3DUI
Latest
Apple hires an expert in virtual and augmented reality tech
Apple hasn't shown off anything like HoloLen or Oculus Rift yet, but there's something in the works. The Financial Times reports Apple has hired one of the nation's leading experts on virtual and augmented reality, Virginia Tech computer science professor Doug Bowman. He was recently listed among grant winners for HoloLens research projects, and his particular skill seems to be in creating 3D user interfaces (like the ones imagined in Minority Report, above) for VR/AR experiences -- you can grab his book about it on Amazon. For an idea of the technology he's been working on so far, including wearable displays and full surround display prototypes, check out this video from Virginia Tech.
Konka tries to differentiate with familiar-looking Kanzi 3D UI
Some phone makers carve their own path, others ride on their coattails. Konka, however, somehow carves its own coattails, and we admire the ingenuity. The Shenzhen-based mobile maker, known for its familiar designs and logo font, has just announced that, going forward, its smartphones will be using the 3D Kanzi UI from Rightware -- as formally seen on ZTE handsets. So does this complete the trifecta of design flattery? The Kanzi interface can be seen in action in the video after the break, but if you weren't sure how 3D it was, then there's a PR after that too, which might mention it. Just a few times.
TAT's Dimension S3D is a user interface for stereoscopic TVs (video)
You can't quite see it without 3D glasses, of course, but this clock is actually sticking out of the screen -- one of several illustrious illusions in this latest concept interface from the dreamers at TAT, spotted at Open Mobile Summit 2010. Give that watch face a spin, and you'll find a working countdown timer on the back, or browse through icon-based music, weather and Twitter interfaces, a media browser and a Rubik's Cube that spins in 3D space. The firm's calling the setup Dimension S3D, though like most TAT concepts, it's not for sale in its present form -- the company hopes to license the underlying framework to TV manufacturers who want to build menus in 3D, and hopefully attract content providers to build 3D apps as well. TAT wasn't naming names, but said that two "major" TV manufacturers had already expressed interest in possibly signing up. See what it looks like (in just two dimensions, of course) on video after the break.
Evigroup Paddle shows up in manufacturer-provided picture gallery
Man, we've been talking about the JooJoo so much lately, you must be sick to death of that thing. Just to balance things out, here's a look at the first functional production units of Evigroup's Paddle tablet. Running on a good old fashioned Atom CPU, this promises Windows 7's limitless functionality (and battery strain) plus an extra-special 3D interface called Scale. It's curious, therefore, not to see a single screenshot featuring said UI. We're treated to vanilla Windows 7 throughout, suggesting that maybe somebody woke up to the fact that the processor inside this machine wasn't exactly designed for heavy lifting and the Scale idea was mercifully shelved. Either way, this 10-incher doesn't look all that shabby at all and the gallery at the source is well worth a quick perusal. We've got one more pic of this upstanding French gentleman after the break.
3D UI patent snapped up by Apple in 2008: could be bases-covering, could be life-changing
We've seen this done badly so many time that it's hard to imagine anyone so self serious as Apple taking a crack at it (even if they've already done so in the desktop space), but for whatever reason the company picked up this 3D UI patent back in 2008 under the guise of a few French employees. The patent was just released in December, and describes in some detail a method of zooming around in 3D using multitouch. Of course, this picture seems to imply that it's for jumping through some representative icons on a 3D plane, but the patent seems more concerned with the core mechanics of using multiple fingers at once to get around in 3D space and manipulate 3D objects -- and then going to great lengths to cover Apple's back in regards to multitouch, capacitive touch, and "multifunction" devices. So, this could be something we see in "the tablet," the next iPhone or even never, but at least we can rest assured that pinch to zoom won't be the only multitouch game in town forever.
LG BL40 review
You know the deal by now: we grab a slab of fresh new hardware, fiddle, play, and tinker with it until exhaustion or boredom is reached, then wax poetic about the whole experience, with a side serving of pictures and videos thrown in. Today's candidate for a grilling is LG's BL40, which is now available in Europe. You'll be familiar with it already from our hands-on look last month, but do join us past the break where we explore what's under the glossy hood in more detail, and give you a definitive answer on just how useful that elongated screen really is. %Gallery-75858%
Tangible 3D UI being developed in Japan (video)
People have been trying to sell us 3D this and 3D that for ages, but for the most part it's always been the same flat surface we're looking at and poking with our fingers. Some restless souls in Japan, however -- including Engadget's very own Kentaro Fukuchi -- have begun developing a way for computers to recognize a person's interactions with real objects and to respond accordingly. The essence of this new technique is to use translucent rubbery objects, whose diffraction of specially polarized light is picked up by a camera. Thus, relatively subtle actions like squeezing and stretching can be picked up by the different light results produced. Still in the early stages of design, the system is hoped to assist in surgery training, though we've got video of its more fun potential uses after the break.[via New Scientist]
Toshiba TG01 with 4.1-inch WVGA touchscreen: a world's first Snapdragon
Finally, an honest to goodness Qualcomm Snapdragon device is about to land in the form of the Toshiba TG01. The 9.9-mm thin handset will feature a 4.1-inch WVGA (800 x 480 pixel) touchscreen display, HSDPA data, GPS, WiFi, a microSD slot, and custom Tosh 3D GUI to hide the Windows Mobile 6.1 uglies within. Most notable is that 1GHz Snapdragon chip that Toshiba claims makes the TG01 considerably faster than any device currently on the market with the promise to "revolutionize the mobile entertainment world." Perhaps that's where the DivX support comes in? We'll see when the TG01 is unveiled at Mobile World Congress in less than two weeks followed by an expected summery launch. One more picture after the break. Update: Oh man, the hands-on photo galleries from the London launch are coming up over at Pocket-Lint and Electricpig, the latter with head-to-head pics of the TG01 against the 12.3-mm iPhone 3G chubster and BlackBerry Bold. She's definitely a slim-lined beauty but we have our doubts about that stripey UI. Hey Tosh, where's the Android OS we saw running on Snapdragon at CES?[Via Pocket-Lint and Stuff.TV]
