.3 D Display Technology And Its Educational Applications

The 3D movie Avatar makes us enjoy the charm of 3D display technology. This thesis is based on a research on the pop 3D. Currently 3D display technology is mainly used in the entertainment fields such as movies, TVs and computer games. However, this thesis focuses its utilization in education. In the research, firstly we should study what on earth the 3D display technology is, including its operational principle, classification, development history, etc. We should study the applied 3D technologies at present and the 3D devices fashionable in the market. Secondly we should focus on how to utilize it in education. So the logical structure of the thesis is first what it is and then how to use it. As far as the content is concerned, there are four main parts:a general introduction, technologies, devices, and utilization. These four parts become the four chapters:chapters 2-5. Adding the first chapter Introduction and the sixth chapter Conclusion, there are 6 chapters in all.The first chapter is Introduction, including the definition of the research object——3D Display Technology, the background of the research, the research methods, and literature sources.3D technology is quite popular at present and it has a glorious future in the utilization in education, but the fact is that there is a little research on this aspect. Currently there are not so many academic books and magazine essays. There are more resources in the IT newspaper and IT websites, but the quality of the articles differs from each other.The second chapter is a general review of 3D display technology. First of all, the operational principle of 3D display is argued. We are able to experience our world in 3D because we have two eyes. There is a limited distance between one's two eyes. Each eye observes a given object from a slightly different perspective. The brain combines the eyes'two observations into the single image that we "see." Stereopsis is originated from Binocular Disparity/Parallax. Stereoscopy is the enhancement of the illusion of depth in a photograph, movie, or other two-dimensional image by presenting a slightly different image to each eye.3D display technologies can be classified into two groups:3D with glasses and 3D without glasses. The former is the mainstream in the market and so it is the main object of this research. The three main parts of the 3D industry chain are: production, distribution and display.3D display technology has a long history. In 1838, British scientist Charles Wheatstone invented a mirror stereoscopic display system. The first commercial 3D movie was projected in 1922.3D TVs and 3D monitors are developing for many years. For the further popularization, there are some obstacles such as price, health, standard and technology.The third chapter narrates four kinds of applied 3D display technology. The first kind is wiggle stereoscopy, in which the two pictures taken from slightly different points are overlaid and shown flickering alternately. The wiggle basically tricks one eye into thinking that it's two eyes observing the object from different perspectives. The second kind is Anaglyph. The third kind is polarized light 3D technology with a typical example--RealD 3D. The fourth kind is shutter glasses 3D technology with the typical example--3D Vision by NVIDIA Corporation.The fourth chapter introduces some 3D display devices and producing devices, including 3D notebooks,3D TVs,3D data projectors,3D DVs and DCs. The chapter is about the technologies and products in the current market.The fifth chapter explores 3D's utilization in education. Among the four kinds of applied 3D technologies mentioned above, Wiggle Stereoscopy and Anaglyph cost no extra or a little money and they can be utilized in education easily. In this research we have some experiments on them. If there is sufficient money,3D Vision and DLP 3D Ready data projectors are appropriate technology and devices to be used in education. In this chapter, we argue the hardware and software system solutions. Then, two utilization cases are introduced, one is Boulder Valley School District 3D Pilot Projector Program Case, the other is Shelton School 3D Pilot Projector Program Case. In the end, we have some theoretical study. We argue the advantages and the utilization fields of 3D display technology in education, and some obstacles. We also give some advice or solvements against those obstacles or issues. Based on this special research, we build a Gatekeeper Model about how to select and utilize Instructional Media in shools and classes.The sixth chapter is Conclusion. In this chapter we first summarize the thesis and then we talk about creative points of the thesis, the limitation and the future of the research. The three creative points of this thesis are a new research object, a new research perspective and a new Instructional-Media-Selecttion model.3D display involves many disciplines and is quite complicated itself. Some 3D devices are so expensive currently that we have no conditions to buy and test them. Some of the arguments may be just empty talk. In this thesis, quite a plenty of data and resources are organized, but only a few arguments are original. Although there are many shortcomings, the thesis lays a solid foundation for the further research.