Movidius brings HD 3D to mobile devices

Movidius’ Myriad 3D MA1133 silicon and software platform is capable of capturing stereo still photos and video images using two separate high resolution cameras, and then processing them in real-time into 3D, whether still or video, using the powerful multimedia processing technology at the heart of the Myriad 3D platform. The same technology will intelligently process the 3D images for the best viewing experience on a 3D display without glasses (auto-stereoscopic).

MA1133 can also be used to view downloaded 3D or 2D content. Movidius’ real-time conversion algorithms ensure an engaging and comfortable 3D viewing experience of 2D content. Movidius’ Myriad 3D processing technology delivers excellent matching of the content and the display field depth resulting in a high quality 3D experience and avoiding issues that leave the viewer uncomfortable or even nauseous after prolonged use. Movidius has designed Myriad 3D to deliver an enjoyable and effective viewing experience, including simple switching between 2D and 3D display modes.

Sean Mitchell, CEO of Movidius, commented, “Mobile phones are the place where 3D technology will gain real adoption the fastest. 3D entertainment may have started in the cinema, but the phone is something people experience every day. And having recently updated their TV sets to HD, consumers are not keen to upgrade again immediately to a 3D TV. Mobile phones on the other hand, are updated every 12-18 months. Also, many fundamental aspects of phones make them ideal for using our new Myriad 3D technology for viewing and capturing 3D images and displaying existing 2D content in full 3D without any need for special glasses.”

3D glasses, absolutely necessary for both TV and cinema 3D experiences, can be expensive and cumbersome and can be seen as a barrier to adoption of 3D. Mobile devices such as smartphones however are typically held at a standard distance from the face; the perfect situation for using auto-stereoscopic screens and means the user can easily adjust the screen orientation to get into the 3D “sweet spot”. Also, because of the size of the average smartphone, mobile phone cameras can easily be placed at the perfect eyes’ distance apart to achieve excellent 3D image capture using the Movidius Myriad 3D platform for highest quality matching between the cameras.

The 3D capture, image and display processing on the MA1133 all benefit from Movidius’ proprietary multi-core processing technology. This technology delivers an unparalleled 20GFlops of processing power; previously unheard of in a mobile device.

The MA1133 is the first in Movidius’ series of 3D products, with further product announcements to be made soon. The MA1133 was preceded by the MA1100, the world’s first coprocessor to enable advanced real-time video editing on mobile phones, and MA1101, the Android O/S compatible version of the MA1100. Products are sampling to customers today.