Photo [3dnatureguy/Wikipedia]
Some of science fiction’s predictions have passed fitfully into the present; video phones and geostationary satellites for example. Others seem destined to remain forever in the hereafter, despite being almost universal in movies and literature. The list will be familiar: jetpacks, food pills, silver clothes with giant collars.
One technology, though, resurfaces every few years and makes it to market, only to disappear into the morass of nostalgia soon after. These are 3-D displays, attempts to turn boring old flat telly into a depth-charged experience. Some products failed because they were junk, others just fade from view and resurface years later. This is a list of the most notable flops.
3-D Spex
We see in three dimensions because we have two eyes. Our brain compares the images, works out the differences and presents us with in depth information. Try it: Close one eye and then try to touch your index fingers together. Tricky, huh? Until we achieve a true holographic display, all 3-D tech works by presenting the brain with two images. 3-D spex do this using anaglyphs, which combine two images from different cameras into one, but coloring the two images differently. By wearing the corresponding colors over our eyes, each eye sees a different picture.
The original green/red split works for black and white images, and red/cyan is OK for color. The problem is, you end up feeling seasick. Another version uses polarized lenses which flicker on and off, revealing one frame onscreen to one eye at a time. Fine if it is in sync, and free of color casts. If the setup isn’t good, though, you’ll be running straight to the bathroom.
Viewmaster
This one was a shock. To anybody who remembers the original Viewmaster, or at least its non bake-lite incarnations which used the same design, a quick trip to the official Viewmaster site is in order. Somebody has taken the classic stereoscope and turned it into a piece of plastic tat. The stereo viewer was never the classiest of toys, and usually featured reels of movie tie-ins or theme parks, but why did they have to mess with the iconic case?
Virtual Reality Helmets
This simple equation should tell you why VR failed commercially:
Amusement Arcade + vision-impairing helmet = pickpockets’ paradise
Tomytronic and Nintendo Virtual Boy
The Tomytronic, big in the 1980s and Nintendo’s Virtual Boy, released in 1995, share more than a little DNA. Aside from the shape, both were capable of turning the stomach of a healthy schoolboy in minutes. While Tomy’s little box confined itself to simple racing, shooting and flying, Nintendo was a whole lot more ambitious, with full first-person 3-D titles like Mario Tennis.
The big difference was in credibility, though. Owning a Tomytronic meant instant schoolyard kudos. Owning a Virtual Boy, along with the ridiculous stand, was nothing more than a badge of nerdism. Combined with the red-on-black graphics, high price and lack of third party games, the VB was a rare rare flop amongst Nintendo handhelds. But then, perhaps it wasn’t a handheld at all.
Autostereogram
Unique in this list in that it doesn’t use any kind of viewer, the autostereogram will be familiar to you from the cheap posters sold alongside the "Pope Smokes Dope" T-shirts at your local shopping mall head shop.
They combine two repeating images which are photographed (or computer generated) from different angles. The most common type is viewed "wall-eyed", or by trying to focus your eyes slightly behind the picture. This tricks your brain into thinking it is seeing two different images and they get recombined into a 3-D picture. Amusing exactly once, these are best hung on the back of the bathroom door where they can be viewed in peace after morning coffee.
Special Mention: The Holodeck
The holodeck from Star Trek: The Next Generation is the holy grail of 3-D. Fully immersive and utterly convincing, it combines 3-D with touch, sound and smell. In the squeaky-clean Star Trek future, it is used for learning and innocent recreation. In the real world, it would have but one purpose. Sex.
