A group of women from a women’s research institute in Japan has come up a cylindrical add-on for the iPad that allows for 2D images on the iPad to be displayed as 3D images in the tube. As reported in DigInFo TV (with video), the device does not even have a physical connection to the iPad, the user simply places it over an image they want to focus on and turn the top to see the 3D effect.
The group, from Ochanomizu Women’s University, recently demonstrated their mirror display, as they call it a Japanese trade show. The device works via means of something called, “Anamorphicons,” which is a term for creating optical illusions in 3D using mirrors. Lead designer, Miss Boo, as she calls herself, has been working on such devices for several years. Several years ago she was credited with creating a 3D looking Avatar generator for visitors to consumer sites. This new device is expected to be used in similar ways. The mirror display would for example, allow visitors to a shoe store to see what the shoe looks like in three dimensions, and then spin it around to see it from all angles. Miss Boo believes it will enhance the shopping experience and assist women in making Internet purchases because it allows the user to better see what the object in question actually looks like.
The mirror display works it’s magic via physical communication between the cylinder and the touch features of the iPad. By moving the metal top that serves as the “lid” of the device, the coordinates of the object being displayed can be updated as the top is turned. The result is what appears to the viewer to be the object on the iPad hovering in space inside the cylinder. In order for the mirror display to work, the provider of the picture on the iPad must supply more than one angle shot of the object, which most online sites now do, thus, the device can be used as is with no future modifications or software additions added.
Though currently only available in Japan, if it meets with success, it’s possible the mirror display, likely with a new snappy name, could be available for sale in the United States in time for Christmas.
It’s not hard to imagine such a device being integrated with other web consumer applications such as those that utilize a web cam to help a visitor see what they might look like in dress being sold on a site for example.