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From: a-peterb@microsoft.UUCP (Peter BRUINSMA)
Newsgroups: sci.psychology,comp.graphics.visualization
Subject: Re: Real 3D PHOTOCOPY - black & white - no glasses...
Summary: More info on 3D stuff
Keywords: stereocopic images
Message-ID: <72100@microsoft.UUCP>
Date: 30 Apr 91 03:07:15 GMT
References: <4354.2816ba40@iccgcc.decnet.ab.com>
Reply-To: a-peterb@microsoft.UUCP (Peter BRUINSMA)
Organization: Microsoft Corp., Redmond WA
Lines: 73

In article <4354.2816ba40@iccgcc.decnet.ab.com> fleischer@iccgcc.decnet.ab.com writes:
>I saw the most *amazing* "3D" black and white photocopy of an 
>advertisement by PENTICA.  It looked like a random patern of squiggles in
>a box with 2 large black dots above.  When you shift the focus of your eyes
>to make the 2 dots overlap, this flat XEROX'd picture turns 3D.  It's
>like you're looking through a window to a picture about 1 foot below the
>paper with letters and numbers at various heights above the picture.
>
>Does anyone know how this was done?  

What you were looking at was a pair of stereoscopic images. These used to
be a very common form of entertainment during the beginning of this century.
Hundreds of thousands of viewers were sold. They consisted of a holder 
in which you could mount your stereo pair print, and two  holes or lenses, 
fixed at a certain distance. The idea is that each eye sees a scene at a 
slightly different angle. If you look at a scene with only one eye at a 
time you will see that everything shifts position. If you were to take two 
photographs at about 5 to 10 inches apart, and you mounted the prints
side by side (left image on the left, right image on the right) then you 
could view these using a special purpose viewer. If you don't have such a 
viewer then you could train your brain/eyes to 'free view' the images. 
It is for that purpose that those two black dots were placed above the images.
All you have to do is merge them, as you have already found out.
 
Is there PC software that will let 
>you build these and print them on a laser printer?  

Any program in which you can specify a viewpoint for viewing a 3D scene
and lets you subsequently print it would allow you to view the scene twice,
each, say, 10 inches apart from the other. I don't know anything out there
though that will do that... 
  
Is there a collection of
>these?

Yes. If you are seriously interested in this 3D stuff you can Email
uunet!bfmny0!3d-request
Ask if you can join the list. 

Who did the theory and development? 

This idea was probably discovered independently way before the 1900's.
I guess I don't have any references here...

Does it require more resolution
>than exists on a VGA display?  

No, but the result is obviously more fun on higher resolution displays.

IS there a dynamic/moving version?

I heard of chemical models rotating and that sort of thing. Usually those
really nice workstations use LCD shutter glasses which allow you to see the
left and right images sequentially in color etc.  

>
>I requested more information from PENTICA, but I don't expect a very 
>detailed reply.

Never heard of them. 

You also may want to check out a magazine called "ShutterBug". 

Good luck!

Peter Bruinsma
a-peterb@microsoft.UUCP


Any soelling errors were vi's, not mine.


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