SINGAPORE — Singapore's Temasek Polytechnic (TP) and the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) have developed a nano-engineered screen protector for smartphones and tablet computers that turn ordinary screens into 3D displays viewable with the naked eye.
The EyeFly 3D system, being marketed by Singapore start-up Nanoveu, will be commercially available later this year.
The film is produced using roll-to-toll nanoimprint technology. A UV-curable resin is dispensed onto a PET film substrate which is then passed between a roller mould and pressure rollers before being cured by a UV lamp and taken off the mould by a demolding roller. This process creates hundreds of thousands of tiny lenses in an area the size of a smartphone screen with a thickness of less than 0.1mm.
IMRE scientist Dr Jaslyn Law said: "The filter is essentially a piece of plastic film with about half a million perfectly-shaped lenses engineered onto its surface using IMRE's proprietary nanoprinting technology."
Unlike traditional lenticular films — which make normal, non-3D content unviewable — the EyeFly 3D system creates only minimal distortion, with 2D picture quality akin to that of a smartphone with an ordinary protective film covering.
Its creators claim that EyeFly 3D is the first ever glasses-free 3D accessory that can display content in both landscape and portrait mode.
The team is also exploring using the same technology for banking applications. A unique security film could create an inexpensive and portable alternative to the battery-operated security devices used by some online bank accounts today.
