Inexpensive 3D Stereo for Two Users Using a Single Display

Abstract

Multiuser computer systems allow several users to collaborate on the same task. Medium sized displays, like workbenches or tabletops provide a shared view of the task and a set of input devices to interface with the system. Some of the existing installations also provide 3D stereoscopic viewing, often also shared by all the participants and therefore incorrect for all of them but one. In these cases a different stereoscopic view for each user is desirable. We implemented two hardware configurations that support independent stereo viewing for two users sharing a common display using a 120Hz monitor and a 120Hz projector. Our prototypes use off-the-shelf parts to create a functional, responsive and inexpensive two-user 3D stereo display system. We also apply our systems to a competitive game, where each user has a private stereoscopic view of the game table, and a two-user multimedia player, where each user can watch and hear a different video on the same display.