Texas Instruments has outlined its vision for how people will view and interact with mobile displays and devices. The chip company expects its new OMAP 4 processor to power three-dimensional high-definition displays with touchless gesture recognition on mobile devices within the next year. One can imagine that the applications could extend beyond mainstream media.
Remi El-Ouazzane of TI envisions a near-term mobile future that will be vastly different to that of today. “Similar to how the touchscreen changed the way we interact with our devices, touchless gesturing and 3D-HD mobile capabilities will take experiences to the next level and radically change how we connect to our devices and the things around us.”
That could include touchless gestures allowing users to trace their fingers in the air to control a virtual touch screen using a single camera combined with object recognition software.
The fourth-generation system-on-chip processor is also capable of recording or reproducing stereoscopic 720 line high-definition video.
The display controller supports auto-stereoscopic displays, allowing a three-dimensional image to be viewed without special glasses, as well as supporting external 3D monitors.
On show at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona was a tablet with a standard liquid crystal display with an overlay film from 3M that rapidly displays alternating images to each eye, allowing still and moving 3D images to be viewed without special spectacles.
While there is currently a focus on 3DTV in the living room, with many associated issues, stereoscopic video could be available on mobile devices sooner than you might imagine. Whether viewed using special eyewear, or without glasses on special screens, portable devices may have many advantages for stereoscopic viewing, providing an intimately personal experience.