New 3-D technology being researched could change the way future 3-D movies are seen. A study done in South Korea explains the possibility of glasses-free 3-D using a filter and a series of slides on the screen.

The new method would require only one projector, opposed to the two projected images currently in use.

Current 3-D movies use two projectors displaying two images on the same screen. However, the process is expensive and relatively inefficient.

A few devices are using a special filter to display images, sending some of the light to your right eye and some to your left. A couple of glasses-free 3-D gadgets on the market today include the Nintendo 3DS and HTC Evo 3D.

The new process would use a projection-type auto-stereoscopic display using a polarizer. The filter used in front of the projector results in each of your eyes seeing a different image based on the angle of various vertical segments on the screen.

The projectors used in movie theaters currently can remain in the same place, but will include a different mechanism in front of the projector, polarizing the light. The images within the movie are dispersed throughout the vertical columns using light to create right-eye and left-eye pixels.

‘Our results confirm the feasibility of this approach, and we believe that this proposed method may be useful for developing the next generation of a glasses-free projection-type 3-D display for commercial theaters,’ said researcher Byoungho Lee.

While it may take a few years to implement the new technique, this new method may be the logical next step in 3-D technology.