If the geek sitting next to you on an airplane is playing a 3D immersive game, you'd better hold on to your coffee and peanuts as they duck and dive into your personal space with the compelling action they're enjoying.
No - I'm not talking about a sharp-elbowed Nintendo 3DS user - but a user of the next generation of 3D in-flight entertainment (IFE) as envisioned by Roy Taylor, an executive with MasterImage3D of Hollywood, California.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he says seatback video screens in airliners will soon be showing glasses-free 3D movies and games using his firm's patented LCD-based screen technology. While he's not saying which airlines will be taking the tech, such a move makes sense for two reasons.
First, 3D video displays that don't require users to wear cumbersome stereoscopic glasses have a limited viewing angle. So where better to try placing them than in the back of an airliner seat, where the viewing angle can scarcely change? Second, the emerging provision of in-flight Wi-Fi will give users the chance to have some choice over their 3D content downloads.
However, despite commercial rollouts, there remain question marks over in-flight Wi-Fi. It could lead to out-of-specification radio devices blasting avionics with microwave interference, and may also provide a ready means for remote controlled bomb detonation on planes. That shouldn't stymie in-flight 3D, though, as the content could come from a wired source on the plane.
The big question is: can companies like MasterImage3D get airlines to take the technology before the 3D novelty wears off? Taylor reckons on 3D seatback video becoming a reality in two-and-a-half to three years - but there are some signs the glint is already fading on the shiny new extra-dimensional juggernaut that is 3D video. Maintaining the momentum will require some compelling content.
There are plenty of opportunities for generating that on an airplane. How about using the plane's tailfin camera to give you a 3D view of the clouds and mountains ahead? You could then superimpose a 3D dogfight between biplanes/Spitfires/UFOs in the very sky you're in. As a flight sim fan, I could go for that. Bring it on!
Paul Marks, New Scientist