The UC Santa Cruz Office of Research has created the Inventor Recognition Program (IRP) to acknowledge researchers on a quarterly basis for their U.S. patent awards and to showcase the groundbreaking research that is conducted on the UCSC campus every day. Launched in December 2016, the IRP is meant to recognize the hard work of UCSC faculty, students, and staff and to help them realize the value of their inventions by commercializing their inventions and discoveries.

April to June 2018 IRP Award Winner

Practical Two-Frame 3D+2D TV

Patent Numbers: 10,003,789

Inventor: James Davis, Professor Computer Science

This patent describes a method for making 3D televisions and movie screens viewable without special glasses. These screens currently require viewers to wear special glasses to see the 3D effect. If the glasses are removed then the viewer sees a double image which is essentially unwatchable. The method described here instead provides a normal 2D viewing experience when the glasses are removed.

These screens display separate images for the left and right eyes, and the human brain mixes the signals from each eye to produce a 3D experience. This invention modifies the individual images provided to each eye by mixing content from the left and right images together. When viewed through 3D glasses, the brain continues to produce a 3D experience, but when viewed without glasses, this new mixture is perceived as a standard 2D video.

See all IRP award winners

The IRP is managed by Assistant Vice Chancellor for the Office of Research’s Industry Alliances and Technology Commercialization (IATC), Dr. Mohamed Abousalem. 

For more information about the IRP, the honorees, their patents, other campus inventions and discoveries, or IP portfolio management services, please contact the IATC.

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