Sharp introduces 3D touchscreen LCD for mobile devices

Electronics giant Sharp Corporation announced the development of a 3D touchscreen LCD enabling users to view 3D images without wearing special glasses, which the firm says makes the LCD ideal for smartphones, digital cameras and portable media devices. According to Sharp, the LCD employs a parallax barrier system including a series of vertical slits incorporated into an ordinary LCD to control the path of light reaching the user's eyes, effectively creating a sense of depth. Advances in CG-Silicon technology enable both high brightness and low crosstalk to bolster image quality. Sharp adds that 3D images can be displayed in both portrait and landscape screen orientations, further optimizing the viewing experience on smartphones.

During a keynote discussion at CTIA Wireless 2010 in March, filmmaker James Cameron extolled the virtues of the evolving mobile video experience, noting that the next-generation 3D technology introduced in his big-screen blockbuster Avatar is uniquely optimized for mobile screens as well. "When the screen is small enough, you don't have to use [3D] glasses," Cameron explained. "With a single user, the lenticular screen is oriented for perfect 3D."

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