SIGGRAPH 09, the big graphics bash, was held in New Orleans this year and wrapped up on Sunday. VizWorld articles review some to the highlights.
Trends in stereoscopic 3D was a hot topic. The industry remains divided about delivering stereoscopic content. How will it be delivered to the home, and by when? Will consumers need to wear glasses? Will the world adopt 3D standards, or will competing formats emerge? The transition to 3DTV could be the next big thing.
At least five companies own core technology behind today’s 3DTV prototype products, said Wendy Aylsworth, vice president of engineering for SMPTE. They include Philips, TDVision Systems, Sensio Technologies, DDD Group and Real D Cinema whose technology is now in use in many digital 3D movie theaters. HDMI version 1.4, released in June 2009, defines a number of 3D transmission formats.
3ality Digital creates 3D content using Scratch software running on a BOXX workstation with two cameras. By using the dual DVI outputs on the Nvidia Quadro FX cards and the functionality of Scratch CONstruct, 3ality creates a timeline with right-eye material on one layer and left-eye material on another.
Google’s Street View uses a Tricyle to go places cars can’t. A white pole in the back holds an octagonal platform with eight cameras on the sides and one on top. Each minute, the cameras take bursts of high-definition photos to allow online users to get a virtual tour of the area.
It’s currently being used in Paris where Google has hired two young riders to go through gardens, parks and historical areas not accessible by automobile. Google plans to make 3-D maps of streets in other European countries.
To respect people’s privacy, Google has installed software that recognizes license plates and people’s faces and automatically blurs them. Google then chooses the best photos among the thousands taken.
Speculation has it that Google uses Iconix cameras and German SiCK brand laser scanners – likely the LMS 200 series. Google has released an experimental browser plugin that will make it possible to display rich 3D graphics in Web content.
Meanwhile, Immersive Media drives around in Volkswagens outfitted with an 11-camera device on the top of their car which records video streams.
Google isn’t alone in their 3D mapping efforts. Startup Earthmine uses a stereo-vision based approach. Perhaps some of this data will find its way to Open Street Maps, the provider of free and royalty-free geographic data.
