Skype Building 3D Video Calls That None Of Us Will Likely Use
Skype is working on a technology that will no doubt be impressive when used once and then promptly ignored for the rest of time – 3D video calls. The project was revealed in an interview with the BBC to commemorate Skype’s 10th anniversary (which makes me feel old), but it could be another decade before we see that project bear fruit.
Gillett said in the BBC interview that Skype has the tech working in the lab, but needs the hardware ecosystem to be able to support it before it’s introduced. But he also said that 3D video chat would take longer to catch on with consumers than other 3D video tech in all likelihood, which begs the question of whether it ever really will.
Read the full story here: http://techcrunch.com/2013/08/29/skype-building-3d-video-calls-that-none-of-us-will-likely-use/?ncid=tcdaily
Copy Protection for 3-D Printing Aims to Prevent a Piracy Plague
Authentise’s approach is similar to the way Netflix sends viewers at home a stream of video frames only as their computer needs them to play a movie. Instructions that tell a 3-D printer about how to squirt out material are sent to it only as it needs them. Once the process is done, the instructions are instantly discarded, leaving a completed print but no full digital representation of its design.
Wegner says that his company will use its technology only in ways that offer easier alternatives to using unauthorized print designs, rather than embedding it into design files or printers in ways that lock down how they can be used.
Buying a MakerBot Digitizer? 3D scanners come with copyright strings attached
So what’s technically kosher in the world of 3D printing and scanning? According to Forbes the laws around 3D printing and scanning are complicated. If an object is purely decorative, it’s protected by copyright. Objects that serve a purpose, are, instead, covered by patents. Weinberg uses vases as an example, saying that a vase serves a purpose – to hold water and flowers – but it can also be a work of art. In this case, the vase itself isn’t a matter of copyright, but the designs on the outside are.
Read the full story here: http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/3d-desktop-scanners-come-with-copyright-woes-too/
RealD Records Loss Amid Sliding Popularity of 3D Movies
"Moviegoers were more selective than expected regarding the films they chose to experience in 3D," said CEO Michael Lewis.
In spite of hits like Iron Man 3, Star Trek Into Darkness and Man of Steel, 3D movie company RealD on Wednesday posted a quarterly loss and declining revenue.
See the full story here: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/reald-records-loss-sliding-popularity-601962
MakerBot takes 3D printing nationwide via Microsoft
[Philip Lelyveld comment: the quote below pretty much sums it up. Stratasys and 3D Systems are rapidly becoming the go-to 3D printer companies with their deals with UPS and their aggressive acquisition strategies.]
"MakerBot experience" in-store demos come to 18 Microsoft store locations as both companies hope to spark a 3D printing revolution.
See the full story here: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57597415-1/makerbot-takes-3d-printing-nationwide-via-microsoft/
Yabazam tops 1 million 3D TV streams
[Philip Lelyveld comment: a small but meaningful number.]
DDD Group plc (aim:DDD) (otcqx:DDDGY), the 3D solutions company, today announced that its Yabazam 3D video streaming service has delivered over one million 3D movie trailers to Samsung and LG 3D TV viewers since November 2012.
The Yabazam 3D app is a free download for Samsung and LG 3D TVs, which account for 64% of the 3D TV market. It streams free 3D movie trailers and offers over 80 titles for viewing with a monthly subscription in the US and on a per title rental basis in 16 additional countries. Earlier this month it launched in the Google Play store for Android(TM) 3D tablets.
Launched in 2009 as the first online portal to offer high definition 3D movies for PC users, Yabazam was designed to overcome the lack of 3D content available to viewers and the lack of distribution available to 3D content creators. Since 2012 the app has been downloaded 440,000 times and now exceeds 2,000 user sessions per day.
See the full story here: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/yabazam-tops-1-million-3d-tv-streams-2013-08-07
Stratasys to Provide 3D Printers to The UPS Store for New Retail 3D Printing Service
Stratasys uPrint SE Plus systems will be used in pilot program
While the program is aimed at small businesses, it is open to anyone interested in trying out on-site 3D printing services.
Nasa to take first 3D-printer into space
“In zero gravity, thermal properties work differently,” says Dunn. “Convection doesn’t work the same ... There are interesting tricks we came up with to make sure we’re keeping the hot things hot and the cold things cold.”
Every moving part – the cogs, belts and gears that naturally stay in place on Earth – also had to be secured. “With a 3D printer, if something floats by a fraction of a millimetre, that can completely ruin a print,” says Dunn. “You have to make sure things are allowed to move when they need to and be very rigid when they need to be.”
See the full story here: http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/architecture-design-blog/2013/jul/30/nasa-3d-printer-space-station
MIT looks to movie CGI to make 3D printing easy
In order to create lifelike objects that are hard, soft, reflect light and conform to touch, users must currently specify the material composition of the object they wish to replicate. That's no easy task, as it's often easier to define the desired end-state of an object -- for example, saying that it needs to be soft -- than to determine which materials should be used to make it.
See the full story here: http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/2013/7/27/mit_looks_to_movie_cgi_to.htm
Siggraph 2013: 3D Printing, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and 4K
The primary technologies that we saw showcased the most were 3D printing, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and 4K. The latter is no surprise when you consider how long 4K has been slowly filtering into the film industry and would inevitably make its way into the professional graphics industry where most of the VFX artists are already doing a lot of work in 4K. Naturally, we saw a plethora of 4K displays ranging from arrays of 4K monitors, to extra large 4K TVs and even 120 Hz 4K 3D Projectors from Christie.
See the full story here: http://www.brightsideofnews.com/news/2013/7/26/siggraph-2013-3d-printing2c-virtual-reality2c-augmented-reality-and-4k.aspx