Decoded: Nintendo 3DS

Like most of its ilk, Nintendo, the Japanese video game console maker, has had to deal with a new competitor, one that has a lock on millions of pockets: smartphones.

To counter the threat from cheap phone-based games, Nintendo came out with the 3DS, with 3D features that phones can’t match.

Here’s the technology decoded.



How the Screen Works


The brain perceives depth by processing the slightly different images it receives from the left and right eyes.

A parallax barrier display creates the illusion of depth by using a witching liquid crystal to control the direction in which light leaves the display, directing a different image from the screen to each eye.

When the barrier is transparent, the same image is seen by both eyes, resulting in a two-dimensional image.

ON THE BACK REAR-FACING CAMERAS
Two stereo cameras can be used to take 3D photographs and video as well as to play games