Virtual 3D display case

This tech called pCubee is just amazing. If you have any experience in working with 3D scanned objects, the utility is obvious and possibilities are very exciting. This is the first generation of a brand new world in display.

From the link (and hit the link for video):

Researchers have developed a five-paneled LCD cube that gives users the appearance that something is inside, allowing them to rotate the unit and look at an object in three dimensions. Called pCubee, it’s the result of two years of work by students at the University of British Columbia.

“If it’s AutoCAD or 3D modeling objects, instead of looking at them on a regular desktop monitor, you can look at them inside the cube,” said Ian Stavness, a Ph.D. student at the University of British Columbia. He said that it could also be useful for museums to use for virtual showcases. The three-dimensional effect will only work, though, if 3D data for the object is available.

(Hat tip: SculptCAD)

“iSpecs” patent application from Apple …

… is already giving me a headache.

The conceit behind the patent app is a pair of glasses you attach an iPhone, iPod or similar Apple device to watch video in high-def equivalent 3D. Just imagine the neck strain of having the weight of an iPhone resting on the bridge of your nose for an extended period of time, not to mention the eyestrain.

I wonder if this patent application entered the system on April 1, or maybe Navin Johnson is now an Apple engineer.

(All blockquotes are from the first link.)

Here’s a look at an illustration of the concept:

And here’s a little more detail:

Apple has filed a patent application for electronic video spectacles that will allow wearers to watch films in 3D on the inside of the glasses. Fans have already nicknamed the gadget iSpecs.

Users would attach their iPhone, iPod, or other device to the spectacles, which have a special lens that can split the image into two frames — one for each eye — and then project the image onto the spectacles. The two images would create a stereoscopic effect since they would appear to have been taken from slightly different angles, and this would simulate 3D.

According to the patent application (number 20100079356) the images would be equivalent to high definition in quality, and sensors inside the spectacles would detect the precise location of the wearer’s eyes to ensure the image is projected at exactly the right place and is comfortable to watch.

Palm-sized 3D display

Here’s a cool breakthrough in 3D display tech:

“The ultimate image we have in mind is having a small person in your palm,” said Shunsuke Yoshida, one of the researchers involved in the study at Japan’s National Institute of Information and Communications Technology.

“Suppose you have a picture of your girlfriend smiling on your desk. She could be smiling as a 3D image in a cube,” he told AFP at a recent gathering of imaging researchers here.

Grandparents could use the device — which comes in a 10 centimetre (3.9 inches) cube — to see a 3D image of their grandchild living far away, while business people could view a prototype product from afar and school teachers could use it in science classes, he said.

At the moment the device has a still image but efforts are underway to make it move in real time, Yoshida said.

This a link to the KurzweilAI.net post of this news bit:

Japanese team developing palm-held 3D display

PhysOrg.com, July 14, 2008 Researchers at Japan’s National Institute of Information and Communications Technology are developing the gCubik, which could enable people to hold a three-dimensional image of someone in the palm of their hand. Unlike conventional 3D displays, which are viewed only from the front, the gCubik can be seen from three sides, giving different images from various angles, and users will not need glasses.   Read Original Article>>