Impressive 3D Figurines at Objet’s SIGGRAPH Booth
Hot on the heels of the first 3D printed plane across the pond, 3D printing company Objet impressed visitors to the SIGGRAPH convention in Vancouver this past week. Short for Special Interest Group on Graphics and Interactive Techniques, SIGGRAPH attracts many innovative and front-running firms in the graphic design field, and 3D printing is definitely the cool new tech-du-jour.
For those who don't know, 3D printing is the latest and greatest way to create solid objects from three-dimensional digital designs. A laser is used to turn a special type of powder into a solid, layer by layer. Because the layers are incredibly thin, you can even make objects with moving parts with little to no difficulty. The possible applications are quite endless, making 3D printing an emerging tech trend with enormous potential.
The Objet booth didn't have anything too practical in terms of examples of their work, instead choosing to display some of their coolest and most exceptional examples. Of note was a War Machine mask, a mini version of The Destroyer from the recent Thor film, and a Neytiri figurine from James Cameron's Avatar. They're all examples of work from Legacy Effects, "an award-winning, full-service character design, make-up, specialty prop and animatronic studio." It's just one of the companies that has adopted Objet's 3D printer technology to revolutionize their operations in the best possible way. Check out the source link for more pics and the Objet's press release.
Source: Engadget
OpenStage 2.0 by Organic Motion Shakes Up The Motion Capture Market
Somewhere or another, you have definitely seen motion capture work being done. It's usually a person in a skintight spandex suit, with what look like little ping pong balls attached to the suit at different parts of the body, in front of a bright green or blue curtain. They then record the person doing various movements, and with the help of computer programs, they isolate the person from the bright green or blue backdrop, and use the white balls to create a wireframe model that looks very much like a crude stick figure. It's a pretty common technology in games and movies that feature computer generated characters, like Gollum in The Lord of the Rings movies.
But a company called Organic Motion has figured out a way to do away with all that. Their system, called OpenStage 2.0, does all of that work without the use of the skintight suits, green curtains, and white balls. Instead, they use anywhere between 8 and 24 cameras capable of recording 200 frames per second. Not too shabby for a revolutionary technology. The best part is that it can record multiple people moving at one, even with props in their hands. If you've got $40,000 to spare, feel free to try out the bottom-of-the-barrel 8-camera setup.
Check the source link for more pics and video.
Source: Engadget
3D Printing Set to Take Off From University of Southampton
Lately there's been a lot of hubbub around 3D printers. The idea has been around for a while, but it has been gaining a lot of public attention from appearances on television shows like Known Universe on the National Geographic Channel, and the Colbert Report on Comedy Central.
The concept is simpler to grasp than you might think when you hear "3D printer." Basically, a laser is fired at a powder that solidifies when burned, layer by layer, from top to bottom. In order to print an item, you need a 3D image, which can be designed from scratch, or copied from an existing object by scanning it with special devices that can an object down to within 40 microns (less than the width of a human hair) of its actual dimensions.
Known Universe had an episode that focused on the potential benefits that 3D printing would have in space, for replacing small parts for repairs, while the Colbert Report touched on 3D printer company Makerbot, which focuses more on the consumer market and miniature likeness of Steven Colbert with tentacles.
But researchers from the University of Southampton in England have proven another area where 3D printers excel - aeronautical engineering. In just one week, they designed and built a model airplane from scratch, tweaking designs and reprinting parts that didn't work or that they wanted to test out. Because 3D printing even works for objects with moving parts, everything fit together perfectly, too. Best of all? It's cheaper than other methods of design. Here's to hoping for some new and exotic aeronautical designs in the future with the help of 3D printers.
Check out the video below for a look at the plane's test flight.
Source: Engadget
Rollei Announces Parallax-Tech 3D Camera and Photo Frame
German camera-makers Rollei have designed their take on the consumer-grade 3D camera. Using two separate lenses, the Power Flex 3D creates photos, as well as videos in not one, not two, but THREE dimensions. The camera itself does not look all that impressive or revolutionary, but it does have one or two perks. First, it comes with a digital picture frame that will display your 3D photos on a 7-inch, 800 x 480 screen. The camera itself has a 2.8-inch, 640 x 480 screen on the back, giving you a preview of your 3D photos or video to decide which ones you want to keep.
Second, it creates 3D images using Parallaz barrier display technology. Unlike anaglyph technology, which has the 3-dimensional aspects of the photo or video outlined in red and blue and requires special glasses to view, Parallax barrier display technology uses a thin layer of shutter-like material to show your right and left eye slightly different images, creating a 3D effect. This means that you won't need those silly looking red and blue glasses, but you will have to stand in one spot, as Parallax technology requires the viewer to be in a certain "sweet spot" for the 3D images to appear.
In addition to the 3D images and video, the Power Flex 3D will also take 2D images and video.
With 5 megapixel still images, 720p video recording, and 8x digital zoom, it's almost worth the estimated 300 Euro price tag. Available late January of 2011.
Source: DCViews via Engadget
UC Berkeley Students Create 3D Imaging Backpack
Students at UC Berkeley have come up with a backpack that uses lasers and cameras to create 3D images of the inside just about any building.
Professor Avideh Zakhor and her team of grad students developed the backpack, which uses 1 camera and 1 laser pointing up, down, left, and right to create 3D maps. As the wearer of the backpack walks around and through whatever building they wish to map, the lasers are constantly measuring the distance between the backpack and the walls, creating spacial maps. Simultaneously, the cameras photograph the walls, ceiling, and floor to create texture maps, which are laid over the 3D images to paint the walls and and give texture to surfaces.
They hope to combine their new technology with that of Google Earth to map the inside of buildings, as well as the outside. One of the benefits they speak of in the news coverage reporting the story is that a human can walk in hard to navigate places, like caves or mountains, that robots would be unable to traverse.
Check out the video below to see it in action!
Source: Engadget