IXPAN THE FUTURE OF 3D

Last Updated on Thursday, 21 July 2011 18:32

A lot has happened since Star Trek. Technology is moving faster everyday making Star Tek's technology coming true. In 1966, they introduced the use of the mobile telephone, for example. The computer graphics used in those days has evolved enormously with the Jurasic Park movie setting the first land mark. The photo-realistic computer animated dinosaurs combined with reality were dramatically realistic. Together with movies like Pixar's Toy Story made the computer animation industry booming. Hollywood has been pushing the technology to make the impossible possible, resulting in the most advanced augmented reality movie: Avatar.

Augmented reality, blending artificial reality with the real world, makes the impossible become posible. Today even real actors are replaced by computer graphics, letting them perform actions realistically impossible. In computer animations, the characters were animated by hand. Now, real people are connected to those characters to make their movement and expression realistic, and bring the characters to life. All blockbuster movies now include augmented reality to create a big spectacle for the audience.

Thanks to the movie industry a growing number of companies are creating and improving: 3D scanning systems, 3D motion tracking systems and 3D Graphics hardware and software. Creating virtuality will become easier, faster and more economical.

All these 3D capturing and creation technologies from the movies are being used to create photo realistic 3D computer games, leading to today's Xbox360, Kinetic, Wii and PS3. A new billion dollar industry.

A great example is the FIFA 2010 game where many players have been scanned in 3D, their 3D motion captured and placed inside a virtual stadium. Looking at this game and you sometimes forget it's all virtual. Childrens TV programs, National Geographic and History Channel are using the same technology more and more to improve their entertainment value. We also see more and more computer animations of interesting moments of football games. The world around us is getting more and more virtual including the use of Facebook. Microsoft's Kinectic system, where the movement of the player in front of the TV screen is captured and connected to characters in the computer game, is a huge succes. 8 million were sold in only 60 days.

An interesting fact of having a virtual world is that the camera can be placed anywhere within that world. This means, for example, that in a football game the camera no longer needs to stand on the side line but can be placed anywhere on the field, close to the action. In real-life, the Skycam in the football games tries to accomplish the same, but in a virtual world, cameras can be placed on the “shoulder” of each player.

Capturing a sports game in 3D and create a virtual world out of it can be done in parallel with normal TV recordings. Then at dull moments a realistic 3D animation can be shown to improve the entertainment value. The engineers will have several minutes to accomplish that. Improvements will reduce the time to complete the 3D so that in a certain moment one can blend from 2D to a 3D simulation instantly. The broadcaster that leads in this will attract more viewers.

As the technology matures we will see more of it, until its so refined that the complete virtual football game can be downloaded, and everyone can watch the game over and over again from any point of view. This will give viewers the freedom of choosing their own view on the game. A new business opportunity and ultimately shown in its full splendor, in real 3D.

With Real 3D, we mean something completely different from today's stereo viewing experience. Stereo, 2 images, create an illusion of 3D in your mind and normally you need to wear special polarizing, or shutter, glasses to accomplish that. Philips 42” WoW TV, an autostereoscopic display, doesn't require those glasses but makes it difficult to find the right spot to create the 3D illusion. With Real 3D, we mean holographic like 3D where the objects are made up out of light, float in space and don't require special glasses.

The 3D sensation is very different when watching a 3D movie in the cinema or at home. The environment and the size of the screen are important factors that influence the overall 3D experience. Now imaging Star Trek's HoloDeck where the virtual reality is part of your own environment, not a screen to look at.

Real 3D creates a window to a virtual world, replacing the traditional screen. Having no screen to related to, changes our perception of reality. A normal, or even a stereo, photo of an apple will always be a photo of an appel. On the other hand, a realistic rendering of a 3D apple floating in space like a hologram will be perceived like being real.

The size, of the apple, is of crucial importance. Only life size objects and people will be perceived as being the real thing. Making them small, like showing a 3D football game as a chessboard game, is interesting but will not put us inside the game. In 3D, this is called the "God's eye" view.

Placing a virtual 3D world in a normal and real environment, for example, a restaurant, will enhance the reality of the virtuality, in contrast to a crowded, small and dark cinema.

Imaging the future!

Finally, technology has reached a point that it is possible to transform football games into 3D virtual worlds in real-time cost effectively. People are now going to special designed venues to watch the game on a wall-sized screen blending from 2D HDTV into real 3D. Dull moments are filled in with 3D repetition of previous exciting actions. During the break, they get blown away with flabergasting 3D commercials. Afterwards, they visit private rooms with semi circle 3D screens to be immersed into the game, select a player and feel how it is to be Ronaldino.