 3D viewing distance of up to 60 meters and bright enough and legible enough in direct sunlight".

The differential of this technological proposal is that "while other companies use very complex micro-optics, we put together a red laser, green and blue in an airtight and unique package containing a single micro-lens", Fidler qualifies.

So far, the company has developed a very basic prototype with Trixel technology, offering 5×3 Pixels, while "we are working on a second prototype that will show color images at a much higher resolution.. The crucial and critical point is to work with the individual laser pixels.", points out Jörg Reitterer, another of the Developers of Trilite.

The possibilities that this technology can offer in dooh screens at the points of greatest traffic, public events, Stadiums, Concerts, Etc. are practically infinite, as well as its impact on the audience and the commercial sector.

Trilite will show the possibilities of its Trixels in Spie Photonics West 2015, the most important photonics contest, laser and biomedical optics, which is celebrated by the 7 to the 12 February in San Francisco (California – United States), and expects to commercialize its development by the end of 2016.

Other articles on Trilite, Vienna University of Technology