VizWorld.com

Later this month, June 21-22, at the Millennium Broadway Hotel in New York City will be the second annual “International Conference on Stereoscopic 3D for Media Entertainment”, better known as the SMPTE Conference.  If you’re interested in 3D, either from a research or a production perspective, sounds like this might be a good event to attend.

During the two-day event, engineers, scientists, and researchers will discuss the latest work on human factors and the viewing of 3D materials; stereoscopic image acquisition and production advancements; stereoscopic image metrology and processing, including an open-source camera platform being developed at Stanford University ; and advancements in stereoscopic displays, including those related to live, holographic TV.

That last one sounds interesting: live, holographic TV.  I have a feeling people are thinking holographic as in the “free-standing, multiple simultaneous viewpoint” vision popularized in Star Wars, not the “scattering from laser interference” that is actual holograms.  But still, it would be interesting to see how people propose recording & broadcasting it.

via SMPTE 3D Event Features Leading Researchers in Technical Sessions Spanning Human Factors, Open-Source Camera Platform, Holographic TV | Business Wire.

Science conference, hologram, smpte, stereoscopic

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has just completed a 5-year project called “Urban Photonic Sandtable Display”, or UPSD, that creates realtime, color, 360-degree 3D holographic displays.  Without any special goggles, an entire team of planners can view a large-format (up to 6-foot diagonal) interactive 3D display.

UPSD is based on full-parallax technology, which enables each 3D holographic object to project the correct amount of light that the original object possessed in each direction, for full 360- degree viewing. Current 3D displays lack full-parallax and only provide 3D viewing from certain angles with typically only three to four inches of visual depth.

Looks like the technology was developed by Zebra Imaging, and is currently being deployed to an Air Force lab and two Army labs for use.

via defence.professionals | defpro.com.

Science darpa, hologram, interactive, research, zebra imaging

At the recent SIGGRAPH2010 ASIA, McLaren’s design director Frank Stephenson gave a keynote on how computer graphics is impacting design of their Formula One racecars and helping them beat the likes of Ferrari, Porsche, and Aston Martin.  Afterwards in an interview with the Korea Times, he dropped the nugget that they are working on developing a holographic viewing system that will “beam” the visualizations into the air, viewable from 360 degrees in full 3D without glasses, and coupled with a motion-detection system for interaction.

“The use of high-quality visual animation and the digitized designing process is based on the needs to improve the speed of product delivery and be more cost effective in the process before we produce the physical product. Conventional methods will leave you with conventional timing schedules, and we will always have to work to find the best processes to accelerate our product strategy plans, improve efficiency and employ cutting-edge technologies,’’ Stephenson said.

I haven’t heard of any such system in-use anywhere before, and I’ld love to know who is building and deploying it for them.  I suspect some of what he describes is exaggeration or oversimplification, but if this truly is a floating-space 3D hologram…… Wow.

via Computer graphics enable high-octane experience.

Hardware, Science hologram

We first brought you news of Zebra Imaging’s holographic prints back in February, but Engadget just dug up two impressive new video demonstrations of their products and a few interesting numbers on the company.

To date, over 8,000 ZScapes have already been developed for the US military, but surprisingly their prices range between $1,500 for a 12- x 18-inch version to $3,500 for the largest 2- x 3-foot size, making them relatively obtainable for those not on Defense Department tabs.

So, 8000 ZScapes at the minimum price ($1500) = $12Million.  Not a bad chunk of change.  See the videos below.

via ZScape 3D holographic prints take maps to the next dimension, sans spectacles — Engadget.

Graphics hologram, zebra imaging

An odd testament to the continued intrusion of technology into our lives is the popularity of Hatsune Miku, a completely virtual pop star from Japan who’s packing arenas and stadiums with a modernized pepper’s ghost illusion.

Created by Crypton Future Media, Hatsune Miku is a virtual singing avatar that you can purchase for your PC and program to play any song you create. She and her virtual colleagues have gone on limited tours in Japan and virtual avatar song writing is a growing trend all over the world. Surprising? Perhaps, but the thing that really blows me away is that I actually like her songs.

Of course this is Japan, and they’re always a bit more open to such esoteric use of technology.  But how long until someone couples technology like this with something like Second Life for simultaneous broadcasting of a concert across multiple areas.  Check out one of her performances below.  I have to admit it’s an impressive mix of a live band with the CG Singer.

via This Rocking Lead Singer is a 3D Hologram (video) | Singularity Hub.

Graphics hologram

Back in January, we brought you news of a fascinating new technology demonstration at CES from a Taiwan’s Innovision which they called ‘HoloAD‘.  Using projectors and mirrors in a pyramidal configuration, they could created full 3D holograms within the chamber, making it perfect for small-site advertising.  The product got a great reception, mainly because of the glasses-free stereoscopic nature of it.

Last week I was contacted by Clas Durholm, the CEO of a danish company named RealFiction, who claims that HoloAD is a blatant rip-off of their own patented technology Dreamoc.  I dug a bit further, and while I remain as confused as ever, I share the information here for you to draw your own conclusions.

Read more…

Hardware feature, hoload, hologram, realfiction

At the recent Autodesk University 2009, Zebra Imaging was on hand demonstrating their plastic hologram technology that can, supposedly, take any 3D model and render it as a 3D hologram onto a simple piece of plastic.  Their website gives some basic information on how they do it:

Patented advances in lasers, optics and image processing are incorporated into Zebra’s innovative process to produce holographic imagery from 3D data sets. Raw data sources of any kind, such as CAD models, laser scans and satellite imagery are used to product the final holographic image. Each hardcopy digital hologram is composed of thousands of high fidelity rendered still images. The images are encoded into a “hogel” (the equivalent of a holographic pixel) on photopolymer film with a proprietary optical process. The result is a portable film based hologram that can be viewed in direct sunlight or with a simple halogen or LED light source.

Sounds too good to be true, but the video taken from the conference floor shows amazing results.  While they are not animated, you easily see multiple viewpoints from multiple angles without the need for any special glasses.

via Zebra Imaging – Architecture, Engineering and Construction.

Science 3d, hologram, zebra imaging

Taiwan’s Innovision was at CES demonstrating their HoloAD technology which is 3D the way it’s meant to be done, projected via a hologram for 180-degrees of viewing.

As is the case with all 3D tech, HoloADs work by fooling the brain into thinking it’s seeing something that doesn’t really exist. HoloAD displays work by using a set of three independent images, projected onto the trapezoidal sides of a see-through glass pyramid (the back side is flat), so you can walk 180-degrees around the projection. The result is an image that looks like an animated, full-color hologram. In addition, the display units can hold an actual object under the glass, and can be made to look like that object is the originating source of the 3D projection. Just load up the properly prepared FLV video footage onto a USB flash disk, and the HoloAD unit does the rest.

See some youtube videos of it in action after the break.

Read more…

Hardware, Science 3d, ces, hoload, hologram, innovision

Holograms are everywhere these days, from the trinket in your cereal box to real-time 3D visuals.  The word is frequently used incorrectly tho, so today’s Resource of the Week is aimed at not only correcting that, but in educating you in how holograms work and showing you how you can create your own (if you’re so inclined).  That leads us to this week’s 2 recommendations:

Holography Handbook

The Holography Handbook coincides with the increasing interest in making hologram by individuals with little or no technical background. It serves to educate and is supremely capable of doing so, by explaining in readable and succinct terms how to make numerous different holograms. The illustrations, diagrams and text take you gently through each step, including: the selection of a location to make holograms, how to build or where to acquire the equipment needed, what to do with it once you have it, for how long, and the results to expect. It covers basic and advanced procedures, recommends approaches both optically and chemically and offers alternatives.This would make a useful handbook if it stopped there, but its authors recognize that the process is connected, and can be extended, to other areas of consideration, sot they quickly put it into historical perspective including chapters on light, its perception and properties, the art of holography and philosophical implications. The California humor of its authors comes though with a desire to provide entertaining and understandable explanations, manifest in their “KISS philosophy. Keep It Sweet and Simple”.

In a book concerned with the production of holograms and their properties, the simplest way to demonstrate some of the points covered in the text would be to give each reader a hologram to examine – hence the sting in the tail. On the last page is a small embossed hologram, viewable in white light (a characteristic of most display holography today), which if you light it correctly, provides a 3-dimensional image. Previous publications have included holograms, but this is the first to explain how to make them yourself. To further emphasize the well though-out nature of this book, the back page, if you can bear to tear it out, can be cut, folded and glued to make a stand for the hologram. Any lending library adventurous enough to offer copies of this book would do well to keep a beady eye on the back page prone, as it will be to mysterious disappearance. Seductive things, these holograms. — Andrew Pepper, New Scientist Magazine

The Complete Book of Holograms

Clear, thorough account, without complicated mathematics, explains the two models of holography—the geometric and the zone plate—and different types of holograms, including transmission, reflection, phase, projection, rainbow, and multiplex. They also show basic setups for making holograms and provide step-by-step instructions so readers can make their own. “I predict that Kasper and Feller will become a standard reference on holography for students and interested laymen”—James A. Van Allen. 116 b/w illustrations.

This clear account of holography and its applications offers the novice a rigorous treatment of holographic theory and science with minimal reliance on mathematical explanation. Written in a lively, stimulating style, it explains the geometric model of holography as well as the more elaborate diffraction model, describes various types of holograms, and gives detailed instructions on how to make your own holograms and where to get the neccessary materials. Also covers current and developing applications of holographic techniques in science, industry, and the arts. Includes excellent illustrations throughout, plus a list of sources for further study. –This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Hardware, Science feature, hologram, holographic, resource of the week

Using classic hologram imaging techniques, researchers at New York University have created a “holographic microscope” capable of visualizing individual biological molecules with amazing precision.

It allows us to view particles a micrometer in size and with nanometric precision–that is, it captures their traits to within one billionth of a meter.”

“That’s a tremendous amount of information to obtain about a micrometer-scale object, particularly when you consider that you get all of that information in each snapshot,”

Unlike a single holographic image, they feed the data into a recorder and create a holographic movie that can then be analyzed later with full 3d data.  Due to the sheer volume of data coming from the microscope, they’ve implemented a GPGPU solution for speed on NVidia GTx280′s with CUDA and GPULib.

The entire project was detailed in a paper, “Flow visualization and flow cytometry with holographic video microscopy” at Optics Express, and is available online.

via Bio Optics World Magazine Articles, Holographic movies of bio molecules promising for medical diagnostics, drug discovery.

Hardware, Science biomed, cuda, gpgpu, hologram, microscope