Effect of 3D depth on the resolution and the observed image for auto-stereoscopic multi-view 3D display

In auto-stereoscopic multi-views, blurring occurs due to the incomplete separation of views for non-zero depths. How this blur affects a 3D image was investigated using the commercial multi-view 3D. The 3D input signal consisted of the square pattern and the gratings of various width and gray level values of G1 and G2. The various combinations of G1 and G2 were used to investigate the dependence of blur on gray G1 and G2 values. The 3D depth caused blurring, which caused a decrease in contrast modulation. Hence, the 3D resolution determined from contrast modulation was affected by the depth and became worse with increasing depth. Therefore, 3D resolution may be used to define the depth range within which the image degradation due to blurring is acceptable. Blur edge width values at the boundaries of gray G1 and G2 were measured and found to be similar irrespective of G1 and G2 values at the same depth. This was because blur was caused by the incomplete separation of views that are independent of G1 and G2. Hence, the blurriness of the observed 3D image is determined only by the depth. The 3D resolution and blur edge width might be useful to characterize the performance of auto-stereoscopic multi-view 3D.