Another dimension for 3D [one reporter’s Bloggie 3D experience]
[excerpt]
Armed with a Sony Bloggie 3D camera rather than my father’s old Pentax and a Sony 3D television almost as thin as that flimsy screen, I have been trying out the practicalities of recording and showing 3D, as opposed to the established practice of using this extra dimension to watch films and play games.
I made my debut with the camera at an evening bar mitzvah for Alex, one of my son’s friends.
Read his full story here:
Lytro Announces Light Field Camera
Philip Lelyveld comment: this story brings more technical perspective to this important tech announcement.
[Excerpts]
Computational photography using light field reconstruction has been a research topic for a number of years. One of the problems with computational photography is the very large amount of data associated with a high-resolution image.
...Since no specifications on the camera are available, it is not clear if the proposed point-and-shoot camera is also a pocket camera.
...Another problem with computational photography is that it doesn’t produce a viewable image until after the "computational" part.
See the full post here:
3D TV Hype Cycle
I think at this point it makes sense to take a look at the classic hype cycle, a “graphic representation of the maturity, adoption and social application” (Wikipedia) of technologies. The research firm Gartner coined this term and this memorable chart.
A 3-D Maven Weighs In [profile of Lenny Lipton]
Over the course of several decades, Lenny Lipton, a prolific inventor of 3-D technology and the founder of StereoGraphics Corp., has had a front-row seat at the evolution of 3-D theatrical films. He has racked up more than 50 patents (including one as “Lenny Liptoh”) in or related to the field, and believes that unlike the short-lived boom of the 1950s, today’s 3-D movement—which extends beyond films to television programming and channels, video games and mobile devices—is here to stay.
Apple seeks patents for 3D and ‘physics metaphor’ gesture controls
The first involves using a proximity sensor in addition to the touch panel to register gestures in 3D. For example, you could use three fingers to mark out the corners of a triangle on the screen and then "pull up" and pinch to create a pyramid for use in a CAD application. The second idea involves gestures based on intuitive "physics metaphors" that are recognized using motion sensors. So instead of navigating menus in order to start a file transfer between an iPhone and iPad, the user could arrange the desired files on the phone's screen and then pretend to "pour" them onto the tablet -- an idea which rather reminds of the funky Project Blox.First 3D scan of St Kilda’s Village Bay ruins released
The project's team are recording all five of Scotland's Unesco World Heritage sites and five others around the world.
It is hoped the 3D scans will aid the conservation and management of the sites.
See the full story here:
Optical Illusion at Paris town hall
fa-sci-na-ting! I passed by the Paris town hall today, where they currently have an open air exhibit about Paris trees (there are 485 000 of them!). On top of the various - very interesting - explanations, they also installed an anamorphosis work of art by François Abelanet. Anamorphosis?
See the full story here
Amazing 3D-like Animated Photos
Philip Lelyveld Comment: the many images at this link demonstrate a very interesting pseudo-motion, pseudo-3D effect. This still image doesn't do it justice. See the images and the full post here
Sony 3D Technology Center Expands Professional Training
Sony 3D Technology Center today announced that it is expanding its 3D Master Class, which offers professional training in the tools and techniques for making 3D content, in collaboration with the Directors Guild of America and the Motion Pictures Editors Guild. The two guilds join the International Cinematographers Guild in offering member training opportunities at the Sony Pictures Studios facility, which is run by Sony Corporation of America.
See the full story here
Paramount: No 3D printing of our alien Super 8 cubes!
New fronts in copyright law are developing as digital tools increasingly encroach on the physical world. This story, told from the copyright revisionist viewpoint, illustrates how 3D printers will impact product licensing the way the MP3 codec impacted the music industry.
"Bottom line: get ready for a whole new set of skirmishes over IP as the physical world itself is digitized, uploaded, and then printed."
Read the story here.