Tiled Stereoscopic 3D Display Wall - Concept, Applications and Evaluation

The Tiled Stereoscopic 3D Display Wall (TS3DW) is a monitor system consisting of six consumer 3D TVs. Two monitors reside on a mobile display mount. One standard configuration is to use them in a 135-degree angle to each other, having one mobile mount in the center, and one at each side. In this way, the system can be transported to multiple locations across a campus as well as used in different application scenarios. This system was already used for a number of research projects and presentations. In this work, we present the concept, applications and evaluation of the implemented system. First, we will discuss the hardware setup, the passive circular polarization technology provided by the LG 3D TVs and its limitations. Then, two application cases making use of Stereoscopic 3D visualization will be discussed and compared to previous work: • Visualization and Analysis of Bird Trajectories, • Visualization and Analysis of Meteorite Data. Finally, we discuss a comprehensive evaluation of the system and its stereoscopic capabilities featuring 16 participants with different body heights. Three major questions were evaluated: • Is TS3DW an appropriate environment for group presentations? • If so, which aspects have to be taken into account during its configuration? • Does TS3DW show potential to be used in the context of static and/or dynamic bird visualization? Introduction Display walls, consisting of a number of monitors or TVs, are often used in companies or universities for multiple purposes: high resolution displays, group presentations, large-scale touch interaction, collaborative data analysis etc. As long as only 2D projections are used, the configuration of these display environments is relatively easy from a hardware as well as software perspective. But in case Stereoscopic 3D (S3D) visualization should be used, things are getting complicated, as different screens have to be combined, synchronized, and the maintenance of an optimal stereoscopic vision has to be provided to the viewers. S3D display devices are being developed since many decades. One of the milestones of developing S3D display environments is the CAVE (CAVE Automatic Virtual Environment) introduced in the 1990s [1]. Usually – especially in the past – a number of back projection systems are used to create a stereoscopic display environment using different configurations of projection screens e. g. front, left and right side, floor and/or ceiling. Each of these projection screens is normally associated with two projectors for the left and right perspective. Since the 1990s, many universities and companies adapted this display setup. Just a few years ago the next iteration, CAVE2 R ©was introduced which was creating a nearly 360◦experience by combining arrays of stereoscopic monitors to a high-resolution stereoscopic display [2]. Figure 1. Initial sketches of the Tiled S3D Display Wall modelled with Blender [3]. The mobile stands are already visible combined with two 55” displays per row placed on top of each other. Top: three two-monitor systems side-by-side, Bottom: one two-monitor system including the computer placed on top of the mobile platform. The main problem of these configurations is the fact that they are quite demanding in terms of financial and human resources investment. In addition, the advent of affordable HeadIS&T International Symposium on Electronic Imaging 2019 Stereoscopic Displays and Applications XXX 641-1 https://doi.org/10.2352/ISSN.2470-1173.2019.3.SDA-641 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Konstanzer Online-Publikations-System (KOPS) URL: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:352-2-eu6pt84442ke8 Erschienen in: IS&T International Symposium on Electronic Imaging 2019 : Stereoscopic Displays and Applications XX. Springfield, VA : Society for Imaging Science and Technology, 2019. S. 641-1 641-15