Screen Protector Film Lets Ordinary Handheld Devices Display 3-D Content

Most smartphone users know that your shiny new device won't stay shiny and new very long if you don't use some sort of protection film on the screen. If you slip an unprotected smartphone into your pocket along with keys or other small items, odds are you'll pull it out with scratches all over the display. While most screen protector films are only designed to reduce scratches, or reduce glare a new project promises to do more than keep scratches away.

Temasek Polytechnic (TP) and A*STAR's Institute of Materials Research and Engineering's (IMRE) have announced a new nano-engineered screen protector that is able to turn ordinary handheld device screens into 3-D displays. A company called Nanoveu Pte Ltd will market the new screen protector film. The company says that this unique plastic film could also be used as next-generation security tokens by banks and corporations.

By adding this new nano-engineered screen film to your smart device, any display on a smartphone or tablet becomes a glasses-free 3-D accessory able display content in portrait or landscape modes. The film is said to be less than 0.1 mm thick. The company behind the film says that is a piece of plastic with about half a million perfectly shaped lenses engineered onto its surface using a proprietary nanoimprinting technology.

To go along with the special screen film, the company has also developed two apps with one for Android and one for iOS. These applications allow users to convert normal 2-D photos into 3-D content. The company also plans to release a software development kit allowing game developers to convert existing games into 3-D versions. The development team is also working on using the same technology to decode PIN numbers sent online as a cheap or alternative to bulkier and more expensive battery-operated security tokens. The company offers no timeline on when the film and related applications will be available.

[via IMRE]