2 | SD2421W
StereoMirror™ Technology
A StereoMirror™
monitor consists of two AMLCD (Active Matrix Liquid Crystal
Display) units, oriented at a 110º angle and mounted on a specially designed
stand. A passive beamsplitter mirror bisects the angle formed between the two
monitors, and there is a fine mechanical adjustment for the mirror angle between
the two displays. One side of the glass mirror has a reflective coating, and the
other side has an anti-reflective coating to minimize secondary reflections. The
mirror has been treated with a hard top coating to accommodate cleaning.
In general, the objective of a stereoscopic display is to efficiently present a left eye
image solely to the left eye while the right eye image is directed to the right eye.
This allows the human visual system to merge the two images and results in the
perception of depth, or
stereopsis. In the
StereoMirror™
design this
stereo separation is achieved
using the principle of
conservation of polarization.
Liquid crystal displays
operate based on the ability
of liquid crystal material to
modulate plane-polarized
light. The two AMLCDs in the
SD2421W model have been
manufactured so that the
polarized light emitted from
the top monitor is 90° rotated from that of the bottom monitor. The image from
the lower monitor is seen through the mirror, as shown in the illustration above.
When stereo pair images from the two monitors are viewed through crossed-
polarizing glasses (glasses with polarizing films mounted on the eyepieces with
their planes of polarization at a right angle to one another), the user only sees the
left eye image with the eyepiece having the 135°-oriented polarizer and the right
eye image with the eyepiece having the 45° polarizer. Light with a perpendicular
polarization is not transmitted. The result is a single, fused stereoscopic image.
One of the benefits of StereoMirror's use of light polarization properties is the
ability to utilize a 3rd, non-stereo monitor in conjunction with the stereo system.
Any flat panel monitor with a 0°, 90°, or 180° polarization angle can be used while
wearing the SD glasses.
Operating principle of the StereoMirror monitor
