ArsTechnica has a review of the upcoming V-Screen for the Sony PSP, which brings a simple pseudo-3D effect to the handheld portable. It’s based on a theory from Tom Kopke, who discovered that a simple Fresnel Lens in front of the display creates a fake 3D effect by adjusting the focal distance.
“This all got started when Tom Kopke mentioned that it might be possible to have a flight simulator display with a more realistic, 3-dimensional sense of depth by mounting a fresnel lens in front of the monitor.This sounded implausible to me at first… but Tom is a physicist who works on simulator display systems for the U.S. Navy so I had to take his proposition seriously,” Rick Lee writes in an explanation of the effect. “[Kopke] explained that the lens allows you to view the monitor with your eyes focused out nearer to infinity instead of two feet in front of your face…. In the science of simulation, this is called a ‘collimated display.'”
Several stores sell the lenses, which retail for as little as $20. Wikipedia has a great writeup on Collimated Light if you want to learn more.
via $40 gets you stereoscopic pseudo-3D on the PSP. No… really.
