At Vehicle Display Interface (VDI) 2026, Chris Chinnock talked to Greg Agostinelli of MetaVista 3D, covering an e-mirror proof of concept using camera-to-display 3D conversion (intended to potentially replace rear-view or side mirrors):
Setup 1 — Single camera → 3D conversion, multi-view display
- A single camera feeds a PC processor, which converts the 2D feed to 3D in real time, shown on a 13-inch autostereoscopic multi-view display.
- Multi-view means multiple people standing in front of the screen (not just the driver) can perceive the 3D effect simultaneously; eye tracking exists but wasn’t enabled during the demo.
- The 3D effect was noticeably subtle rather than strong; Greg noted it could improve with better tuning/environment. Some processing lag was also apparent — described as expected at this proof-of-concept stage.
Setup 2 — Stereo camera rig → single-viewer photostereoscopic display
- A two-camera stereo rig captures true stereo footage directly (needs a minimum throw distance of ~4–5 feet), feeding a separate 13.3-inch photostereoscopic display.
- Unlike the multi-view unit, this is single-viewer only (e.g., just the driver), with head-tracking to hold the stereo effect. In-car use would have a fairly fixed viewing distance, simplifying the design for this use case.
Placement — still undetermined
- Whether these systems would go at the front, rear (backup/rear-view mirror), or sides (side-mirror replacement) hasn’t been settled. MetaVista is running multiple placement tests, including one the following week with an undisclosed partner.
Third demo — single-camera real-time 2D-to-3D conversion
- Capture doesn’t need to be stereoscopic — a single image can be converted to stereoscopic output in real time using maturing (roughly decade-old, AI-assisted) algorithms: manual depth cues are extrapolated from a single image into side-by-side stereoscopic imagery.
- Uses eye/head tracking with about a 30° effective field of view; moving outside that range degrades the effect and prompts repositioning. A tracking-direction (“reversal”) bug was noted as still needing to be fixed.
- Shown in a compact rear-view-mirror-style housing.