US based Neovision Labs has developed a new technology designed to enable the viewing of 3-D content on such mobile devices as PDAs and iPods, without the use of special glasses.

Movie director Randal Kleiser and Neovision president and founder Michael Mehrle has said their invention, the iFusion, has the potential to help forward the 3-D movement by giving studios a venue in which to re-purpose their 3-D produced content after the theatrical release.

“There are about 40 3-D films in some stage of production that “have no life” after the theatre. Now they could be re-purposed for cell phones and iPods. There is such a need (for an additional 3-D distribution platform). There is content that needs to be shown somewhere,” said Kleiser.

Mehrle said iFusion is an optical system designed to deliver affordable stereo 3-D content to any type of flat-panel display without the use of special glasses.

It is not device-dependent because no software or hardware modifications are necessary. This technology could therefore also be built for use with television displays or computers/laptops, he said.

According to him, the attachment would be secured over the device screen and marketed as an accessory for hand-held devices.

However, the technology would not convert a 2-D film to 3-D; rather, consumers would download 3-D content to the device for viewing.

The content could be animated or live-action films produced in 3-D or films that were produced in 2-D and later converted to 3-D (like “Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas”), said Mehrle.

In addition to features, 3-D shorts, 3-D special-venue films and other such content could be used with the system, he said.