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Walk-Thru Virtual Environment

Posted by timothy on from the foggy-mcbottom dept.

diso writes "Walking through a wall is now really possible. WAVE, a Walk-thru Virtual Environment is a novel, low-cost, and simple method for forming a superior quality physically penetrable fog display. It is a break-through technology, literally! This work has international patents pending. An early prototype was constructed with honeycomb paper as a low-cost laminar airflow generator. When the screen is formed, images can be either rear- or front-projected onto it. Despite of being a very early prototype, the experimental fog screen already proves the operating principle with excellent results."

57 of 168 comments (clear)

  1. It's all done with Smoke and Mirrors... by DLWormwood · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...as Penn and Teller would say.

    --
    Those who complain about affect & effect on /. should be disemvoweled
    1. Re:It's all done with Smoke and Mirrors... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      This is nothing but vapor-ware

  2. Ok, this is really really cool looking by strictnein · · Score: 4, Interesting

    That is one of the cooler things I've ever seen.

    Think of the applications of this:

    Finally, something that closely resembles 3d holograms

    "Help me obi-wan, you're my only hope" and all that type of stuff

    Also, it could be used really well in a haunted house

    --
    Casual Games/Downloads
    1. Re:Ok, this is really really cool looking by mmacdona86 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Actually, this has nothing to do with 3d. The only innovation here is that it is a penetrable 2d display.

    2. Re:Ok, this is really really cool looking by strictnein · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Actually, this has nothing to do with 3d. The only innovation here is that it is a penetrable 2d display.

      it would seem that this technology could easliy be used to create a 3d display as well

      simply have 3 or 4 projections

      --
      Casual Games/Downloads
  3. Honest question by Therlin · · Score: 5, Insightful

    How is this different from the water screens that you see at the theme parks such as Disneyworld? (other than the fact that you do not need a lake)

  4. Not all new... by therealmoose · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This is cool, but not terribly new. At many light shows, sprayers/misters work churning out water vapor to provide something for the lasers to hit. I have witnessed several of these, and sometimes a screen is generated to facilitate the production of the light effects. This isn't really that much different, merely on a smaller scale.

    1. Re:Not all new... by Nyarly · · Score: 5, Interesting
      On the other manipulator, they do claim to have patented their novel fog screen dingus, so it would seem that the USPTO disagrees with you.

      Alternatively, a good demonstration of prior art would invalidate their patent.

      Honestly, the "new thing" seems to be the "non-turbulent laminar airflow" used to keep the fog confined and smooth enough to project convincing images on. Basically, it seems like the idea is to blow a smooth, flat stream of air, and then add fog or smoke to the stream. The smoother the stream, the better the image.

      Parting shot: is it a patent violation to disseminate kit ideas? I know that the patent itself needs to describe the invention pretty well, but would it be actionable to put DIY instructions on the web? Cause this is kinda neat, and it looks like it might be doable with honeycomb paper, a hair dryer and a block of dry ice.

      --
      IP is just rude.
      Is there any torture so subl
    2. Re:Not all new... by BrookHarty · · Score: 2

      The reason its not like normal water(vapor) projection, the droplets wont wet a surface. Which is important for indoor use.

    3. Re:Not all new... by DJPsychoChild · · Score: 2, Funny

      There was something like this a few years ago... was a big thing in architectural circles. At a fair (I think), they built the shell of a house using only this fog technique, and allowed people to tour it. The only problems: 1) had to be built on a lake to keep the water supply up, and 2) the pictures they tried hanging on the walls kept falling off.

      --
      CODITO, ERGO SUM: I Code, therefore I am.
    4. Re:Not all new... by Scarblac · · Score: 2

      On the other manipulator, they do claim to have patented their novel fog screen dingus, so it would seem that the USPTO disagrees with you.

      They're from Finland.

      Besides, write something like this down in language that's precise enough, and similar-but-not-exactly-the-same things wouldn't count as prior art, I think.

      --
      I believe posters are recognized by their sig. So I made one.
  5. Vaporware? by njchick · · Score: 5, Funny

    This gives the word "vaporware" an entirely new meaning.

  6. Cars and Planes? by ksplatter · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This would be pretty cool if you could add it to a car. When there is a heavy fog to drive through you could project images of the road in front of the driver.

    Fog has also been know to shut down airports for quite some time. If they could project an image of the terrian pilot would be able to take off without a hitch.

    sounds pretty amazing

    1. Re:Cars and Planes? by penguin_punk · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The problem with this idea, is that naturally-occuring fog is 3-d (the depth is roughly the same size as the height and width) This 'machine' produces fog which, ideally, is only a centimeter or two thick, and dense enough to reflect light efficently.

      With naturally occuring fog, if you had (for instance) a projector that projects an image of the road into the fog, it would be VERY unreliable as the light would reflect back well in one section, but not be reflected back in another. Yo umay think this is fine, as if no light gets reflected, you can see the road, right? Wrong. It is like watching an old 8mm being projected onto CmdrTaco's fat back, it would be distorted in most areas, and you can't see the part of the screen that shines outside his love handles. With projecting onto natural fog, it's VERY inconsitent. - Try this with a 'Batman' template and a good Maglite flashlight one night in the bathroom (with a hot shower running)

      The other point I wanted to mention, is that the reason airports get shut down and you have a problem is because of the 'reflecting' nature of fog. If, for some miraculous reason, you were to project an image onto the road (or FROM the road in an airplane's case), and it was visible to the driver/pilot, the vehicle you were controling would have to shut ALL forward-pointing lights off, otherwise, the projected image won't show up. If you want proof, then make your own 'walk-thru wall' and shine a bright light at the image you are viewing. What do you see? NOTHING. (except for fog)

      I didn't mean to criticize, but I wish we could make driving and flying safer because of this 'discovery', but alas we cannot. Not yet.

      EOF

      --
      HURD - Hurd's Under Research & Development
    2. Re:Cars and Planes? by MSBob · · Score: 2

      Well, except that the residents of the foggiest city in the world (which happens to be Saint John, NB) would hardly be able to afford such vehicles given that the average income there is about $14,000(US).

      --
      Your pizza just the way you ought to have it.
    3. Re:Cars and Planes? by achurch · · Score: 2

      When there is a heavy fog to drive through you could project images of the road in front of the driver.

      You could also project images of ghosts and goblins in front of the driver. As long as it's not me.

    4. Re:Cars and Planes? by Hast · · Score: 2

      He did mention using IR and or UV as well. A IR camera will show you basically what you'd see with your eyes. (Although in greyscale or with strange colours.) As a benefit humans and animals are easy to see.

      Don't know how well UV would work for stuff like seeing roads though.

      You could add stored data as well, but it seems like a rather dangerous idea, for the reasons you mentioned above.

  7. nothing new .. by jest3r · · Score: 5, Funny

    commisioner gordan has been projecting images onto gotham city's foggy night sky for years ...

  8. How cool is this?!? by Cervantes · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's about damn time... think of the applications once it gets out of alpha...

    - use it as a screen in a home theater... minimal exposed hardware, no screens to pull down or cats scratching at the pretty moving lights... woohoo! (downside: sneeze, and you'll have to pause the movie until the turbulence dies down. And Linus help you if you open the windows!)

    - If this could be scaled down, think about the niftiness of laptop screens made with this! You could even scale them to your particular situation. (on the plane in Coach? Have a nice 12" screen. Made it to the hotel in one piece? Crank it up to 12'!)

    - Use this in place of LCD screens for that fancy artwork on your walls... hmm, I wonder if you could rig up to sense movement in the fog field... nifty "Minority Report"esque GUI, here we come!

    - (submitted by co-worker who just happened to walk by) Rig one up in the ladies locker room, and project the wall about two feet from where it actually is. Hide behind fog, enjoy view. Hope they don't have a towel-snapping fight and blow away all your fog...
    ( he made me post that, I swear...)
    (posted mostly verbatim, gross sexual innuendos, hand gestures, gutteral grunts, stick figures, and hastily made pop-up book omitted)

    - This might make videoconferencing and videophones cheaper too... it would be nice to see some figures estimating how much cheaper this will end up being then LCD.

    Ok, /wild_speculation (Dim as dim)

    --
    If I knew the wedgies I gave you back in 6th grade would have resulted in this . . . I might have taken a moments pause.
    1. Re:How cool is this?!? by EvanED · · Score: 2

      That may depend on the projection method. If it's front projected from the viewpoint of the victims, you may be able to get it set so that the reflected light masks any view they would have of you, but you would still be able to see out. Or, perhaps not; you'd have to try it.

    2. Re:How cool is this?!? by MulluskO · · Score: 2

      It would probably be less expensive than the costly projector required to use it. It should probably be sold seperate from projectors, becuase it really should work with any projector. Becuause the only thing it does that a regular canvass screen can not do is allow you to pass through it, I doubt it will be popular in laptops, as most people would opt to reach around their LCDs. Look for it in plays and other stage performances as well as physically interactive entertainment venues.

      --

      Too busy staying alive... ~ R.A.
    3. Re:How cool is this?!? by Cervantes · · Score: 2

      Damn, I wasn't expecting anyone to get that =P

      --
      If I knew the wedgies I gave you back in 6th grade would have resulted in this . . . I might have taken a moments pause.
  9. I've been looking for a trapdoor for my office by cuberat · · Score: 3, Funny
    This would work perfectly, without all the messy doors and hinges and stuff. "Sure, come on in...a little to the left..."

    Still, it doesn't solve the problem of where to put the bodies, but my current moat-with-alligators seems to be working OK.

    --

    I'll tell you what the 'effect' is! It's pissing me off!

    1. Re:I've been looking for a trapdoor for my office by MyHair · · Score: 2, Funny

      Are they ill-tempered alligators? With frickin' "la-ser" beams on their heads?

  10. OT: Cut and pasting the destination site. by Christopher+Thomas · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Ok, I've reached my plagarism threshold.

    Yes, this is a very nifty toy. Yes, it deserves to be posted to slashdot.

    But can you, the submitter, not scrape together the two brain cells required to post a summary in your own words? Or space the two seconds to type, "From the site:" and put quotes around your text?

    It's getting to the point where two thirds of the articles posted have summary text directly copied from the site being linked to. This went from "minor irritant" to "annoyance" a while back.

    1. Re:OT: Cut and pasting the destination site. by grumpygrodyguy · · Score: 2

      Articles that end up getting linked are usually written by experts on the subject. It's unrealistic to think that in the 5 mins you've dedicated to link the story that you can come up with a more compelling, more descriptive few sentences than the introduction of the article itself.

      In my opinion this is a lot like trying to re-invent the wheel. If someone has already spent two days working out catchy slogans, and good tight compressed language to describe a particular story, then it's probably the best set of 80 words to describe the story.

      If you want to pour the holy water of "though shalt not plagerize because it makes you look like a telegraph repeater" on the ground and roll in it, then knock yourself out.

      But to those of us who aren't interested in distributing credit like a bunch of girl-scout merit badges, and are just interested in the story, please keep on copy-pasting. Yes your high school teacher taught you that copying was wrong, but you're all grown up now...and it's time to throw away childish ideas.

      --
      The government has a defect: it's potentially democratic. Corporations have no defect: they're pure tyrannies. -Chomsky
  11. Holodeck porn by SexyKellyOsbourne · · Score: 4, Funny

    They may have used the Holodeck to meet with Einstein and Newton on Star Trek, but we're too irresponsible with our technology to do that.

    Immersible fog technology will be used for only one thing: PORNO, the same technology that brought a VCR and a computer into every household.

    Fog porn will be the collapse of society! Beware!

  12. I Cringe by teamhasnoi · · Score: 3, Funny
    whenever I see stuff like this:
    Instead of using blowers, natural wind could be used to generate the airflow. If the laminar unit and fog nozzles are suspended over a bridge or such constructions, enormous vertical and/or horizontal fog screens become possible under suitable weather conditions.

    Madison Ave has just creamed their Calvin Klines.

  13. Tomorrows Mega Cinema Centres by jukal · · Score: 5, Funny
    Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Cairo, Bangkok, Beijing, Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi, Jakarta, Karachi, Manila, Seoul, Shanghai, London, Moscow...maybe a few more.

    Finally, some use for the smog.

  14. I am Confused by ksplatter · · Score: 3, Funny

    I don't have the FOGGIEST idea what the hell this article is talking about!
    I know, that was pretty corny.

  15. A new meaning for movies... by gmuslera · · Score: 3, Funny

    ... like "Gone with the wind"

  16. neato, but necessary? by mugnyte · · Score: 5, Interesting

    First interpretations:

    This technology has a bit to go to achieve commodity-level feasibility. However, its very promising. I would expect to see this in clubs, concerts, and tradeshows.

    This isn't 3D. Its a flat image projected on a water-based screen.

    The drawback continues to be the placement of a projection device and its medium (if not a wall). Here, you have a fog wall and a projection TV device. Until those two converge, we'll all still hope for those "Help Me Obi-Wan" shots.

    Shouldn't there be a way to build a floating image from the interference of two separate light beams? Wherever the beams intersect would be brighter/changed. Hmm.. Maybe only good for vector displays.

    1. Re:neato, but necessary? by MyHair · · Score: 2, Funny

      For a truly volumetric display, we would expect it to be vector-like anyway, no? It wouldn't make sense to rasterize a 3d space.

      Well, it's 3d space, but it's still a point movnig through space. Drawing something as simple as a filled square would require scanning/tracing like a TV does, anyway. I suppose it depends on what you're displaying. If you want wireframe polyhedrons vector is fine. If you want painted/textured planes you might as well rasterise it and display with timed sweeps like TV or VGA, but in 3d.

      Damn, XF86Config is going to be a bitch to configure then. Not only vert and horizontal frequencies, but Z, too!

  17. Indiana Jones at Disneyland by stefanlasiewski · · Score: 4, Interesting

    There is a ride called "Indiana Jones" at Disneyland. One of the special effects used in the ride is similar to the water screens and to this WAVE.

    In the effect, a machine sprays some fog, and a projector projects an image of "rats crawling up some vines" onto the fog, and your vehicle travels through the projection, which makes it seem like your traveling through a bunch of "rats crawling up some vines".

    It's pretty cool, but only when the air is still enough for you to see the rats. People with rat-phobia can really freak out.

    Other times, air turbulance moves the fog around too much, so all you see is a very distorted image of the rats (Imagine watching a movie on a shredded movie screen).

    This product claims to reduce the turbulance by containing the fog inside a "laminar flow", whatever that means.

    --
    "Can of worms? The can is open... the worms are everywhere."
    1. Re:Indiana Jones at Disneyland by pruneau · · Score: 2, Interesting

      By some definition of liquid mechanics, a laminar flow is the contrary of a turbulent flow.

      This means that the molecules are supposed to flow nicely, together, instead of acting like the ./ crowd are raging around.

      Now, if you look at their pictures, those flows does not look laminar, but rather turbulent.

      --
      [Pruneau /\o^O/\ warranty void if this .sig is removed]
    2. Re:Indiana Jones at Disneyland by sql*kitten · · Score: 2

      This product claims to reduce the turbulance by containing the fog inside a "laminar flow", whatever that means.

      It means that Reynold's number

      Re = Rho v D
      -------
      mu

      Re: Reynold's number
      Rho: density
      v: velocity
      D: length or diameter
      mu: viscosity.

      Ah, this brings back memories...

  18. The floating hand... by thelinuxking · · Score: 4, Funny

    Wouldn't even exist if it weren't for the Slashdot Effect. It isn't really a technological, fog screen thing...its the spirit of the server's ancestors, trying to warn the server about what could happen...

  19. Eery by Dan+D. · · Score: 2
    I don't know about you people, but the picture of the foggy baby that you can walk through gives me the heebie jeebies. There's a reason I stay away from dropping acid, and its not because I'm afraid to get addicted or something. It's because seeing really freaky weird stuff or seeing freaky weird stuff as a ghostly image scares the poop out of me.

    Geez! I can just imagine this with doom. I jumped enough with my 14 inch display, I can do without it being life size and ghostly.

    --
    People who quote themselves bug the crap out of me -- Me.
  20. Re:Whoa. by Kenja · · Score: 3, Funny
    "Timothy, you are guilty of wanton pun usage, and for that you must die."

    Dont you mean he should be punished?

    --

    "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
  21. Turbulence? by Da+Fokka · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I wonder how they prevent turbulence problems. Someone moving 'through' this virtual environmen obviously wordt perturb the smoke and distort the image.

  22. Re:Am I the only one by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny
    cr*p?

    c followed by zero or more r's, followed by p, followed by any digit? shit, man, I don't get it.

  23. obligatory simpsons quote by klparrot · · Score: 4, Funny

    Bart (over the radio): "Rod, Todd, this is God."
    Rod: "How did you get on the radio?"
    Bart: "What do you mean how did I get on the radio? I created the universe!"
    Todd: "Forgive my brother. We believe you."
    Bart: "Talk is cheap; perhaps a test of faith: Walk through the wall; I will remove it for you ..."
    (Rod walks into the wall with a thud)
    Bart: "... later ... hahaha."

  24. It's cool, somehow.. cold even by E_elven · · Score: 3, Informative

    I've actually witnessed this thingy live in action, and must say it looked much better than in the pictures -although it's still not quite on the same iceberg with traditional contrivances for visual information.

    The 'new' part about this is indeed the system to keep the fog smooth enough to be able to make it useful, as some bright individuals have already deducted, not the idea of projecting video on fog..

    E

    --
    Marxist evolution is just N generations away!
  25. It's Been Done Before. by sakusha · · Score: 2

    That should be an acronym by now, shouldn't it? BDB=Been Done Before.
    Long ago, probably 10 years ago, I saw old-style "laserium" projections onto aerosols. They often do outdoor displays on lakes or rivers (usually in conjunction with fireworks) and they have barges with pumps that spray up big sheets of water. They project the laser light onto the water spray, it makes a nice white reflective screen that shimmers. It looks really cool.

  26. Cardboard box science by helix400 · · Score: 3, Funny
    Heh, my favorite part is this picture.

    http://www.cs.tut.fi/~ira/kuvat/web2.jpg

    "Say, what should we do with this old banana cardboard box here?" "I know! Lets use it as a stand for our futuristic invention!"

    1. Re:Cardboard box science by dumdeedum · · Score: 2, Informative
      That old banana box IS their futuristic invention, it holds the fog until it's released via plastic drinking straws. It's the cutting edge I tells ya.

      Read the pdf on the site, it's a lot more informative than either the site itself or the slashdot article.

  27. But I want it now! by mutterer · · Score: 2, Funny

    "Mommy, someday can I see the video, too?" "Yes, son. As soon as the Slashdotting is done." "When is that?" "When all the nerds find something else to click on, honey."

  28. Remember SeaQuest? Later DSV? by RobiOne · · Score: 2, Informative


    Ok, this is a deja-vu for me since I remember seeing this type of display technology on the SeaQuest series several years ago, where Capt. Bridger talks to his computerized friend who shows his face on the "fog screen".

    Anyone done any research on this, or where the SeaQuest producers got the idea?

    --
    -- Robi
  29. Finally, the future has arrived... by SmokeSerpent · · Score: 2

    As we all know, a neccesary component of any future society (Star Trek aside) is really crappy display technologies which are "cooler" than they are functional. If it's vertical and transparent, who needs legibility? If they can make this shizit three-dimensional by sacrificing some more resolution and possibly some framerate, we'll have a definite winner.

    --
    All kings is mostly rapscallions. -Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
  30. How far could this go? by comet_11 · · Score: 2

    If we're talking gaming applications, this could be a serious revelation for places like LazerZone or similar simulated combat situations... who knows? Eventually we could end up with games so realistic you actually die in them.

    --
    By reading this comment, you immediately waive any and all rights regarding it.
  31. pseudo-technical language OC by rodentia · · Score: 2

    Mixed reality and immersive projection technology can use CAVE-like virtual rooms with fog walls, making them effectively "virtual virtual rooms".

    The preceding sentence is effectively unintelligible without immersive technical jargon technology.

    What the fsck is *mixed reality*!? Immersive projection technology is obviously cooked up because *fog screen* is just too mundane. *CAVE-like virual rooms with fog walls*!?! And the topper: *effectively virtual virtual rooms*? Both sides cancel leaving an effective semantic value of null.

    --
    illegitimii non ingravare
  32. Seaquest? by DraconPern · · Score: 2

    Anyone remember Seaquest DSV? I remember the show had something similar in the captain's or computer room. A screen made up of fog or something that apears to be flowing but not solid.

  33. Re:hmm how about encasing the thing in plexi glass by vidarh · · Score: 2
    And exactly how would it be different to project on fog trapped between plexiglass and projecting on other types of screens?

    It would stick out just as much as with any other projection technology - the problem with projection is being able to project a clear enough image with high light intensity without ending with a ridiculously deep screen. That problem is exactly the same whether you project on fog, a piece of cloth, or your ass...

  34. they already do it in Italy in an amusement park by kipple · · Score: 2

    it's called Gardaland. They project a story on a 'wall' made by water shot at high-pressure all around. Nothing much.. but the fog was a good idea. I wonder if they can keep the fog in a glass sphere and then use lasers to make certain point inside the sphere (in a 3d plan) to be colored, thus obtaining a hologram.
    Maybe fog can be substituted by a more transparent gas, just to improve definition.

    oh well, just ideas.
    cheers

    --
    -- There are two kind of sysadmins: Paranoids and Losers. (adapted from D. Bach)
  35. oops by sql*kitten · · Score: 2

    It means that Reynold's number ... is < 2300, sorry!

  36. Fluorescent walk-through volumetric display? by TheSync · · Score: 2

    OK, the white light and vapor display is walk-through, but not truly 3D volumetric.

    I wonder if you could create a real 3D volumetric display using an aerosol of a fluorescent substance, and illuminate it so that the energy required for fluorescence is only present where two beams cross, then you could scan out 3D voxels.

  37. Re:an entirely new industry is spawned... by doublem · · Score: 2

    Can you see this in Manhatten? in addition to the Steam Tunnels, there would be LN2 tunnels all over town.

    I see a LOT of problems if the pipes are anywhere near each other and the insulation is less than perfect.

    --
    "Live Free or Die." Don't like it? Then keep out of the USA