Lausanne start-up Creal3D frees images from the 2D prison

Lausanne-based start-up Creal3D wants objects in mixed reality applications to look as natural as in the real world. According to co-founder and CEO Tomas Sluka, the team is getting very close to achieving this goal thanks to a new light field technology.

Reality is three-dimensional, but today's virtual reality is not yet. At least not completely. Visual conflicts make people feel weird, if not really bad, in less than 20 minutes. With today's VR glasses, many immediately feel eye strain - about 15 per cent of people do, according to studies.

Short eye test

Today's 3D headsets use two flat screens to create an illusion of the third dimension. Two eyes perceive depth, but each eye sees only a flat image at the wrong distance. In reality, on the other hand, we are used to one eye already perceiving depth.

When you look at your finger with one eye, you have to focus on it to see it sharply. Or you keep focusing if you want to see the things behind it in focus. Your eye changes focus and sees the blur change. This effect is completely missing with a flat screen. That's why in mixed reality applications today you can't see your hand and, for example, a virtual ring on it in the same focus. One or the other is blurred.

A lot of effort is being put into fixing the problem of visual conflicts. This is not possible without a light field. Lightfield technology will therefore be one of the next breakthroughs in VR, says Tomas Sluka, co-founder and CEO of the Lausanne-based start-up. Creal3D.

The liberation of the image through Creal3D

This is because Lightfield Technology authentically imitates the properties of real light. The technology allows the eyes to focus on virtual objects at different distances, just as they do in the real world. This is natural for our vision, it eliminates uncomfortable eye strain and allows the mix of virtual and real objects. The technology is therefore key to freeing images from the 2D prison of the flat screen and allowing them to thrive in the real three-dimensional world. This technology will change the way we consume information as much as the internet and smartphones.

Creal3D has developed a technology that can project images with true high-definition depth, just like holograms. And it can be built into glasses small enough to be wearable and even fashion compatible. Other technologies tend to make drastic compromises, such as using two depth planes that you have to switch between or reducing the resolution. Their technology offers a practical compromise between all the important parameters, is robust and feasible today.

The eight-member team is hitting the ground running and was able to present their product at this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Their plan is to have a high-end product prototype ready by mid-2019.

Source: Booster / creal3d