While making concrete slabs
double as displays may prove useful when dressing up those otherwise drab skyscrapers, creating 3D-like images from real objects throws in a much-needed dash of geekiness. The National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (
NICT) and
Kobe University have partnered to craft "a thin-panel type device which forms 3D images in the air." Although 3D devices have a
less-than-stellar track record when it comes to overcoming the "
gimmick" stereotype, this rendition looks to have a bit more potential than usual. This offering is made by forming a "100 μm-thick Ni layer" on a glass plate, and punching a bevy of 100 μm square holes in it; when objects (such as the toy ball pictured above) are placed below the table, a "floating visual" appears. Moreover, this rendition doesn't require viewers to look from certain angles or with certain lighting scenarios like many forms of
holography oftentimes do, and the team hopes to eventually conjure a 3D image of a human "if they can substantially enlarge the device size" while keeping its current attributes in tact.
[Via
The Raw Feed]
posted Dec 3rd 2006 11:34AM
Wow, sounds kind of like what they use on the TV show "Bones"
Erm, sorry to be a grammar troll, but intact is one word.
About the post, sounds neat,but let's wait till someone not sworn to secrecy sees it.
They have one of those at the NFL Hall of Fame that displays and rotates a superbowl ring.
The article indicates it's not holography. Perhaps they just meant it's not traditional holography?
At least it saves a lot of space for parabolic mirrors. I hope there will be a consumer version someday, like the Mirage Hologram Generator.
I don't get it... you need to place an already-3d object below it and it just sort of reflects it above? I've seen lots of those tacky executive desk toys that have been doing that with parabolic mirrors for years now.
"We can even realize a 3D image of a human if we only substantially enlarge the device size. However, the top and bottom, concavity and convexity of the 3D image will be displayed in reverse" -- Now that's kind of neat... I don't know why I'd want to project a floating inside-out image of myself, but it's nice to know I now can..
This looks like an analog version of the display where they have to have the actual object being represented present. Once they master that then they can move onto recording data for later playback without the objects present, and then we will be one step closer to reproducing an accurate r2d2 model.
Isn't this similar to the effect used in Disney's Haunted Mansion attraction? In the ballroom, to create the dancing ghosts? It's called "Pepper's Ghost", and a pretty good explanation can be found here: http://www.doombuggies.com/secrets_ballroom.htm
hahahaha, not "in tact", but intact! keeping its current attributes in tact would be a hell of a breakthrough =)
That's pretty cool. I could see something like this one day matched with an LCD screen or something to create a holographic-like display. I wonder how opaque the object being refelcted is?