Infitec GmbH is a family-owned company based in

Gerstetten Gerstetten is a municipality in the district of Heidenheim in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It consists of the following villages: * Gerstetten (population: 7,534) * Dettingen (population: 2,042, incorporation 1972) * Gussenstadt (po ...

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...

, Germany) that develops, produces and markets products for the projection of 3D content. The registered name INFITEC is an

acronym An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial Letter (alphabet), letter of each wor ...

of Interference Filter Technology, which was invented and patented by the founder of the company, Helmut Jorke.

Background

The INFITEC or Wavelength Multiplex Technology (WMT) is based on the fact that the

visible light Light, visible light, or visible radiation is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light spans the visible spectrum and is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm ...

spectrum A spectrum (: spectra or spectrums) is a set of related ideas, objects, or properties whose features overlap such that they blend to form a continuum. The word ''spectrum'' was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of co ...

can be divided into different

wavelength In physics and mathematics, wavelength or spatial period of a wave or periodic function is the distance over which the wave's shape repeats. In other words, it is the distance between consecutive corresponding points of the same ''phase (waves ...

ranges using steep-edged

optical filter An optical filter is a device that selectively transmits light of different wavelengths, usually implemented as a glass plane or plastic device in the optical path, which are either dyed in the bulk or have interference coatings. The optic ...

s. Some of these wavelength ranges are presented to the left eye, the others to the right eye. By an appropriate design of the transmission spectra of the filters it can be ensured that both eyes are reached by wavelengths in the red, green, and blue range of the visible light, so both eyes will see a fully colored image. Such multi-bandpass optical filters can currently be made only as so called

interference filter An interference filter, dichroic filter, or thin-film filter is an optical filter that Reflection (physics), reflects some wavelengths (colors) of light and transmits others, with almost no absorption (optics), absorption for all wavelengths of i ...

s. The WMT requires filters for the glasses as well as for the

projectors A projector or image projector is an optical device that projects an image (or moving images) onto a surface, commonly a projection screen. Most projectors create an image by shining a light through a small transparent lens, but some newer typ ...

(except laser projectors).

History

Previous history

INFITEC GmbH emerged from a research project at the former

DaimlerChrysler Mercedes-Benz Group AG (formerly Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler, and Daimler) is a German multinational automotive company headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's leading car manufacturers. Daimler-B ...

research center in

Ulm Ulm () is the sixth-largest city of the southwestern German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with around 129,000 inhabitants, it is Germany's 60th-largest city. Ulm is located on the eastern edges of the Swabian Jura mountain range, on the up ...

, Germany. In this project it was studied under the name of wavelength multiplex visualization system, whether a new technical approach was suitable for an improved and functionally enhanced imaging in

virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a Simulation, simulated experience that employs 3D near-eye displays and pose tracking to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video gam ...

systems. For the resulting technology based on

s the brand INFITEC was registered.

Foundation

In 2003, Helmut Jorke founded his own start-up enterprise called INFITEC GmbH. The aim was the utilization and further development of the INFITEC method. The head office was located in

at that time.

Cooperation with Barco N.V.

The single-projector solution with INFITEC 3D filter wheel was developed in 2004 by the Belgian company Barco. The relevant patents by Barco were purchased by INFITEC GmbH in 2010.

Cooperation with Dolby Inc.

In 2006, the WMT was licensed to the American company Dolby Laboratories, Inc. for

digital cinema Digital cinema is the digital technology used within the film industry to distribute or project motion pictures as opposed to the historical use of reels of motion picture film, such as 35 mm film. Whereas film reels have to be shipped to mo ...

, and it was marketed under the name

Dolby 3D Dolby 3D (formerly known as Dolby 3D Digital Cinema) is a marketing name for a system from Dolby Laboratories, Inc. to show three-dimensional motion pictures in a digital cinema. Technology Dolby 3D uses a Dolby Digital Cinema projector that ...

. As Dolby uses different wavelength ranges than INFITEC, Dolby glasses are not compatible with projectors equipped with INFITEC filters, and vice versa.

New filter generation

In 2011, INFITEC introduced a new generation of filters under the designation ''Excellence in 3D''. By a new design of the transmission bands of the filters a balanced

color Color (or colour in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though co ...

impression for both eyes is achieved.H. Jorke and A. Simon, ''New high efficiency interference filter characteristics for stereoscopic imaging'', ''Proc. SPIE 8288, Stereoscopic Displays and Applications XXIII'', 82881D (28 February 2012) Before, an elaborate color correction was needed for both stereoscopic channels that partially required special video processors. Now, if necessary at all, the simple color adjustment included in many projectors is sufficient.

Operating establishments

In 2010, the production of 3D glasses as well as the administration was relocated from

( District of Heidenheim,

, Germany). Since 2013, INFITEC GmbH runs a sales office in the United States. In 2014, INFITEC GmbH acquired a 50% share of VisionOptics GmbH in

Chemnitz Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt (); ; ) is the third-largest city in the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden, and the fourth-largest city in the area of former East Germany after (East Be ...

(

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

, Germany). The headquarters, the sales department, and the research and development department of INFITEC GmbH moved from Ulm to Gerstetten in 2015. Global-offices include Russia, China, and USA.

Business activity

INFITEC GmbH develops, manufactures and markets

s for

3D projection A 3D projection (or graphical projection) is a Design, design technique used to display a three-dimensional (3D) object on a two-dimensional (2D) surface. These projections rely on perspective (graphical), visual perspective and aspect analysi ...

technology and glasses fitted with these filters. In some cases the retrofitting of filters to projectors is done as well. INFITEC GmbH is internationally active regarding purchase and sales. The INFITEC GmbH holds all

patents A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...

and licensing rights (aside from the cinema market held by Dolby Inc.) from simulation in industry and research institutes,

planetarium A planetarium (: planetariums or planetaria) is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation. A dominant feature of most planetariums is ...

s and

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

s, to large venue events,

theme parks An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

, and

home cinema A home cinema, also called home theater, is a home entertainment audio-visual system that seeks to reproduce a movie theater experience and mood using consumer grade electronic video and audio equipment and is set up in a private home. In ...

solutions.

References

{{reflist

External links

Infitec homepage
Video Technology Blog Stereoscopy 3D cinema Technology companies of Germany Companies based in Baden-Württemberg