Abstract
An autostereoscopic display is described that enables a viewer, or viewers, to view 3D TV or computer graphics images without the need to wear special glasses or other head-wear. The display is based upon a retroreflective screen which provides the display with a number of unique features. One of these features is the capability to produce a large screen (greater than 80' diagonal) multiviewer autostereoscopic display whereby each viewer can see the same or a completely different image. Each image can occupy the entire screen without crosstalk between multiple images occurring. Retroreflective material has the characteristic that light incident on it is returned to the viewer along exactly the same path as the incident light. This is in contrast to reflections from other surfaces where in general the angle of incident is equal to the angle of reflection. Incident light returned from a retroreflective screen can be structured such that scatter or other disturbances can be minimized. This results in a very narrow viewing angle over which the incident image can be observed. Sine the majority of the light incident on the screen is returned to the originating source the screen can be considered to have a 'gain' when compared with a similar configuration where the light is incident on a conventional projection screen.