Download Intel® Stereo 3D SDK Alpha
Download Developer’s Guide PDF
Introduction
Stereo 3D refers to a technique for presenting two offset images separately to each eye of the viewer. The viewer’s brain combines the two 2-D offset images and perceives 3-D depth. Stereo 3D games provide a more realistic and enjoyable game experience since users perceive more life-like scenes in a game. However, currently most game developers do not know how to set 3D cameras to generate suitable frames. Unsuitable 3D camera set can either cause eye pain or not produce a good perceived depth. Figure 2 below shows that when the perceived depth is compressed, users will find it uncomfortable. Also, developers without professional stereo 3D technologies may find it hard to understand the relationship between virtual scene space and viewer space, making it hard for them to generate good stereo 3D effects.
Product Overview
To overcome these challenges, Intel recently introduced the Intel® Stereo 3D SDK, a new process technology for stereo 3D game programming. Intel Stereo 3D SDK is a Windows* application programming interface (API) for developing consumer and professional stereo 3D applications. It exposes an API for stereo 3D game developers, allowing them to input their view matrix and projection matrix to the SDK and auto-generate 3D view matrix and projection matrix for different game scenes with no other input. With the convenience of this SDK, developers don’t need much stereo 3D knowledge and can simply focus on game development.
This SDK currently supports side-by-side and top & bottom stereo 3D mode. It has four main features as shown in Figure 1:
Figure 1. Main features of Intel® Stereo 3D SDK
3D camera generation: Developers just need to input their previous camera matrices like view matrix and projection matrix to the SDK. The SDK can automatically generate 3D camera matrices and return them.
Auto scene adjustment: Just as good stereo 3D photographers adjust their 3D cameras according to different scene styles, the SDK can auto-detect scene styles and auto-change camera settings and screen disparities.
Identify visual scene ZDP (Zero Disparity Plan) position: Stereo 3D viewers are always excited when they see excellent out-screen effects. The SDK can help developers identify ZDP plane depth in visual scene, which helps them to create well out-screen effects.
Same experience on different 3D screen types: When viewing 3D content on different screen types, users may perceive different depths and screen widths. The SDK can get screen parameters and guarantee perceived depths and screen widths are the same on different screens.
How Intel® Stereo 3D SDK Works
The three figures below show the SDK’s value. Figure 2 is the best stereo 3D user experience and guarantees an enhanced perceived depth. This scene generation, which the SDK provides, avoids the issues present in Figures 3 and 4.
Figure 2. Suitable generated scenes
Figure 3. Depth is compressed too much
Figure 4. Virtual scene is out of the comfortable area range
Technical Requirements
To use the SDK, you’ll need a development platform with a 2nd generation or higher Intel® Core™ processor.
Microsoft Windows* 8 and Windows* 7 operating systems are supported. Developers must also have DirectX* SDK installed before using this SDK.
Support & Feedback
The primary support for this SDK is through the product’s Support Forum . At the Support Forum, you can ask questions about the product, share your experiences with other developers, and ask for assistance if you encounter issues when using this SDK.
You are encouraged to use this forum for submitting suggestions on new features you would like to see and comment on the features currently in the product. Your feedback is valuable to Intel.
This alpha drop is provided with no guarantee of performance or robustness.
FAQ
- How do I get started?
- Refer to the Intel Stereo 3D SDK Developer’s Guide in the download package to get started.
- Is there a way to quickly change a 3D game into a stereo 3D game?
- You just need to add the enableS3D API with the parameter set to true in your code and call your rendering function using renderS3D.
- What do I need to do to auto-generate stereo 3D cameras?
- You just need to change your camera API to relative API as shown in the developer guide. The SDK will help you handle 3D cameras correctly.