3DIQ Stereo Viewer

United States, 1990s

This unusual 3D viewer from XM Corporation doesn’t use side-by-side stereo images at all - rather the images are printed on opposite sides of a single card and the 3D effect is achieved with mirrors inside the viewer. The system was targeted at the educational market and the idea was that the cards would have value as stand-alone 2D trading cards, separate from the viewer, unlike View-Master reels which have no use without a viewer. The company got U.S. patents for both the card design and the light path design in the viewer.

Primary Material: Plastic
Media Format: Printed card
Light Source: Natural light
Focus: Fixed
Interocular: Fixed