Tromso students put together the best interactive display wall we've seen yet (video)
By Vlad Savov 
posted March 24th 2010 7:33AM
posted March 24th 2010 7:33AM
posted March 24th 2010 7:33AM
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13.3 gigapixel? WOW and there i was bragging about my Rebel
@unknownsolo It's cool but it bothered me how some of the 'panels' were darker than the ones next to it.
@werty1432k
Same for me - I found that rather annoying...
Well, if that were to ever go into production I'm sure they'd sort it out.
@unknownsolo
Must have?
@werty1432k
Yeah, what's up with nerdy researches not paying attention to aesthetic details. Get your priorities straight, guys.
@abedinthehouse I'd rather have the one from NCIS: LA. It seems to have more functionality, but I'm guessing it's just a greenscreen.
@werty1432k
that just shows you they are still learning but its a minor flaw compared to the amazing screen they put together
@unknownsolo
It's fun to be a Norwegian when I see this kind of stuff ^^
Tromsø ftw! (Yes, I do know how pronounce that.)
It's spelt Tromsø.
@Paranoidmarvin
Okay, I still don't know how to say that.
Zooming in, zooming out of a picture. I don't see what's so special about this - other than the no-touching part it's just like any other multitouch demo I've seen.
@NewL I'm surprise you even took the time to write your crappy remarks. I guess you can do it better?
@NewL
Its about the principle and idea - and an image is one of the best presentation methods.
Especially a Gigapixel image - its easy to show how you can control it.
On a side note - the performance is impressive considering how immediate and smooth movements are.
@kik0man - so, explain to me what oh-so-special about it...Engadget's article makes it sound like it's the second coming, when it's really just a a fairly run-of-the-mill demo.
And one thing they really should have done is correct the vast brightness differences between multiple beamers - ideally with a camera-based real-time correction.
@DetlevCM - considering that it runs on a cluster of 30 computers, each likely equipped with multiple cores & high-end graphic cards, anything but buttersmooth interaction would be rather disappointing really.
@NewL I agree with you.
@DetlevCM
Agreed.
Considering that the graphics hardware and CPU means pretty much nothing without a high throughput interconnect. So yes, it is amazing that a cluster that large is so smooth.
@NewL
I must agree with you.
Basically they took the most basic idea of multitouch (pinch-to-zoom), and presented it on a million projectors hooked up to a million cameras rendered by a million computers.
Yes, it's impressive, but nothing new.
I didn't even see rotation. Nothing new... Even the lack of touch has been seen before...
Wow, imagine a playboy centerfold on that!
@grandmainger
I fear it would be dangerously balancing between the realms of pornography and gynecology.
@grandmainger do you really wanna see all the ingrown hairs what that zoom power?
AMAZIONG
GIMMIE GIMMIE GIMMIE
Could you picture that in your home.
Could you imagine bringing that out on a first day, lol.
@bagbozo
I'm a failure meant to say date!
Stitched 2200 pictures together... that took a while I guess :D
@mikachu Not really - the gigapan system is automated by hardware and software. Google it - it's clever stuff, and only costs a few hundred dollars.
@mikachu Taking the pictures is what takes time! I'm actually amazed that the photographer managed to take all those pictures with similar enough exposures and lighting conditions over the hours it must have taken to create this image!
Every single multitouch interface demo has to do with zooming and moving photos, kind of useless. Is there really no better examples of how multitouch can be use?
@TypeEE
Tickling?
I can't readily think of any other. Even in Minority Report, I believe it was essentially used as a glorified drag and zoom function, then shrink and set aside. At most, it moved some panels from area to area, to organize. But maybe doing something like a CAD or 3D Model with multitouch would be interesting. I can't see Photoshop benefiting... unless distance is used as pressure sensitivity or something. Anyway... any more ideas, and I will want to be paid. ;)
@TypeEE
Well, I suppose DJing would be one ;)
(Lemur - know this from a friend)
But try to demonstrate that to the "average crowd" - an image is easier to present.
I think the res is a little overkill, but the system is amazing.
@glamajamma
It isn't overkill, when you have to stand ~1m away from it you are going to notice pixels if it's not high res.
Shame you get no real idea of the resolution on Youtube...
I guess they've done their best to line them all up, it's just a shame there's so much difference between different 'squares' in brightness and contrast - but then again this was probably a lot cheaper. Very cool project. I'd love to build a smaller 2 x 2 array to view RED footage at 4K.
I find it impossible to have an opinion about this without being able to see the size of the bezel.
Very cool stuff. Although not really practical... yet. It does make me very excited for the future. Now when do we start persecuting for Thought-Crimes. ;)
If only they could get all the projectors at the same brightness.... Mind you even then you're never going to make them as bright at the edges as in the center of each projector but at least the edges would match up more.
It took them 26 projectors to get the same sort of resolution you can get with HD 6x eyefinity set up? (Yes, not exactly the same, but still enough)
@in5ane
I think they went for a budget solution to achieve sheer size.
See this and more amazing gigapix pictures in full resolution by photographer Eirik H. Urke on http://gigapix.no/
Very nice
Thats really amazing! i want a wall like that :)
what am I missing here? Why only 22megapixels?
@zblackrider
Actually, I disagree with the emphasis of the article. It seems to me that the big deal is the system that uses data from the cameras to interpret the user's hand gestures. That seems to distinguish it from multitouch projection systems that track finger touches and from systems that use gloves with sensors. But I may be mistaken.
@cobaltage
You're right of course. 1024X768 projectors may have been a budgetory restraint and had nothing to do with the tech they were designing. Now scale this up and show these multi-gigapixels in all their glory!
@cobaltage
You're right of course. 1024X768 projectors may have been a budgetary restraint and had nothing to do with the tech they were designing. Now scale this up and show these multi-gigapixels in all their glory!
Pretty sure Steve jobs is watching this and writing up a patent as we speak
Noooo the best I've ever seen until now is this one:
http://www.perceptivepixel.com/
@Warrio
Ok, I'll admit, that is the sexiest display I have ever seen. But what kind of supercomputer server has to be powering that thing?
@Dante of the Inferno
I don't really know! I have even sent them an email without getting an answer..
But it doesn't need to be that complicated. the more simple it is the better (but simplier) as Einstein said
here are some other things more simpler and more efficient than what's in this post or other tablets...
http://embed.break.com/Njg0MjEz (sorry for the add @ the beginning) with a simple portable camera and projector
and with a simple Wii remote control!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0awjPUkBXOU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1g_KqdWktrY
doesn't need necessarily a super computer :) and that's what I love about it! just imagine
Didn't I see a patent post here a week or so ago by Apple that resembles this method using projectors??