A holographic artist with a number of patents for the production of three-dimensional images is hoping to make Ireland a centre for the production of 3D tools.
Jon Mitton has invented the eponymous Mitton LR1, which he claims is the first "affordable, truly portable, professional system for producing 3D images".
A graduate of the Royal London College of Art, with an MA in Art Holography, Mr Mitton set about designing the device when he was commissioned to produce a 3D portrait for a client. Discovering a commercial machine capable of shooting the portrait would cost £75,000 (€101,000) he set about creating his own.
"After three months I had invented a new way of doing it which cost me €2, using MDF," claims Mr Mitton.
The linear rail system enables photographs of the subject to be taken from multiple angles. The images are then interlaced using software to produce a "real" 3D image, which can be printed using a variety of standard 2D paper overlaid with a special plastic lens.
The Mitton LR1 is now being prototyped by a manufacturing company in Cork, with commercial models expected to be available in March this year, thanks in part to funding from the local county enterprise board.
"We want to try and manufacture everything in Ireland," says Mr Mitton.
"It could be done in China, but we are trying to produce a quality product."
Mr Mitton is predicting an upcoming boom in the use of 3D photography. He says that mobile phones will soon have high resolution lenticular screens that are capable of displaying 3D images.
Through specialist 3D media company Just Say 3D (formerly known as Reverse Perspective), which has the exclusive rights to the Mitton LR1, 3D designs are being offered in the Irish market for promotional, branding and educational purposes.
Mobile operator O2, the Department of the Environment, drinks group Diageo, Science Ireland and the Office of Public Works are just some of the organisations that availed of Just Say 3D's services last year. Among the unique products developed are holographic 3D windows that provide a life-size view of real spaces such as a forest or other natural habitat.
A growing area for the company is the property and interiors markets. A number of developers are looking at the use of 3D images to promote their developments, while Just Say 3D has been commissioned to produce a series of holographic windows of landscapes for installation in the rooms of a major hotel group.
Mr Mitton also continues to create holographic art and has a piece of work in the Barbican Art Centre, London, as part of the Seduced: Art and Sex from Antiquity to Now exhibition, which runs until next month. Just Say 3D is also planning a major exhibition of 3D images of nature for the Botanic Gardens in Dublin this summer.
