A spectacle-mounted shuttering device, the Portable Liquid-crystal Apparatus for Tachistoscopy via visual Occlusion, based on light-scattering cholesteric liquid crystals, is introduced. Operating characteristics of the device are discussed with respect to the design objectives of comfort, switching speed, light transmission, light extinction, safety, and reliability. A number ofpractical research, clinical, and industrial applications of the spectacles as tachistoscope, stroboscope, and stereoscopic viewing apparatus are summarized.In its conventional form, a tachistoscope is basically an enclosed container, made of some lightproof material, into which an observer looks and in which, by means of special lamps, it is possible to illuminate specific objects within the container. By using a suitable optical system, one can present visual information in a precisely controlled manner to one or both eyes of an observer. To qualify as a tachistoscope in the literal sense, such a viewing apparatus must be capable of allowing very rapid presentation of visual information. (The word tachistoscope derives from a combination of the Greek words takhistos ["swiftest"] and skopeo ["look at"].) Often, instead of enclosed containers and special lamps, computer display screens or (computer-controlled) projection devices are used for tachistoscopic experiments (Green, 1978). In this paper, the design objectives, implementation, and applications of another type of tachistoscope, a spectaclemounted liquid-crystal shuttering device, are described.A photograph of a prototype of the electrooptic shuttering device, illustrating both its "open" and "closed" states, is given in Figure 1. The acronym given to the device is PLATO, for Portable Liquid-crystal Apparatus for Tachistoscopy via visual Occlusion. The emphasis on portability stems from the fact that, by wearing such a spectacle-mounted apparatus, the subject in an experiment is not restricted to remaining in front of an enclosed viewing container, or a fixed display device, or a projection screen; thus, a large range of experiments involving ambulatory subjects can be carried out. The reference to "visual occlusion" in the acronym as the means of implementing this tachistoscope derives from the fact that, rather than illuminating or projecting specific target images, as do other tachistoscopes, the PLATO device regu- lates image presentation instead by selectively blocking out the subject's view of the target, the illuminance of which remains independent of the state of the shutters.In the following sections, the background and the design objectives underlying the development of the PLATO device are presented, followed by a detailed description of its properties and, finally, a short discussion of some already demonstrated and further foreseen applications.
BACKGROUND AND DESIGN OBJECTIVES