ZigBee Wants to Revolutionize 3D Eyewear

The ZigBee Alliance has just announced, at CES 2011, that it is currently developing a new standard which will create more flexible and efficient 3D connections between 3D HDTVs and 3D glasses, called ZigBee 3D Sync.

Unlike contemporary consumer-space 3D active glasses that rely on 30 year-old infrared technology in order to sync the images displayed with the 3D eyewear, ZigBee's new standard will use radio waves to do this.

Contrary to infra red, RF doesn't require for the user to be in direct line of sight with the transmitter enabling it to move freely across the room while watching 3D content.

Furthermore, this technology will also eliminate the interferences caused by ambient light sources and allows for two-way communications between 3D glasses and equipment, offering them the opportunity to switch automatically between 2D and 3D video feeds.

These improvements are accompanied by greater energy efficiency, meaning that consumers will get increased battery life from their 3D glasses.

“When complete, ZigBee 3D Sync will help CE manufacturers deliver the best possible 3D experience for consumers,” said Bob Heile, chairman of the ZigBee Alliance.

“ZigBee 3D Sync is the latest CE-oriented standard we are developing to replace outdated IR technology that no longer delivers the great experience consumers want and expect,” continued Mr. Heile.

ZigBee 3D Sync allows consumers to use an unlimited number of glasses to watch 3D content, the standard also featuring multi-vendor 3D eyewear interoperability and fully programmable display frame rates and shutter open/close times.

Other features include multi-player 2D and 3D gaming, where each player receives a separate 2D or 3D image of the scene, and a smart interference avoidance mode.

This enables ZigBee 3D Sync to be used simultaneously with the ZigBee Input Device and ZigBee Remote Control standards.

No details are available about when the standard is finalized.