***5 Japanese Co.s Form Consortium to Create 3D Stereographic
Display Market
(March 4)
Five major Japanese companies have collaborated to form The 3D
Consortium, to encourage the growth and development of a market
for 3D applications and products. The consortium's objective is
to enhance the potential market for three dimensional images
through the development and expansion of I/O devices for 3D
stereographic displays, development and distribution of 3D
content, and by promoting the commercial use of this new
technology in a wide variety of application areas.
The five steering members of the Consortium are
- Itochu Corporation, Tokyo;
- NTT DATA Corporation, Tokyo;
- Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd., Osaka;
- Sharp Corporation, Osaka; and
- Sony Corporation, Tokyo.
Compared to conventional planar (2D) displays, stereographic (3D)
displays are capable of realistically depicting the third
dimension--depth--in an image. A variety of applications are
envisioned in fields such industrial design including CAD
(computer aided design), medical, educational, entertainment,
advertising, broadcasting, electronic books, and more. The
Consortium estimates this market in Japan has the potential to
reach 3 trillion yen in annual sales revenue by 2008.
Last September, Sharp Corporation and Sharp Laboratories of
Europe, Ltd. announced the development of an LCD capable of
displaying 3D images without the use of special glasses. This LCD
is switched electrically between 2D viewing and 3D viewing. Sharp
is currently employing its 3D LCD technology in a mobile phone.
In addition, Sharp will introduce 3D PC related products later
this year.
Consortium members believe this groundbreaking technology will
open up new worlds of video imaging that will provide a realistic
sense of depth and presence never before possible. In addition to
the five steering members, the 3D Consortium is comprised of over
60 standard members, including hardware manufacturers, software
vendors, content vendors, content providers, system integrators,
video production houses, broadcasters, academic organizations and
other interested parties.
Subcommittees are being established within the Consortium to
discuss specific issues such as devising image formats
appropriate to various applications and I/O devices and
developing guidelines and authoring tools for creating content.
The Consortium will expand its efforts globally into various
fields, and plans to aggressively promote educational activities
to encourage the widespread application and expansion of 3D. The
ultimate goal is to generate an unprecedented new industry and
market for 3D technology.
The Consortium Business Office is located at
Digi-Book Japan Inc., 1-3-6 Nishi-Kanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo,
Japan.
Tel: +81-3-5283-8640.
E-mail: jimmukyoku@3dc.gr.jp.
Inquiries from companies and organizations in the U.S. interested
in participating in the Consortium for the purpose of expanding
the market for 3D can be directed to:
Ian Thompson
Sharp Laboratories of Europe Ltd
Edmund Halley Road
Oxford Science Park
Oxford, 0X4 4GB, UK
Tel: +44 (0)1865 747711
Fax: +44 (0)1865 747717
Email: ian.thompson@sharp.co.uk
Wave Issue 0306 3/7/03 Article 1-01