Dr. Knut Langhans Profile

Dr. Knut Langhans

at Felix3D VFN eV

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Author

Publications (6)

Proceedings Article | 18 February 2009 Paper

SOLIDFELIX: a transportable 3D static volume display

Knut Langhans, Alexander Kreft, Henrik Tom Wörden

Proceedings Volume 7237, 72371W (2009) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.807165

KEYWORDS: 3D displays, Upconversion, Crystals, Glasses, Doping, Luminescence, Polymers, 3D volumetric displays, Ions, ZBLAN

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Flat 2D screens cannot display complex 3D structures without the usage of different slices of the 3D model. Volumetric displays like the "FELIX 3D-Displays" can solve the problem. They provide space-filling images and are characterized by "multi-viewer" and "all-round view" capabilities without requiring cumbersome goggles. In the past many scientists tried to develop similar 3D displays. Our paper includes an overview from 1912 up to today. During several years of investigations on swept volume displays within the "FELIX 3D-Projekt" we learned about some significant disadvantages of rotating screens, for example hidden zones. For this reason the FELIX-Team started investigations also in the area of static volume displays. Within three years of research on our 3D static volume display at a normal high school in Germany we were able to achieve considerable results despite minor funding resources within this non-commercial group. Core element of our setup is the display volume which consists of a cubic transparent material (crystal, glass, or polymers doped with special ions, mainly from the rare earth group or other fluorescent materials). We focused our investigations on one frequency, two step upconversion (OFTS-UC) and two frequency, two step upconversion (TFTSUC) with IR-Lasers as excitation source. Our main interest was both to find an appropriate material and an appropriate doping for the display volume. Early experiments were carried out with CaF2 and YLiF4 crystals doped with 0.5 mol% Er3+-ions which were excited in order to create a volumetric pixel (voxel). In addition to that the crystals are limited to a very small size which is the reason why we later investigated on heavy metal fluoride glasses which are easier to produce in large sizes. Currently we are using a ZBLAN glass belonging to the mentioned group and making it possible to increase both the display volume and the brightness of the images significantly. Although, our display is currently monochrome, it is possible to create an RGB-display. For the same reasons we started tests with polymers. We were able to achieve meaningful results which point out a new direction in the investigation on polymers. For the reasons described above, our new solid state device is one of modular design. The simplicity to change all components makes it possible to do experiments with different display volumes and lasers for every specific purpose of the display in a very effective way. The images can be drawn inside the display volume by acousto-optic, galvanometric or polygon mirror deflection units. We control our galvanometric deflection unit with a personal computer and a selfwritten software which makes it easier to handle the setup and makes interactivity possible. This setup makes it a powerful and flexible tool to keep track with the rapid technological progress of today and helped us to experience the disadvantages and the advantages of most of the possible deflection units in practice. These experiences are a main element in our paper and lead to some conclusions which will be of big importance in future display developments. Potential applications include imaging and computer aided design as well as scientific data visualization.

Proceedings Article | 30 May 2003 Paper

SOLID FELIX: a static volume 3D-laser display

Knut Langhans, Christian Guill, Elisabeth Rieper, Klaas Oltmann, Detlef Bahr

Proceedings Volume 5006, (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.474155

KEYWORDS: 3D displays, Crystals, Upconversion, Solids, Erbium, 3D image processing, 3D volumetric displays, Photons, Ions, Glasses

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Proceedings Article | 23 May 2002 Paper

FELIX 3D display: an interactive tool for volumetric imaging

Knut Langhans, Detlef Bahr, Daniel Bezecny, Dennis Homann, Klaas Oltmann, Krischan Oltmann, Christian Guill, Elisabeth Rieper, Goetz Ardey

Proceedings Volume 4660, (2002) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.468031

KEYWORDS: 3D displays, Computer aided design, Visualization, 3D volumetric displays, CRTs, 3D image processing, Mirrors, LCDs, Raster graphics

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Proceedings Article | 17 April 1998 Paper

New portable FELIX 3D display

Knut Langhans, Daniel Bezecny, Dennis Homann, Detlef Bahr, Carsten Vogt, Christian Blohm, Karl-Heinz Scharschmidt

Proceedings Volume 3296, (1998) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.305525

KEYWORDS: 3D displays, Mirrors, CRTs, Visualization, Computer aided design, 3D image processing, 3D scanning, Raster graphics, 3D volumetric displays, Acousto-optics

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Proceedings Article | 19 August 1997 Paper

FELIX: a volumetric 3D imaging technique

Detlef Bahr, Knut Langhans, Daniel Bezecny, Dennis Homann, Carsten Vogt

Proceedings Volume 3101, (1997) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.281281

KEYWORDS: 3D displays, Visualization, 3D image processing, Eye, Computer aided design, Modulation, Translucency, Light emitting diodes, Raster graphics, Adaptive optics

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FELIX is described which represents a physical volume three-dimensional display. A modulated colored laser beam is directed via mirrors and a computer controlled x-y scanning unit towards a transparent enclosure containing a helical shaped projection screen. To describe a physical space this screen is rotated about its vertical axis so that it occupies a cylindrical volume over time. Due to the translucent property of the screen the hitting laser beam will be scattered and visible to the observer. The position of each voxel (volume pixel) is determined by the momentary location of the laser beams intersection with the rotating helix, thus providing a volumetric display medium through which scanned laser pulses are projected. The receptors in the human eye have a temporal persistence because of a mental processing delay, and this causes the eyes to fuse the light scattered from the moving two-dimensional element into a three-dimensional image. Since the images are generated within a given display space rather than on a stationary surface, they are intrinsically 3D and may be observed directly from any position. The introduced image generation technique ensures that human factors regarding depth sensation are satisfied automatically without the need for special viewing glasses to be worn by the observer. A true 3D volume display as described will complement the broad range of 3D visualization tools such as volume-rendering packages, stereoscopic and virtual reality techniques which have become widely available in recent years. Potential applications for this development range from air traffic control to various medical uses (e. g. Magnetic Resonance Imaging), entertainment and education visualization as well as imaging in the field of engineering, Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Rapid Prototyping. Keywords: 3D display, volumetric display, autostereoscopic display, laser projection display, three-dimensional imaging, spatial visualization, voxel, air traffic control, man-machine-interface

Proceedings Article | 29 March 1996 Paper

FELIX: a volumetric 3D laser display

Detlef Bahr, Knut Langhans, Martin Gerken, Carsten Vogt, Daniel Bezecny, Dennis Homann

Proceedings Volume 2650, (1996) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.237011

KEYWORDS: 3D displays, Visualization, 3D image processing, Eye, Laser based displays, Raster graphics, Mirrors, 3D volumetric displays, Glasses, Modulation

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