A typical Irish street in Cork, Ireland LC-USZ62-123727 - Edit 2

Wiggle stereoscopy is an example of stereoscopy in which left and right images of a stereogram are

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

. This technique is also called wiggle 3-D, wobble 3-D, or sometimes Piku-Piku (Japanese for "twitching"). The sense of depth from such images is due to

parallax Parallax is a displacement or difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different lines of sight and is measured by the angle or semi-angle of inclination between those two lines. Due to foreshortening, nearby objects ...

and to changes to the

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of background objects. In contrast to other stereo display techniques, the same image is presented to both eyes.

Advantages and disadvantages

Wiggle stereoscopy offers the advantages that no glasses or special hardware is required; most people can perceive the effect more quickly than when using cross-eyed and parallel viewing techniques. Furthermore, it offers stereo-like depth to people with limited or no vision in one eye. Disadvantages of wiggle stereoscopy are that it does not provide true binocular

depth perception Depth perception is the ability to perceive distance to objects in the world using the visual system and visual perception. It is a major factor in perceiving the world in three dimensions. Depth perception happens primarily due to stereopsis an ...

; it is not suitable for print media, being limited to displays that can alternate between the two images, and it is difficult to appreciate details in images that are constantly in motion.

Number and timing of images

Most wiggle images use only two images, yielding a jerky image. A smoother image can be composed by using several intermediate images and using the left and right images as end images of the image sequence. If intermediate images are not available, approximate images can be computed from the end images using techniques known as ''view interpolation''. The two end images may be displayed for a longer time than the intermediate images to allow inspection of details in the left and right images. Another option for reducing the impression of jerkiness is to reduce the time between the frames of a wiggle image.

3D photos from a single image

Wit
advances in machine learning and computer vision
it is now also possible t

In this case one can use a segmentation model combined with a depth estimation model to estimate information relating to the distance of the surfaces of objects in the scene from a given viewpoint for every pixel in that image (known as a

depth map In 3D computer graphics and computer vision, a depth map is an image or image channel that contains information relating to the distance of the surfaces of scene objects from a viewpoint. The term is related (and may be analogous) to ''depth ...

), and with that information you can then render that pixel data as if it were 3 dimensional to create a subtle 3D effect.

Perception

The sense of depth from wiggle 3-D images is due to

and to changes to the

of background objects. Although wiggle stereoscopy permits the perception of stereoscopic images, it is not a "true" three-dimensional stereoscopic display format in the sense that wiggle stereoscopy does not present the eyes with their own separate view each. The apparent stereo effect results from syncing the timing of the wiggle and the amount of parallax to the processing done by the visual cortex. Three or five images with good parallax may produce a better effect than simple left and right images. Wiggling works for the same reason that a transitional pan (or

tracking shot A tracking shot is any shot where the camera follows backward, forward or moves alongside the subject being recorded. In cinematography, the term refers to a shot in which the camera is mounted on a camera dolly that is then placed on rails � ...

) in a film provides good depth information: the visual cortex is able to infer distance information from

motion parallax Parallax is a displacement or difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different lines of sight and is measured by the angle or semi-angle of inclination between those two lines. Due to foreshortening, nearby objects ...

, the relative speed of the perceived motion of different objects on the screen. Many small animals bob their heads to create motion parallax (wiggling) so they can better estimate distance prior to jumping.

Gallery

File:Stereo wiggle 3D.gif, Example of wiggle stereoscopy File:BLUE STEREO 3D Time for Space Wiggle.gif, A wiggle stereogram of the

Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

alternating between left and right eye images taken by the

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

STEREO Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...

solar observation mission File:Home plate anim.gif, Layered rock at the

Home Plate A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refers ...

plateau on Mars File:WWIScottsEntrenched 3D.gif, World War I stereo view File:The Jinriksha. The chief mode of travel in Japan for Centuries..gif, A jinrikisha in Japan, c. 1901 File:Test of 3-d wiggle for FPC.gif, A wiggle image of a

model railroad Railway modelling (UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland) or model railroading (US and Canada) is a hobby in which rail transport systems are modelled at a reduced scale. The scale models include locomotives, rolling stock, streetcars, t ...

using 4 frames repeating 1-2-3-4-3-2

References

External links

Stereo-animator
at

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...

website
Wigglegram
Android application for Wigglegrams {{Stereoscopy 3D imaging Animation techniques Optical illusions Articles containing video clips Stereoscopic photography