From the expertise and track record of its participants MUTED will enable development of a 3D display closer to a commercial product by developing a more effective and compact form, developing a non-intrusive multi-user head tracker, and obtaining a fuller understanding of the human factors considerations of 3D display. To facilitate commercialisation we will leverage expertise from participants to address hurdles prior to mass manufacture. A future 3D display will not be a stand-alone set as it is now, but will be part of a comprehensive network where interactivity plays an important part.

By placing Europe at the forefront of 3D display technology the outcomes of MUTED will greatly enhance the competitiveness of the European display and content generation industries and address the future needs of these industries to move into the next generation of technology. MUTED continues European leadership in cutting-edge 3D display technology and will encourage development, content generation and servicing, human factors modelling and domestic and industrial application. This work will reinforce European strengths in areas where it has established leadership. Such application would be either: domestic by providing new display technology to individuals and groups, or industrial, by providing for, and supporting, new visualisation freedoms and opportunities to European science, industry and research.

There is a strong belief in the industry that 3D viewing will be a major feature in mobile displays (short-medium term) and in TV broadcast (medium term). The requirements of any future TV system, based on numerous market and human factors studies (including those from participant Sharp) indicate that the form factor must be similar to current flat panel displays and that 2D-3D 'switch-ability' is key. These are the main requisites for any development.

For the first time we will realise a high resolution multi-viewer, flat-panel "hang on the wall" 3D display system that can also be seamlessly switched to 2D mode. This world first 3D system will be evaluated for user-acceptance compared to state-of-the-art 2D flat panel display. The realisation of such display hardware will create the seed for future 3D content creation and broadcast within Europe.