3D

Sony has unveiled its five new compact digital cameras at CES 2011. The new Cyber-shot models include the world’s first still compact digital camera to offer full HD (1920 x 1080/60p) video recording – the Cyber-shot TX100V – and feature 3D still imaging and 3D sweep panoramic imaging, 16.2-megapixel CMOS sensors, 10fps burst shooting and dual recording capabilities that allow you to take still shots and video at the same time. Read More

Will letting consumers make their own 3D movies be enough to establish 3D TV in the mainstream? Sony is hoping so with the release of its newest Handycam models. Amongst a slew of new additions to its Handycam line of camcorders unveiled by Sony at CES 2011 were a couple of notable standouts. The HDR-TD10 3D camcorder features “Double full HD” recording, plus a 3D LCD touch panel display that lets you view your 3D movies in camera without 3D glasses. On the 2D side, Sony offers three Handycams with video projectors capable of producing a 60-inch (152 cm) diagonal image. Read More

PrimeSense, the company behind Kinect's 3D sensor, is teaming up with Taiwanese manufacturer ASUS to bring us what might be the next big motion-control entertainment system for consumers. The WAVI Xtion (pronounced "WAVI action") utilizes a pair WAVI boxes to stream media from PC to TV and an Xtion sensor near your TV set to to bring gesture control into the mix. Read More

Google has answered the call of students of anatomy who would find something like the Autopsy Table or the Visualization Table a useful addition to the educational arsenal, but who can't afford the huge price tag. Although still very much in the experimental stage, the Body Browser allows users to slice through layers of skin and tissue of a three dimensional model of a human body using virtual knives, and explore the various systems that make us tick. Read More

It wasn't so long ago when those wanting to visualize the landscape around them would have to use a topographic map and a fair bit of imagination. Nowadays we are spoilt by the immersive opportunities offered by the likes of Google Earth, or even GPS technology, but there's nothing quite like a holographic image for recreating a 3D representation of the surrounding terrain on a 2D surface. While the digital holographic prints produced by Zebra Imaging are not exactly as pocket-friendly as maps, they are quite simply stunning. Read More

Cameras that can shoot 3D images are nothing new, but they don't really capture three dimensional moments at all - they actually record images in stereoscopic format, using two 2D images to create the illusion of depth. These photos and videos certainly offer a departure from their conventional two dimensional counterparts, but if you shift your view point, the picture remains the same. Researchers from Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) hope to change all that with the development of a strange-looking camera that snaps 360 degrees of simultaneous images and then reconstructs the images in 3D. Read More

Swedish medical technology company Sectra has announced that a version of the Autopsy Table is now being offered to medical personnel. The Sectra Visualization Table will allow physicians to view virtual representations of real bodies in microscopic detail to help with decisions on treatment and care. Read More

Researchers have devised a technique that allows a computer to create three-dimensional images of famous landmarks, by combining numerous two-dimensional photos of those landmarks from Internet photo sharing sites such as Flickr. For the Building Rome on a Cloudless Day project, 3 million photos of Rome were accessed online, and used to produce 3D images of all the city’s major landmarks. Utilizing commodity graphics hardware, it took a single PC less than one day to accomplish the task. Read More

Digital artists working in a three-dimensional graphic environment may find current input peripherals a little restricting. Before the creative juices can be let loose, the workspace needs to be moved, zoomed and rotated to the correct position for work to start. Then it's a case of repeatedly stopping to reposition before being able to apply just the right amount of texture, tone or shadow. The 3D-Spheric-Mouse from axsotic promises to make things a little easier by allowing for one-handed rotation and movement of the virtual object over six axes. Job done! Read More