Stereoscopic imaging and display for a 3-D mobile phone

There is growing interest in imaging and display of stereoscopic images on a mobile phone. Mobile phone users can capture a stereo image pair by taking two pictures, one after another, with a single camera at the left and right eye positions. Such a handheld setup makes it difficult to take the stereo image pair at the exact positions. In this respect, although either radial (toed-in) or parallel arrangements can be used, the former is better suited for a short distance subject, such as a self-portrait, because a single reference point can be placed at the center of two pictures. We describe the optimum distance of camera shifting in the horizontal direction, allowable differences of the radial arrangement for taking stereo images at a short distance, and the alignment procedure of viewing zone forming optics on the display panel through experiments and human subjective evaluation.