Handbook of 3D Imaging and Display is a comprehensive reference covering the conceptualization, design, and development of 3D capturing and imaging, 3D media content, 3D displays, 3D applications and related technologies, as well as human factors. The handbook describes the current status and lays the foundation for future states-of-the-art in 3D imaging and display technologies, electro-optic materials, media content, vision, cognition, and other human factors for 3D applications ranging from TV broadcasting, movies, advertising, virtual reality, and other forms of entertainment to educational, medical, and military uses.  The need for industry-wide standardization is also discussed. The result is a comprehensive digest of conceptual principles and applied techniques for students, researchers, engineers, and scientists from communities as diverse as electrical engineering, computer science and technology, display engineering, electro-optics, nanotechnology, image communication engineering, ergonomics, vision and cognition science, and physics, and serves as a focal point for the generation of new ideas and future developments in this exciting field.

Recent remarkable progress in the fields of media generation, representation, compression, and display, together with the larger and ever-increasing bandwidth available to the consumer, is poised to support the introduction of immersive 3D media services in the very near future. It is widely accepted that this trend towards immersive media will  have a strong impact on our daily lives. The ability to evoke a state of ‘being there’ and of ‘being immersed’ into media applications will cease to be  the domain of computer simulators, virtual reality, and CAVE (Cave Automated Virtual Environment) systems alone. This 3D environment will arise in offices,  homes, and other venues, and  has the potential to provide practical benefits for information exchange such as improved accuracy with fewer errors and a better understanding of spatial relationships, new product potential, and general enhancement of our quality of life. Adding a 3D display to any product or system can provide one or more of a variety of benefits, including increased impact, realism, and immediacy, for applications ranging from medicine to advertising to entertainment.  In all respects, the ability to create a more lifelike 3D image is regarded as the core technology for next-generation immersive multimedia telecommunications.