VizWorld.com

Working with giant screens like IMAX typically requires special cameras configured for panoramic shooting, with a lengthy post stitching step.  However, once you move to 3D the typical setups break down because you have to get much more information in the frame:

Generating 3D video panoramas, however, is much more complicated. Whereas the stitching of each panorama for the left and the right eye requires a parallax-free recording of sub-images, the stereo representation itself needs a sufficient amount of parallax for proper 3D reproduction.

This problem is a tough one to solve, but Fraunhofer has come with a (Rather extreme) solution.  Combining cameras and mirrors into a omni-directional camera module, they can put multiples of them together in 24-degree increments to get all the way up to a 360-degree circle for a massive 15,000×2,000 pixel image.

Currently in a rough prototype, it looks like a truly mammoth camera to try to work with tho.

via Panoramic 3D a step closer – Newsletter3DMasters-content | TVBEurope Magazine Online & In Print.

Hardware 3d, camera, fraunhofer, stereoscopic

I had the chance to see the Alioscopy autostereoscopic display at SIGGRAPH last year, it’s an impressive piece of kit.  One real distinguishing characteristic is that it supports more than the usual 2-view Stereoscopic display (left-eye, right-eye) and enables “multi-view”, so that you can actually see somewhat around the object by shifting your view.  Now they’ve partnered with the Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute to take traditional stereoscopic 3D video and convert it into Alioscopy’s special Multi-View 3D.

“Alioscopy has always been at the forefront of auto-stereoscopic 3D displays, and we recognized the incredible potential of creating a technology to convert existing stereoscopic footage into multi-view formats and make it look just as immersive and captivating on auto-stereoscopic displays,” said Ralf Tanger, Project Manager at Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute, Berlin. “We’re excited to work together with Alioscopy as we offer this unique technology that will allow many new customers to extend their 3D investment into new 3D markets,” added Tanger.

Full press release after the break.

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Hardware, Science 3d, alioscopy, fraunhofer, stereoscopic

The new centerpiece of the Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute’s (HHI) Tomorrow’s Immersive Media Experience Lab (TIME Lab) is a huge 7 megapixel 180-degree display 12 meters wide driven by 7 of projectiondesign’s F32 DLP projectors.

“The aim of this installation is to allow digital film experts and famous film directors such as Tom Tykwer, to dive into and discover the fascination of digital cinema projection and video systems, evolving scripts and global economic challenges. At the event visitors will be treated to a true multi-media environment that offers full acoustic and visual experience of live event broadcasting and a range of novel film formats. Our projection system is designed for the future and the fantastic image quality of the projectiondeisgn projectors has made the display the centrepiece of the HHI TiME Lab,” says Christian Weissig from the Image Processing Department at the Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute in Berlin, Germany.

In particular I love the construction of the reflection panels on the ceiling, the projectors are mounted in a half-circle pointed downwards with reflectors, all shown in the pictures.  The official launch is this Friday, but you can see several pictures of the installation at their site.  Full press release after the break.

Update 2/28/10: Corrected a misspelling of Weissig’s name.

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Science display, fraunhofer, immersive, projectiondesign

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research are working with museums in Florence on a joint project called 3D-COFORM which aims to digitally scan and reconstruct works of art from all over the world.  In addition to simply scanning & storing them for display, they are working on a way to link and correlate objects, creating digital collections and creating a searchable database.

“But we are still a long way from being able to sensibly correlate 3D data between different objects,” says Dr. André Stork, Head of Department at the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research IGD in Darmstadt and a partner in the 3D-COFORM consortium.

via History In 3-D: Digitally Archived Works Of Art.

Science art, fraunhofer

A new system called “BioBrowser” from a German Research Foundation project at Fraunhofer Austria in Gras aims to allow researchers to interactively analyze and manipulate the molecular stucture of massive proteins containing 50,000 and more atoms.

Based on research data of molecular biologists, the software automatically calculates and displays 3D models of complex proteins – at the push of a button, in high quality, and interactively. Researchers can turn the molecule and look at it from every angle, enlarge it at will and select specific areas; the image is always razor sharp and users can switch between the most important variants.

via Super-sized Tiny Proteins: Software Helps Biologists Visualize Molecules.

Science biomed, fraunhofer, molecular, protein

The Fraunhofer Institute has developed what they call Interactive Data Eyeglasses, using OLED projector technology to project data directly onto the wearer’s retina.

The chip measuring 19.3 by 17 millimeters is fitted on the prototype eyeglasses behind the hinge on the temple. From the temple the image on the microdisplay is projected onto the retina of the user so that it appears to be viewed from a distance of about one meter. The image has to outshine the ambient light to ensure that it can be seen clearly against changing and highly contrasting backgrounds. For this reason the research scientists use OLEDs, organic light-emitting diodes, to produce microdisplays of particularly high luminance.

Very Sci-Fi, although they do admit that they don’t have any timeframes for any type of usable product.

via Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Research News 06-2009-Topic 3.

Hardware, Science display, fraunhofer, oled

Mini projectors are gaining in popularity, and several companies have been investigating embedding them into devices as small as PDA’s and CellPhones.  The Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF in Jena have worked with their partners the the EU project HYPOLED to couple magnification lenses with a tiny OLED display to create a projector that requires no additional illumination (OLED’s are Light Emitting), and is a mere 2.5cm long and 1.8cm in diameter.

Currently the OLED display produces a monochrome image with a brightness of 10,000 candelas per square meter; for color images the brightness is about half that level. By way of comparison, a computer monitor generates about 150-300 candelas per square meter.

They will be demonstrating this prototype at the Laser World of Photonics trade show from June 15 to 18th in Munich.

Fraunhofer show mini beamer with an OLED Display.

Hardware display, fraunhofer, hypoled, oled, projector