Realization of an aerial 3D image that occludes the background scenery

In this paper we describe an aerial 3D image that occludes far background scenery based on coarse integral volumetric imaging (CIVI) technology. There have been many volumetric display devices that present floating 3D images, most of which have not reproduced the visual occlusion. CIVI is a kind of multilayered integral imaging and realizes an aerial volumetric image with visual occlusion by combining multiview and volumetric display technologies. The conventional CIVI, however, cannot show a deep space, for the number of layered panels is limited because of the low transmittance of each panel. To overcome this problem, we propose a novel optical design to attain an aerial 3D image that occludes far background scenery. In the proposed system, a translucent display panel with 120 Hz refresh rate is located between the CIVI system and the aerial 3D image. The system modulates between the aerial image mode and the background image mode. In the aerial image mode, the elemental images are shown on the CIVI display and the inserted translucent display is uniformly translucent. In the background image mode, the black shadows of the elemental images in a white background are shown on the CIVI display and the background scenery is displayed on the inserted translucent panel. By alternation of these two modes at 120 Hz, an aerial 3D image that visually occludes the far background scenery is perceived by the viewer.