Integral Photography Using 2D Printer Output and Fly's Eye Lens Made with 3D Printer

A new integral photography (IP) technique is presented in which printing technology is used to make not only an IP image but also a fly's eye lens. IP is one of the best methods for 3D displays because both horizontal and vertical parallax can be obtained without having to wear special glasses. A fly's eye lens, which integrates a large number of small convex lenses in array form, is the key component of IP. However, such lenses had to be purchased from a limited number of commercially available options since using a metal mold to custom make them was extremely costly. This situation changed substantially with the emergence of a 3D printer that could produce highly precise and transparent lenses easily and inexpensively. We therefore used our original software to model a fly's eye lens that comprised many minute spherical lenses as a triangular mesh. The resulting STereoLithography (STL) file was then transferred to a 3D printer and a fly's eye lens was made. We also used our conventional CG technology to synthesize an IP image that integrates images observed from many viewpoints. When the image was printed with a fill-color inkjet printer and the fly's eye lens was put on it, an excellent 3D image was obtained.