X-Dimensional Display: Superimposing 2D Cross-Sectional Image inside 3D Wireframe Aerial Image

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a new interactive volumetric display which simultaneously shows a floating 3D image and its 2D cross sectional image inside it. This display enables users to see an arbitrary cross sectional image by inserting a hand-held semi-transparent screen into the 3D image floating in the mid-air. This system has following possibilities: doctors easily see MRI images inside the 3D body image, and designers check the internal structure of a 3D object in CAD. We construct a prototype device to demonstrate our proposed method by combining a 3D display and an aerial imaging technology. The spinning LED array constructs the volumetric image, and which is optically mirrored to appear in the free-space by the transmissive mirror called Aerial Imaging Plate (AIP). We find that a fine meshed silk screen can be inserted into the aerial image without disturbing the shape of it. Cross sectional images can be projected onto it together with the 3D image. We demonstrate how a silk screen diffuses a 3D aerial image and a projected 2D image.