Floating-image display based on the combination of two-lens system and the stereoscopic polarization-multiplexing display

Today, there are many kinds of 3D displays used to produce 3D images but these 3D images are not touchable. Therefore many researchers study how to produce a floating image from 3D image. In floating image display, a large concave mirror or a large lens is used to produce the floating image. However the lens and the concave mirror produce the defected image because magnifications of these two elements are not constant, and an image distance is not linear relationship from an object distance. In this paper we present the stereoscopic floating image system using a stereo display and two lenses. The proposed floating display system provides an impressive feel of depth, and produced image appears to be located in a free space and near the observer. The two-lens system can eliminate all defects of large convex lens because the magnifications are constant and are not related the object distance and the image distance. The experimental result shows that the proposed system successfully makes a touchable stereoscopic floating image.