Techno Babble

3DIcon is currently developing 3D projection and display technologies that produce full colour 360 degree volumetric images.

http://www.3dicon.net

One of the possible applications envisaged for this technology could be the implementation of an Air Traffic Control system that allows a user to view the entire 3D airspace and its contents in real-time.

CSpace

http://www.3dicon.net/technology/cspace.html

The research team, working at the University of Oklahoma, is developing CSpace a Volumetric Imaging System which will use a clear volumetric medium within which an invisible nano-size material is dispersed. A 3D image is rendered when laser beams directed into the image space excite the nano-materials to emit visible light to construct the image.

So far, the team has been able to create nano-size crystals which exhibit green fluorescence and have been able to embed these particles within a clear host material.

3D-SVD

http://www.3dicon.net/technology/svd.html

3D-SVD (swept volume display) is another technology currently under development. In this case, a three-dimensional image is formed by illuminating a rapidly moving circular screen sweeping a spherical volume. Voxels are rendered at precise locations within the volume over a period of time resulting in a 3D image due to persistence of vision.

Further work will look at improving the resultant image so that it appears more solid with negligible flicker.

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… just to complete the round-up of micro-projector news, iView Limited is using the LightView LDP-SVGA microdisplay from Displaytech for their pico-projector.

http://www.iviewdisplay.com

http://www.displaytech.com/

Recent articles suggest the market for these projectors will begin with the embedding of pico-projectors into mobile communication devices, cell phones, digital still and video cameras in 2008-2009 and is a fast growing market sector.

Displaytech has announced that a number of companies are developing pico-projectors incorporating their microdisplay technology.

3M have announced their LED illuminated micro-projector which is designed for use in a mobile phone or other personal electronic device.

Approximately the size of an earpiece, the 3M mobile projection engine uses an advanced Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCOS) imager in conjunction with proprietary 3M optics technology to project an image at 40 inches, or larger, to VGA resolution.

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Panasonic, the leading brand from Matsushita Electrical Industrial Co. Ltd  are showing the worlds biggest TV at CES 2008, a 150 inch plasma television with a resolution of 4096×2160.

Press Release: http://www2.panasonic.com/….Content01072008044330094

They have also announced the ability to browse and watch videos from YouTube  and view photos from Picasa Web Albums from the VIERA range of HDTVs which are equipped with VIERA CAST. The first commercially available units are due in the Spring.

Press Release: http://www2.panasonic.com/…Content01072008044142737

In a further announcement, Panasonic have teamed with T-Mobile to develop the first Panasonic LUMIX Wireless Digital camera that incorporates the ability to upload images directly to Picasa Web Albums. After taking your photo you can upload the image through the T-Mobile HotSpot service. You can confirm that the photos have been successfully uploaded and recieve an email containing the URL linking to your photo

Press Release: http://www2.panasonic.com/…Content01072008034000505

Also check out the special Panasonic CES site at

http://www.panasonic.com/cesshow/index.html

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Lots of reports appearing on the web coming out from CES 2008.

I’ll note some of those that catch my eye while browsing around.

Fujitsu -  A Fabric PC, based on ideas around electronic paper, is literally a PC made out of fabric …

… reports Engadget at

http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/06/fujitsu-intros-a-handful-of-concept-designs-at-ces-2008/

and a report from Gizmodo at

http://gizmodo.com/341138/fujitsus-fabric-pc-and-three-other-forward+looking-concepts

Further pictures and comment from Wired at
http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/01/fujitsus-future.html

Talking about Gizmodo, check out their frequently updated reports on all things happening at CES from

http://gizmodo.com/tag/ces-2008/

Sony has an interesting site specifically for Sony at CES where, amongst other things, you can see some of the first pictures of their OLED television (which has an ultra slim (3mm) 11 inch screen for $2500). They’re also showing a larger 27inch version at the show

The site is worth a browse at

http://www.sony.com/ces/index.html

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At the forthcoming Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2008, Microvision (http://www.microvision.com/) is due to reveal an ultra-thin, handheld, battery powered, full colour, laser projector which is possibly the worlds smallest.

Press Release at:

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=114723&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1090397&highlight=

This version, with the codename SHOW, is an advanced, standalone, fully functioning prototype using the proprietary miniature PicoP (TM) display engine - which can display a widescreen, DVD quality image at 848×480 pixels (WGVA) using red, green and blue lasers.

Find out exactly how it works at

http://www.microvision.com/pico_projector_displays/howitworks.html

SHOW can connect directly to laptops, mobile phones, portable media players, digital cameras and other mobile devices to project large, high-resolution images and video onto any surface. The images projected can range anywhere from 30cm to 2.5m in size depending upon the projection distance and are always in focus. The production version of the device is expected to offer approximately 2.5 hours of continuous battery life, sufficient to watch a full-length movie without a need for recharging.

Back in July (2007) Microvision announced that it had signed an agreement with Motorola and more recently signed a development contract with one of the world’s leading distributors and manufacturers of diverse consumer electronics products to create Pico Projectors For Mobile Applications.

Press Release at

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=114723&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1090863&highlight=

I thought I’d comment on an item which could be set for potentially big things in 2008.

Technology required to support a wireless monitor was first shown at the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), since then DisplayLink(http://www.displaylink.com/) technology has been combined with technology from Alereon (http://www.alereon.com/) to create an adapter set that will allow existing monitors to be used as wireless displays. This will be shown at CES 2008. Later, the necessary wireless technology can be incorporated into the monitor itself.

The system works by converting the graphics data into packets which can be sent over a USB connection. A USB transmitter sends the packet data to a receiver on the monitor where it is converted back into the required graphics data for display. This mechanism will support resolutions of up to 1680×1050 and 16.7 million colours.

Wireless USB is based on the WiMedia Alliance UWB common radio platform, which is capable of sending 480 Mbps at distances up to 3 meters and 110 Mbps at up to 10 meters. It operates in the 3.1 GHz to 10.6 GHz frequency range and spreads communication over an ultra-wideband of frequencies.

HD support is something that will have to wait for the future, though, as the current offering will not provide the bandwidth required for HD.

It’s that time of year when we start to read a lot about "the best of 2007" and "things to watch for 2008".

One of my own favourites, which I noticed during 2007, is the 3D printer from Desktop Factory.

http://www.desktopfactory.com/

This is a printer which "prints" 3D models (to a maximum size of 5×5x5 inches), from a composite plastic powder at an estimated cost of about $1 per cubic inch.

What attracted my attention to this device was the price - at $4995 its a fraction of the cost of typical industrial machines and brings it (almost) within reach of the home (hobbyist) user.

Currently the web-site is offering the opportunity to "reserve" one of these printers - so it is not clear when they will actually be shipping the product, but if they can meet this price band its surely a winner - now I’m just waiting for the $500 3D printer …

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