VizWorld.com

Microsoft Research Cambridge has a neat new method for visualizing small 3D volume interactively in true 360-degree stereo through use of a GPU-accelerated algorithm connected to a special new display they call the “Vermeer”.

Vermeer is a novel interactive 360° viewable display suitable for a tabletop form factor from Microsoft Research Cambridge. It provides viewpoint corrected stereoscopic 3D graphics to simultaneous users 360° around the display, without the need for eyewear or other user instrumentation. In contrast to other systems, Vermeer allows users for the first time, to reach into and directly touch 3D objects inside a display volume. It also enables simultaneous users 360° viewing of the 3D object. Inherently other 360° systems restrict interactions to outside the display volume behind a protective glass or plastic dome.

From the description in the video, it looks like an electronic version of the “Hologram Chamber” illusion.  A clever trick, but the size of it keeps it restricted to rather small displays.

via Vermeer Interactive Display – YouTube.

Hardware, Science holographic, interactive, microsoft

PhysOrg has a short article about a company called “Imec” that hopes to make holographic TV a reality in 2012 through an interesting nanoscale silicon processes.

In their nanoscale system, they work with chips made by growing a layer of silicon oxide on to silicon wafer. They etch square patches of the silicon oxide. The result is a checkerboard-like pattern where etched-away pixels are nanometers lower than their neighbors. A reflective aluminum coating tops the chip. When laser light shines on the chip, it bounces off of the boundary between adjacent pixels at an angle. Diffracted light interferes constructively and destructively to create a 3-D picture where small mirrored platforms are moving up and down, many times a second, to create a moving projection.

They hope to have their first “proof of concept” designs in 2012, although I imagine a marketable version of the tech is a good 4-5 years away.  Check out their demo video from IEEE Spectrum below.

via Holographic 3-D looks tantalizingly closer in 2012.

Hardware holographic, imec, tv

At the recent “Autodesk University”, Infinite Z was there demonstrating their zScape product.  They call it a “virtual holographic display”, but from watching their video I would say it’s somewhat like a Wacom Cintiq with a 3D Display:  You use their laser-pen to interact with software but the visuals are displayed in stereoscopic 3d (requiring their glasses), enabling a new level of depth and interactivity to the experience.

Infinite Z says it is initially focused towards the digital/product design, scientific, medical, GIS/geospatial, and government markets. For now it ships only with drivers for Maya and Showcase, but Infinite Z says other software vendors are on board and the number of products zSpace supports will grow rapidly. A proof-of-concept zSpace demo for Autodesk Alias Design software also ships with the product.

Impressively, the system is available today for a mere $6,000 and works out-of-the-box with Autodesk Showcase and Maya. Check out their demo video below.

zSpace – A Virtual-holographic Experience from Infinite Z on Vimeo.

via GraphicSpeak » Infinite Z launches zSpace virtual holographic 3D display for designers.

Hardware holographic, maya, stereoscopic, zspace

Chinese scientists have demonstrated what may be the world’s largest full-color holographic screen, built using 64 digital cameras and 64 digital projectors to capture, communicate, and display the image.

“Our method encounters no difficulties in achieving any size of high quality 3D display,” commented the authors. “The quality of the final display depends on the quality of each camera-projector pair, while the 3D space recovering fidelity depends on its quantity to make 3D scene sampling.”

They’re still working to optimize the system before commercializing it, but you can read about it in Optics Letters 34 3803.

via Practical 3D holographic screen debuts – optics.org.

Hardware display, holographic

Sony is demonstrating their previously announced 360-degree 3D display, and the results are impressive for a mere 96×128 pixels.  My original thoughts seem correct tho, it’s a cylindrical rotating display.  If you watch the video (after the break) you can see the mismatch in the camera frequency (recording the video) and the screen as a “fade” slowly crosses the image at a regular interval, which I captured in the image shown here.

See the video after the break.

Read more…

Hardware 3d, holographic, sony

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

In a new press release from Sony they announce at the upcoming digital content EXPO2009 (October 22-25th) they’ll be showing a “Solid 360 degrees display”.

The “360 Degree Stereoscopic Display” unveiled by Sony is a prototype of a tabletop 3D display that can be seen from 360 degrees and doesn’t require funky 3D glasses for full effect.

According to Sony’s press release, the gadget measures 13 cm in diameter and is 27 cm tall (or about 5 by 10 inches).

So what’s it for? Seems that Sony isn’t sure yet. Speculations are swirling that the device could be used commercially (for advertising, medical visualization, and digital signage) or in the home as a 3D digital photo display.

The resolution isn’t too great (96×128 dots), and the size isn’t very impressive (13x27cm), but it’s a good proof-of-concept.  Something like this on a larger scale could be pretty impressive.  Sites are calling it a “holographic” display but I think they are mistaken, it looks more like a cylindrical persistance display (small screen that rotates at high-speed and synchronizes the display to the rotation).

via Sony’s 3D Display Unveiled: 360-Degree Hologram, No Glasses Needed (PHOTOS).

Hardware 3d, display, holographic, sony

Holographic displays are the ultimate in passive glasses-free 3D, displaying a scene that allows for multiple simultaneous viewing angles based on the actual viewing location without any fancy head tracking, however the details behind making it are incredibly complex.  In a new paper in ‘Optics Express’, Japanese researchers reveal a new video card capable of ‘near real-time’ Holographic renderings.

Well, researchers in Japan have created a graphics card, called the HORN-6, that can do this for you. It consists of four Xilinx field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), each of which has about 7 million gates and a bit of memory (less than 1MB). Each FPGA is connected to 256MB of DDR RAM, while a fifth, smaller FPGA is used to manage the PCI bus.

These FPGAs divide the area of a 1,920 x 1,080 LCD and calculate the intensity of each pixel using a ray-tracing algorithm that also tracks the phase of the light—the phase allows the interference pattern to be calculated. In a nice bit of engineering, as the block size that each FPGA can process (e.g., the local storage limit) is completed in just under the time it takes to fetch the next block from memory. This allows the researchers to keep the FPGA load pretty much constant by prefetching data.

It’s impressive, but the ’0.08fps’ isn’t really what I’ld call ‘real-time’, but as an early FPGA prototype, it could run especially faster if dedicated hardware is used.

via Holographic GPU renders at near real-time speeds – Ars Technica.

Hardware 3d, holographic, realtime