Domain: actuality-systems.com
Stories and comments across the archive that link to actuality-systems.com.
Comments · 68
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i think this display is more intresting
two layers? ha! i think this display has more promise
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MagiQ - actually building quantum products
Hello - there's a company in NYC and the Boston area actually designing quantum encryption technology for eventual products. They have a team of heavy-hitters in the quantum information world. They're called MagiQ Technologies, Inc.
I know their CEO, and it sounds like they're doing very promising work. They've been pretty quiet about their stuff, but think that it's an example of the real-world applications of this type of technology.
Gregg Favalora - CTO, Actuality Systems, Inc. - The 3-D Display Guys
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Re:Old thingy?No, no. You're thinking of Actuality Systems, which also creates 3D displays (and has been featured on Slashdot), although in a much different way.
Actuality Systems, from what I can tell, displays 3D images by rotating a screen around very fast and then displaying different slices of an image onto that screen. I believe it gives you a "truer" 3D display, at the drawback of having to view it inside a big glass sphere.
ActualDepth appears to be using the hi-tech equivalent of those 3D images you see on the front of children's books sometimes. I'm guessing they're going after the consumer market, while Actuality Systems is probably going after industries.
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Extra imagesOne fun fact I noticed is that the web server is allowing directory listings, and that the images/ directory has lots of other images of the people at the company, etc...
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Re:Voxel display from TIThis seems to be the direct descendant of that item. From this page you can see that they use one of TI's DSPs to run the unit. So it's probably a case of the proof of concept coming out, the engineer realizing the items killer app, and a product team brought in to finish what looks like a six month project. Well, those implementors probably discovered that they didn't have the hardware to sling voxels fast enough to get a system that was both non-sucky (real technical terminology here =) ), and not more money than the GDP of small third-world countries. So the ideas and chips sat idle, occasionally brought out as a plaything when someone decided to do a little spring cleaning. It's only now that we're able to see the technology in a fairly usable state; it was just too expensive before.
Of course, this is all just wild conjecture, shots in the dark. But it is probably close to the truth.
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An Explanation
For those of you wondering just how the heck this thing works - it uses a (really fast) conventional 2-D projector and a very complex array of lenses and mirrors to project a constantly changing image onto a 2-dimensional translucent screen that rotates at 600 rpm. By changing the image as the screen rotates, the illusion of a 3-D object is created.
More technical info (with pictures) can be found here and a shot of the screen while it's not moving can be seen here. -
An Explanation
For those of you wondering just how the heck this thing works - it uses a (really fast) conventional 2-D projector and a very complex array of lenses and mirrors to project a constantly changing image onto a 2-dimensional translucent screen that rotates at 600 rpm. By changing the image as the screen rotates, the illusion of a 3-D object is created.
More technical info (with pictures) can be found here and a shot of the screen while it's not moving can be seen here. -
Nice..
It's interesting that they made such a big announcement that their product actually works..
;)It's even funnier to see what their 2D Test Pattern is.
;)That will be nice when they actually get it out and there are a few advances in memory. Unfortunately, it will probably not have the cool sort of holographic effects that they had in Star Wars and Star Trek.
But I bet that the folks who do military-grade radars will love it. Imagine being able to view the exact 3D position of an aircraft instead of just looking at the overhead view.
It's just odd to see that they are using SCSI to do the interfacing. SCSI's a lot slower than the AGP port, and you are transfering several hundered times the data..
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Re:Design IssuesTheir images conveniently don't show one of the major drawbacks of this type of display: You can see right through the objects...The device doesn't know where your head is so it can't do hidden surface removal. Surfaces behind the frontmost just shine through.
This is actually wrong. See below. The only see-through problem I can think of is seeing all the way to the other side of an object; with the way it seems to be constructed, it looks like the mirrors being in the center may fix this problem? IANAE, but that is what I understand from the white paper.
Also, keep in mind that they don't really have any working prototype yet, so they couldn't demonstrate it.
3. Proprietary algorithms and interface software Actuality Systems places considerable effort into inventing, testing, and optimizing high-speed and high-precision algorithms for fundamental tasks, such as:
- Line drawing
- Triangle drawing
- Hidden-surface removal
- [emphasis added]
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Have a guess what it will be used for first ...My guess is the military is keen to back this one (see the front-page image).
Mind you, the size of the domes isn't exactly huge initially [pic].A quick search on IBM's Patent Database reveals reveals that The navy has some patents regarding 3D volumetric displays already and also shows the tech details behind the volumetric display used by these guys (One of the founders has patented the mechanism used)
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Re:Yep, 90 Million, and let's not get too excited.
...that's about a 600x600x250 pixel display...Um, not quite. It's actually a radial coordinate system, with a diametric resolution of 768 pixels. Check out this link for more info.
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Anybody else notice their sample?The sample picture at http://www.actuality-systems.com/product_main.htm has a virus floating in it that looks like the virus from "The Andromeda Strain".
Geeks! This is just too cool!
:-)John
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That's 90 MILLION voxels
will provide the highest resolution volumetric 3-D imagery in the world. Multicolored images, comprised of over 90 million 3-D pixels called "voxels," will seem to float within its transparent viewing dome. And I thought the Chess game was originally on WestWorld. There's also a concept graphic of the display dome on the company's homepage.
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Neuromorphic Engineering / Article
Biological (neural) systems have properties sometimes desirable electronically, such as robustness and insensitivity to noisy data. Indeed, Caltech's Carver Mead (if he's still there) went a long way to popularize biologically-inspired engineering, or "neuromorphic engineering." His book Analog VLSI and Neural Systems is the usual text, mixing VLSI design and mimicry of, say, the retina.
The original Nature article should be readable to those clued in on MOS circuitry and a bit of neuroscience. I think it's wonderful that Nature is willing to post their material for free online, esp. in PDF...
For those of you itching to learn more about the brain & neuromorphic engineering, I set up a page of links to related books.
All best,
Gregg Favalora, CTO, Actuality Systems, Inc.
Developing autostereoscopic volumetric 3-D displays.
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Neuromorphic Engineering / Article
Biological (neural) systems have properties sometimes desirable electronically, such as robustness and insensitivity to noisy data. Indeed, Caltech's Carver Mead (if he's still there) went a long way to popularize biologically-inspired engineering, or "neuromorphic engineering." His book Analog VLSI and Neural Systems is the usual text, mixing VLSI design and mimicry of, say, the retina.
The original Nature article should be readable to those clued in on MOS circuitry and a bit of neuroscience. I think it's wonderful that Nature is willing to post their material for free online, esp. in PDF...
For those of you itching to learn more about the brain & neuromorphic engineering, I set up a page of links to related books.
All best,
Gregg Favalora, CTO, Actuality Systems, Inc.
Developing autostereoscopic volumetric 3-D displays.
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Re:3D isn't that cool by itself - Field of View> Currently the best field of view is around 30% with VR goggles. I am excited about 3D, but it seems funny that no one seems to be working on increasing field of view.
I agree that field of view is very important for many applications, such as pharmaceutical design.
But rest assured, people are working on it...
This is a biased response -- our firm has developed (and is finishing up the next generation model) volumetric 3-D display with a 360-degree field of view: Actuality Systems
That is, the imagery takes up a real volume, and multiple people can walk around the display to see it from anywhere in the room. We even have a demo set up that lets you pick up a joystick and fly a helicopter over a moving terrain.
Anyhow, if you are interested in background information on 3-D displays in general, let me suggest: SIGGRAPH overview
and (by a team of students in Germany): Survey Article
-Gregg Favalora
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Re:Other 3d Technologies?Every example I have ever seen requires the viewer to be in a relatively constrained angle to the monitor to receive a true effect
Yeh, that's my understanding too. Basically this display is a regular display covered with a lenticular lens, which directs different imagery to each eye, rather like those cheesy "3D" posters you sometimes see in airports.
Does any one know of any other 3d visualization system being developed, any links would be most appreciated.
I'm working at a company right now that's making a true volumetric autostereoscopic display that works on a different principle. Details are at the Actuality Systems website.
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3D volumetric displays are a reality...Y'all need to check out Actuality Systems. These guys have some stellar technology which is just on the verge of being available. I actually went to college with the founder of the company, and this summary in the online-WSJ (no subscription required) of Gregg Favalora's technology is an incredible read. Among other things, he's won the BFGoodrich Collegiate Inventors Competition and the MIT $50,000 Entrepreneurship Competition. Watch this guy...and get in on his IPO.
:)