Dialog Semiconductor pushes 2D to 3D conversion chip for phones and tablets

By Darren Murph posted Dec 14th 2010 8:31AM VIA Engadget.com

We'll go ahead and put a lid on your swelling excitement level, most likely with two simple words: "parallax barrier." You see, Dialog Semiconductor's DA8223 is being hailed as the world's first real time 2D to 3D video conversion chip for portable devices, but it requires a parallax barrier display. On the upside, that means that there are no glasses required for viewing, and pretty much any 2D content could be tricked into being 3D for the viewer; the downside, of course, is that it probably won't immerse your senses, overwhelm your eyes or otherwise revolutionize your life. That said, it's still suitable for both tablets and smartphones, and according to the company, it "requires virtually no software development and uses a tiny fraction of the battery and compute power of competing application processor based software-approaches." If all goes well, the chip will be hitting mass production in the latter half of 2011, which gives you right around six months to prepare yourself for the third dimension. On your phone.

Press Release

Dialog Semiconductor Enables 3D Experience for Smartphones and Tablet PCs with First 2D to 3D Video Conversion IC

Low power 3D enabled portable devices with instant access to unlimited 3D content and no need for glasses

KIRCHHEIM/TECK, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dialog Semiconductor plc (FWB: DLG), a provider of highly integrated innovative display, audio and power management semiconductor solutions, has announced the DA8223, the world's first real time 2D to 3D video conversion chip for portable devices including Smartphones and Tablet PCs. The device also integrates a parallax barrier screen driver that lets users view 3D content without the need for glasses.

"The DA8223 is the first hardware based 2D-3D conversion technology optimised for portable devices. It requires virtually no software development and uses a tiny fraction of the battery and compute power of competing application processor based software-approaches"

The IC analyses each 2D video frame and creates a layered depth map, isolating foreground and background objects. From this, each original image pixel is mapped into left and right eye pixels that, when viewed through a parallax barrier filter on the display module, renders the 3D image directly. The DA8223 integrates the complete 3D conversion process which means that unlike traditional software-based solutions, there is no extra load on the host application processor and no external memory requirement.

Mark Tyndall, VP corporate development and strategy at Dialog Semiconductor commented: "The demand for a 3D experience on your Smartphone is now here, but very little 3D content currently exists. Using the DA8223 our customers can, without compromising battery life, create a truly unique offering; products with immediate access to unlimited 3D content."

"The DA8223 is the first hardware based 2D-3D conversion technology optimised for portable devices. It requires virtually no software development and uses a tiny fraction of the battery and compute power of competing application processor based software-approaches," added Tyndall.

Supporting still images and video at 60fps, and able to display 3D content in both portrait and landscape formats in real-time, the DA8223 ensures an enriched and very comfortable 3D viewing experience of actual 2D content, even during prolonged use.

The DA8223 is compatible with the widest range of 3D capable displays from 3.8 inch Smartphones up to 10 inch Tablet PCs. It will also work with any display equipped with a parallax barrier filter including OLED and the latest TFT displays from Sharp.

The 5x5mm 81-ball UFBGA chip can be mounted on the PCB, between the application processor and 3D display, or on the display module as a chip-on-flex. Device samples will be available early in 2011, enabling products to be in mass production from the second half of 2011.

Toshiba's new glasses-free 3D display tilts images and viewing angles your way (video)

By Sean Hollister posted Dec 12th 2010 4:37PM

Via Engadget.com

Autostereoscopic (read: glasses-free) 3D screens sound like all the rage, but the narrow zones from which you can comfortably view their images have made them a dubious proposition. That's not stopping Toshiba Mobile Display, however, which recently came up with a novel idea for a self-adjusting display. By sticking a six-axis accelerometer in this 12.1-inch slate, the company can tilt the tablet's viewing angle as the tablet itself is tilted, letting viewers effectively look around 3D objects on screen, using software algorithms rather than the fancy lens-and-camera assembly that Microsoft's been prototyping. Toshiba figures it'll make a splash with e-tailers -- because who doesn't want to play with a prospective purchase in 3D space? -- but is mostly talking up the tech as a way to extend the limited 3D viewing angles of these sorts of displays. But enough jabber: see it for yourself after the break.

3D Eye Solutions

http://www.3deyesolutions.com/

Viewsonic 3DV5 Is a Pocket-Fitting 3D Camcorder

Viewsonic 3DV5 Is a Pocket-Fitting 3D CamcorderViewsonic announced their mini-sized 3D camcorder last month, but now they've finally brought it stateside. Not only does the 3DV5 pack two 5MP fixed focus cameras for 3D 720p video, it's also got a glassesless 3D display panel for playback.

Of course, the 3DV5 has the same problem that all 3D camcorders and cameras do: you're going to have to get yourself a 3DTV or 3D laptop to watch it on. The good news is that this particular mighty mite can also record in 2D, making it as present-ready as it is future-proof. And it might just be worth the $180 to have your bases covered. [ZDNet]

Send an email to Brian Barrett, the author of this post, at bbarrett@gizmodo.com.

See This iPad's Still Images Come to Life With a Simple Transparent Sheet

The materials for YouTube Illusionist BrussPup's latest feat are simple: an iPad loaded with some images and a transparent sheet striped with black bars. But when the two are combined, those images come to life like you'd never expect. [YouTube]

Send an email to Kyle VanHemert, the author of this post, at kvanhemert@gizmodo.com.

Toshiba Regza GL1 wants you to put down the glasses, enjoy the 3D

By Vlad Savov posted Oct 4th 2010 4:28AM

Toshiba might have abandoned OLED, but that doesn't mean the company is lacking ambition in the display-making field. Today it's using CEATEC 2010, Japan's biggest electronics expo, to make official that 21-inch glasses-free 3D prototype we've been hearing about. It's lost an inch in becoming a retail product, with the 20GL1 offering a 20-inch diagonal, but the important multi-parallax picture transmission (employing a lenticular lens setup as used in Philips' Dimenco) remains the same. The new set, accompanied by a smaller 12GL1 model, will be shipping in Japan this December, and if it really does what it promises, the rest of the world should not be far behind.

Update: Japan's Impress Watch has more details for us, listing a 720p resolution for the 20-incher and a funky 466 x 350 on the 12-inch GL1. Prices are estimated at ¥240,000 ($2,885) and ¥120,000 ($1,443), respectively.

Squares and Circles

You’re in your bathroom, and you’re looking all around. You see all sorts of blah. Especially if you’ve just moved in and that last people who lived there were from the 1980s. You know what I mean? Let’s get to work, let’s get it done gorgeously with Cube&Dot. It’s a matching ceramic, washbasin and bathroom cabinets. One giant system of excellent circles and squares and angle lines.

You’ve got the washbasin and some cabinets. You buy those standard (although they’re amazing and totally NOT standard in any way other than the most basic meaning of standard). Then you’ve got the modular ceramic tile system for the walls. There’s the sharp angles of the cubes you might maybe possibly have sort of seen before, (but not this fabulous before of course). Then there’s the dots. They’ll make your wall look like one gigantic news comic page. Fantastic!

The most amazing thing I can comment on since I can get my hands on it instantly is this, Cube&Dot online interactive tool where you can design your own wall with the Cube&Dot ceramic mosaic tile collection.

Cubes or dots!

Designers: Tamer Nakıscı for KALE

http://www.yankodesign.com/2010/09/07/squares-and-circles/

Philips Dimenco glasses-less 3D TV of the future, hopefully our future

By Thomas Ricker posted Sep 3rd 2010 9:15A

The problem with the future is that it's always 3 to 5 years away. Nevertheless, what you're looking at is what Philips and Dimenco, a small company of ex-Philips engineers, say will be coming to the consumer television market as early as 2013 -- earlier if you're in the professional advertising business or just want to view your family photos on a small 3D photo frame. Just remember that Philips has been showing off variations of the glasses-free technology behind this prototype lenticular lens television for years, so we're not getting our hopes up. Nevertheless, Dimenco assured us that the path to the consumer market for its 3D display is clear.

So how did it look? Well, it was ok, we guess. It doesn't have that in-your-face pop of the current generation of 3D televisions that require 3D glasses. The effect is more subtle (or maybe the content was). Our biggest problem was with the sharpness of the display. Although the 56-inch prototype CCFL LCD was 4k (that's 4 times the resolution of your Full HD TV) the image we saw was coarse in appearance due to the lenticular lens required to refract the left and right images for each eye. Having said that, the lenticular lens technology used is certainly better suited for non-stationary viewing. While the border around objects on the screen tended to shift quickly and blur (see the video after the break) when looking at the panel frombetween any of its 15 viewing angles (spread across a 120-degree arc), at least it didn't exhibit those horrible dark vertical bands seen when changing your angle even slightly while viewing 3D panels based on the parallax barrier method of glasses-less 3D. Still, it was hard to find the viewing sweet spot and honestly, given the option to sit in front of this display and a 4k panel "limited" to 2D, we'd have to opt for the latter. Get back to us in 3 to 5 and see if we feel the same.

World's 1st 3D LED Display Sports 180-inch Screen

Dec 3, 2008 11:04 Tetsuo Nozawa, Nikkei Electronics

NewSight Japan, a Japanese unit of NewSight Corp of the US, developed a 3D display using LEDs as pixels for the first time in the world.

Featuring a 180-inch screen with a width of 3.84m, the "3D LED Video Wall" is one of the world's largest 3D displays. The company said that it is possible to combine four displays and make a 360-inch 3D display. The pricing will be determined based on individual order.

The new LED display realized 3D representation with the parallax barrier method as the company's LCD 3D displays. Because most of the techniques, such as arraying the slits of parallax barriers at an angle, employed for the new display are the same as used in the LCD displays, it is possible to reuse 3D content made for the LCD displays, NewSight Japan said.

The LEDs are made in China. Arranged at a pitch of 6mm, they work like the pixels of an LCD panel. The display is best watched from about 5m away, but the optimal distance can be adjusted. The warranty period of the LED is 20,000 hours. It is possible to use LEDs manufactured by other makers, NewSight Japan said.

---

Correction Notice: Because of a translation error, we incorrectly stated that NewSight Corp of the US developed the new LED display, which was actually developed by its Japanese unit, NewSight Japan.

70-inch Newsight 3D display needs no glasses

By Shane McGlaum on Tuesday, Apr 20th 2010

Wedon’t have a ton of details, but a new and large 3D display has turned up in Japan at the Finetech Japan 2010 show. The big news for the display isn’t that it’s 70-inches, other 70-inch 3D displays have already been announced.

The big news here is that the 70-inch screen needs no glasses to view 3D content. The display is said to use parallax barrier technology. This tech lets the viewer see 3D images by dividing the image into repeating segments that are integrated by the naked eye into 3D images.

The parallax barrier is fixed to a commercial LCD display in a precision assembly process reports DigiTimes. This is good news; I still think 3D TV in homes won’t really catch on until you don’t need glasses.

Synthetic 3D Photo Frame

Almost all stereoscopic displays – such as 3DTVs – share one limitation. Even though you can see which objects are closer to you in the image than others, you still can’t peek around them to see what’s behind. To do this requires that the display support “motion parallax”, which means that the views change when you move your head. There are some volumetric and holographic displays that can do this, but your typical stereoscopic display only has one image available for each eye.

That’s not the case with the 3D LCD photo frame shown by Newsight Japan at SID 2010. You can start with a two-view stereoscopic image (in MPO data format), or even with just a 2D single view from a standard digital camera (in JPEG format). The image is then processed by a program on a PC that extracts the depth information from the image data. Using this information, it creates a total of five separate images. You can then display the processed image on the photo frame. The lenticular lens design makes it auto-stereoscopic, so no special glasses are required. And when you move your head to one side or another, you can “see around” objects in the front of the image and see what’s behind them.

The next generation of the photo frame will have the conversion software contained in the controller, so that it can automatically convert original 2D and 3D images. And a third generation model is planned with telecommunications features so that the panel can send and receive images from other panels. --Alfred Poor, HDTVprofessor.com

http://informationdisplaysid2010.blogspot.com/2010/05/synthetic-3d-photo-frame.html

Microsoft's glasses-free 3D display technology

Microsoft's glasses-free 3D display technology

By Dario Borghino

20:08 June 17, 2010

Thanks to a Microsoft research, oversized 3-D glasses could soon become a thing of the past.

The popularity of 3-D cinema is skyrocketing and 3-D-capable TV sets are heading for our living rooms, but almost every 3-D ready technology still requires that you don a set of special glasses. Microsoft has developed lens which could help change all that. With the ability to keep track of the position of viewers and send separate images directly to each eye, the new prototype display eliminates the need for 3-D glasses.

Many tech companies are surfing the 3-D trend and researching better ways to deliver stereoscopic imagery without the need for users to wear glasses. Sharp, for instance, has been researching the field since 2002 and Nintendo (with the new 3DS) and Fujifilm (with its Fujifilm FinePix Real 3D W1 display) have entered the realm of glasses-free 3D.

However innovative, one limitation of Sharp's (and other companies') approach is that the user needs to stand in a precise spot with respect to the screen in order to experience stereoscopic vision. Microsoft's Applied Research Group, however, goes a step further: the system uses a camera to track each viewer's movements and then sends the light in the appropriate direction, directly to their eyes, even allowing two separate users to experience 3-D vision simultaneously.

The key to Microsoft's experimental system is a peculiar lens that projects the light toward a viewer by switching on and off light-emitting diodes placed along its bottom edge. Thanks to an optical trick, light enters through the bottom edge of the lens and then refracts within the lens itself to reach the desired angle, after which it's finally sent to the viewer. This method also means that unlike traditional projectors, the structure — including the lens itself — is thin and could be embedded into a standard LCD display without too much hassle.

The number of viewers that the system can track simultaneously is limited by the screen's refresh rate: so, while a standard 240Hz LCD can keep track of two users (four 60Hz channels, one for each eye) a faster refresh rate would allow for even more users to share the same 3-D experience at the same time. Another limitation is the small viewing angle — currently at just 20 degrees, although the researchers hope to increase this figure to 40 degrees by tweaking the design of the lens.

Microsoft is also looking at other possible uses for the 3-D lens. Once integrated into a laptop, one application could be to allow only one user at a time to view the monitor, blocking off prying eyes and ensuring privacy in public places. The user would then be able to switch back to a standard "public view mode" in which light is scattered in all directions in order to share the display with more people.

Via Technology Review.

http://www.gizmag.com/microsoft-glasses-free-3d-display/15462/

Hands-on Review of the World's First 3D Consumer Camcorder: The Panasonic HDC-SDT750

Introduction

3D video recording has found its way into the consumer camcorder market with the arrival of the Panasonic HDC-SDT750, and we here at CamcorderInfo got our hands on this hot new item for just enough time to deliver this first impressions review to you all. As a whole, the camcorder isn't much different than the HDC-TM700, except that it ships with an attachable 3D conversion lens, has an updated OIS, and features improved noise reduction—all for just $1399 (including the 3D conversion lens).

Note: The photos in this review are of the Japanese model HDC-TM750, which currently has no US release date. The TM750 is identical to the HDC-SDT750 except that it includes some built-in flash memory. The card-only HDC-SDT750 will be released globally and is slated to go on sale in the US in October.

See the Rest of the Riview

Sharp to launch glasses-free 3D smartphone with 3D camera globally this year

By Ross Miller posted Aug 4th 2010 1:03AM

Can't say we didn't see this coming. After wooing us with a number of glasses-free 3D displays -- including the one that gives Nintendo 3DS its magic -- and 3D HD cameras for mobile devices, the company has finally laid down the gauntlet. It's promising to release a smartphone with such an autostereoscopic screen and 3D camera, just like we always wanted, before New Year's Day 2011. It certainly wouldn't be the first 3D phone in the market -- Hitachi touted one early last year for Japanese carrier KDDI, and NTT docomo has had a prototype 3D display -- but a Sharp spokeswoman said that this 3D smartphone would be going international. The more the merrier, we say. Now, how about some more details and a pretty picture or two, eh Sharp?

Reuters

Augmented Reality_ ADIDAS

3D Vision hack uses active shutter glasses to display 3D content in 2D (video)

By Joseph L. Flatley posted Aug 2nd 2010 3:18PM

Stereoscopic display sharing -- or using one monitor to show two separate programs simultaneously -- has piqued quite a few people's interest lately. Both Microsoft and Sony have been developing ways to do this, and now there is a post on the 3D Vision Blog outlining how to modify your NVIDIA 3D Vision glasses to accept either the left or right image from a 3D display. You'll be opening the glasses up (careful!), soldering things like shutters and IR receivers, bridging this and that, but by the time you're done you'll be able to watch TV in the way that nature intended, beautiful, glorious 2D! (You can see it in action after the break.) Now, if only we could figure out how to watch color TV programs in black and white...

3D Vision Blog

Digital Signage Blogs – Reviewed

Posted by Richard Williams on July 26th, 2010

The digital signage and outdoor advertising industry is still a relatively new sector and even the professionals and experts require a constant stream of information and news to keep abreast of the latest developments.

There are hundreds of websites, blogs and news sites dedicated to digital advertising, outdoor digital signage and the use of digital out of home advertising. However, finding the most useful locations for relevant up-to-date information can be extremely difficult with so many different sites.

Here are some of the most useful resources for finding information on digital signage and out of home advertising:

Wirespring’s blog

Bill Gerba’s blog for WireSpring is one of the best and most read digital signage information pages. Whilst strictly a commercial blog, Bill and his team of independent experts provide a non-biased view of the digital signage world; featuring tips and analysis it is always worth bookmarking and Bill writes with an enthusiasm and passion for the subject which always makes it a pleasurable read.

Digitalsignage.com

With perhaps the most sought after URL in the digital signage world, digitalsignage.com at least provides a useful resource on their commercial site. The blog is a mix of relevant news items and comment and is always worth a weekly visit.

Daily Dooh

An independent blog put together by a dedicated team of industry analysts, journalists and researchers. Daily Dooh lets itself down on occasion with the odd cynical snipe at industry operators. However, there is plenty of good comment and industry news to warrant it being on your bookmark list.

Digital Signage Today

One of the most detailed news sites with reams of news, features, information and whitepapers from all corners of the industry. If its going on it will be somewhere on the pages of Digital Signage Today.

Display Alliance

The new kid on the block but Display Alliance is already packed with news, comment and the latest research. Not just confined to digital signage but with all aspects of the AV industry, Display Alliance is promising to be a hot resource for all things screen related.

5 rules for successful digital out-of-home advertising

http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/21290.asp

DXG-5D7V, 'the only 3D video camcorder,' now available for preorder

By Sean Hollister posted Aug 1st 2010 8:08AM

Panasonic may have the first 3D camcorder we'd actually ever consider purchasing, but technically speaking DXG has been sitting on the stereoscopic gold mine for months. This past week, the budget camera company's 3D View pistol cam got real, in a Hammacher-Schlemmer package that'll set you back $600. That outlay buys you not only the twin-lens VGA shooter you see above, but also a companion 7-inch, 800 x 480 3D media player, both of which are outfitted with glasses-free parallax barrier LCD screens. It's not a terrible deal considering thealternatives on offer, but we're not down with the $200 luxury tax Hammacher and company tacked on top, and we're a little unwary about the way that ram is staring at us. Cameras are expected to ship August 6th.

DXG RELEASES WORLD'S FIRST 3D POCKET CAMCORDER AND 3D MEDIA PLAYER

DXG 3D Consumer Camcorder and 3D Media Player Bundle Creates All-in-One Filming and Playback of 3D Video and Pictures with No Glasses Required

CITY OF INDUSTRY, CALIF. – July 27, 2010 – With blockbuster hits like James Cameron's Avatar opening consumers eyes to an entirely new world of 3D entertainment, it's no surprise that demand for 3D technology and content is on the rise, with 3DTV sales expected to grow 142% between 2010 and 2011.* Arming consumers with the ability to now create their own 3D content, DXG (www.dxgusa.com) today launched the DXG 3D pocket camcorder and 3D 7-inch media player bundle, allowing for easy filming and playback of 3D video and pictures with no glasses required. The 3D camcorder and media player bundle is available now for pre-sale at www.hammacher.com for $599.99.

Bring Your Videos and Pictures to Life in Full 3D

For the first time ever, you will be able to create home movies in 3D and relive each moment in lifelike detail thanks to the new DXG 3D pocket camcorder and media player. With the camcorder's compact pistol-grip design and flexible playback options, you can instantly view, record and playback 3D video or photos directly on the 3.2-inch LCD camcorder display, on the included 3D 7-inch media player, or directly on your 3DTV. Supporting up to 16GB high-capacity SD cards, you can record hours of summertime fun in 3D and take 3D 5-megapixel still images, as well as capture 2D video and pictures.

Enjoying your newly created 3D memories is a cinch with the included DXG 3D media player. Boasting a vivid 7-inch LCD display, glasses are not required to see your video and photos pop out and come to life in full 3D on the player. Convenient touch screen keys and remote control of the media player not only allow you to view your 3D and 2D video and photo masterpieces with ease, but also let you control the built-in MP3 music player, alarm clock and calendar. Also included in the package are HDMI and AV cables for easy playback of your summertime shenanigans directly on your 3DTV.

"DXG is excited to be at the forefront of the 3D digital content revolution and release a product that allows people to easily create their own 3D masterpieces," said Paul Goldberg, senior vice president of sales and marketing at DXG USA. "We specifically designed our 3D camcorder and media player bundle with the consumer in mind to create an all-in-one, fun and easy way to record and watch life's adventures in 3D."

DXG-5D7V 3D Pocket Camcorder Specifications:

Availability: Pre-sale at www.hammacher.com; Shipment date of August 6, 2010
Price: 3D Camcorder & Media Player Bundle – $599.99
Dimensions: 1.63" (W) x 4.88" (H) x 2.93" (D)
LCD: 3.2-inch 3D TFT Display
Storage: 128MB Built-in Memory; Supports High-Capacity SD Cards up to 16GB
Video Resolution & Format: VGA Standard 3D Dual-Lens Technology; H.264 AVI File Format
Still Photo Resolution & Format: 5-megapixel; JPEG format
Power Supply: NP-60 Li-ion Battery
Zoom: 4X Digital Zoom (2D mode only)
Connections: HDMI interface and cable; USB/AV cable for connecting to the TV or to your PC or Mac
Software Included: 3D Video Conversion Software
Other Items Included in Package: 3D Media Player, Camcorder case, HDMI cable, USB/AV cable, NP-60 Li-ion battery, battery charger

DXG 3D Media Player Specifications:

Dimensions: 8.39" (W) x 5.41" (H) x 0.94" (D)
LCD: 7" Parallax-Barrier Auto-Stereoscopic (Glasses-Free) TFT Display
Resolution: 800×480
Display Effects: Normal, black and white, Sepia, Lens Distortion
Video Format & Resolution: MPEG4, AVI, 720×480p at 30fps
Audio & Image Format: MP3; JPEG
Control Format: Touchable Keys, Remote Control
Audio & Video Output: AVOUT, Earphone Stereoscopic Output
Storage: Supports SD/MMC
Power Supply: 5V DC, 2A
Output Interface: USB 2.0

Earbud packaging so cute, you can almost hear it

By Trent Wolbe posted Jul 30th 2010 1:02AM

In-ear headphones, like underwear, present a problem to vendors and consumers: there's no good way to try them out before you buy them, without sharing unsavory parts of your body with others by proxy. So what do packaging designers -- the only ones who can do an effective job of selling you things you can't test drive -- do? One of three things, generally: they keep it boring (Etymotic, Sennheiser, COBY), hit you over the head with xtreme street grafixSkullcandy, WESC) or they get creative. Panasonic's RP-HJE 130 earbuds exist only in award-winning-designer-concept-land, but we can guarantee you our moms would just flip if they saw them on the shelf at Target, and they'd probably end up in our Christmas stockings no matter what they sounded like. Now can someone out there please make some disposable earbud sheaths for us, for demo's sake? Like those things the doctor sticks on the in-ear thermometer? Thanks in advance. (

Wired Gadget Lab

Cannes Lions

Minority Report Interface

Aircord Lab's N-3D concept turns an iPad into world's second least practical 3D display (video)

By Tim Stevens posted Jul 28th 2010 11:38AM

14diggsdigg Think giant active-shutter glasses are a roadblock to 3D adoption? Wait until you get a load of this, the N-3D from Aircord Labs, a glass pyramid with semi-reflective sides that allows you to peer through while reflecting the image of a screen above. In this case the screen is provided by an iPad which, as you can see in the video below, separately renders three sides of an object. Each slab of glass reflects a different rendering and, hey presto, changeable perspective as you move from side to side, reducing the usable screen real-estate on the iPad by at least a third and producing an effect slightly less compelling, but slightly more portable, than that Time Traveler arcade game that used to take four whole quarters to play. No word on whether there will ever be a take-home version, but get yourself a sheet of plexiglass and you could probably make your own.

3D-Display-info.com

Aircord Labs Engadget

Sony's 360-degree RayModeler 3D display brings its glasses-free act to LA, plays Breakout (video)

By Richard Lawler posted Jul 28th 2010 5:29Pm

Sony talked up its cylindrical no-glasses 3D 360-degree prototype display last fall, and now it's showing off the tech, dubbed RayModeler 3D, on US soil at SIGGRAPH 2010 through tomorrow. A major bonus of that showcase is an English language video -- embedded after the break, plus a hands on including a game of Pong Breakout from Core77 and our videos from the Japanese exhibition -- showing how it all works, including the eight-camera rig and turntable that capture objects in 45-degree separations before they are interpolated to create a continuous 360-degree motion image. Sony claims this is the first of its type capable of high quality images, full color and interactive live motion -- check it out and imagine keeping a tiny 3D pet or floating, disembodied head on your bedside table, where it can respond and react to your every gesture. We wouldn't want our blip-verts any other way.

Sony 3D 360-degree display prototype (hands-on)

Core77

SonyStyle Blog, Engadget

Blackbox i10 noise cancelling earbuds tap into iPod / iPhone dock connector for power, pleasure

Blackbox i10 noise cancelling earbuds tap into iPod / iPhone dock connector for power, pleasure

By Darren Murph posted Jul 23rd 2010 2:53PM

Oh, sure -- you've got at least 893.1 options (at last count, anyway) when it comes to noise cancelling headphones for your iDevice, but do any of those plug directly into the dock connector instead of requiring a separate battery? Exactly. That's the claim to fame for Blackbox's i10, a new set of earbuds that rely on power from your iPod or iPhone in order to achieve that active noise cancelling action that the youngsters are so crazy about these days. According to the company, these will filter out 92 percent of background noise using Phitek Systems' ANR technology, and the inline remote makes it easy to adjust volume and the like. They're available today for £79.99 ($123) over in the UK, but only heaven knows when they'll mosey over to North America.

[Thanks, Sharmee]

NICT's fVisiOn makes you see immaterial bunnies (video)

NICT's fVisiOn makes you see immaterial bunnies (video)

By Sean Hollister posted Jul 25th 2010 3:07AM

Japan's National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) has been chasing holographic damsels in distress for as long as we can remember, and honestly, the technology's still not quite there, but the team that brought us the gCubik has managed to create a low-res 3D hologram table that impresses anyhow. Using an twist on the famous optical illusion toys that use convex mirrors to make objects appear to float in the air, NICT hits a specially-designed optical filter cone with the light from 96 pico projectors. The result is a series of familiar-looking rabbits, teapots and the occasional rubber duck standing five centimeters high and visible through 120 degrees, a good sight better than the two-degree radius afforded them by the original technology. The best part is there's no case enclosing these creations, unlike competing ideas, so we'll eventually see 360-degree tables where your fingers can frolic alongside the ethereal leporidae. Watch the lead researcher demo a prototype after the break.

NICT Universal Media Research Center