Re: [Closed REQ 5716]: Stereo Graphics

[daemon]

We've seen a product called CrystalEyes from the company StereoGraphics;
though we don't have one here, they seem to work pretty well.  These attach
to lots of models of Silicon Graphics Irises; most any Indigo, Indigo-2,
or Indy will support them.  The monitor needs to be "stereo ready", but
that seems to be true of the monitors SGI has been selling for the last
few years.  On the software side, you make a setmonitor()
graphics-library call to switch the monitor into stereo mode; this doubles
the vertical scan rate, so the top half screen is stretched vertically about
2:1 to form the left eye's view while the bottom half becomes the right eye's
view.  The software then must display these two views, distorted 2:1 to
compensate, in the bottom and top half frame buffer.  (Our 3-D display
software Geomview can do this, as can some commercial packages;
SGI also distributes example code.)  Meanwhile, on the hardware side,
you plug the CrystalEyes infrared transmitter into the computer, and put
on the glasses.  The glasses switch, alternately making the left or right-eye
lens opaque.  The remainder of the SGI screen is marginally usable while
in stereo mode -- you see it as vertically stretched, and visible only
with one eye at a time.

The high-end Irises, with Reality Engine graphics, support both
stereo and normal uses simultaneously, with undistorted screens -- some
windows are designated as stereo, and the system arranges to put up left-
or right-eye views as appropriate.  We haven't tried this.

The CrystalEyes hardware costs about $1K per pair of glasses if you buy it from
StereoGraphics, about $2K if bought from SGI.  The glasses are powered by
batteries which need relatively frequent replacement.

Hope this helps.

   Stuart Levy