August 10, 2010
by virtualmeeting
Build a Virtual Showroom
In a real-time 3D environment you can really show people what you’re talking about and interactively work within the content.
To create an interactive 3D showroom that is not only functional but provides viewers with an enticing experience requires a lot of thought and effort. Not only does strategy involve choice of immersive technology but also how to place different display solutions.
Josh Kolbeck is the integrated systems manager with EON Reality. He has been involved in projects for the implementation of simulation based experience centers all over the world.
“When you bring a group of people to experience 3D for the first time you want to introduce the simulations in a way where they don’t compete with each other,” Josh Kolbeck said. “To use different rooms for different display solutions is usually a better choice”.
Holographic effects can be attained when projecting an image onto what appears to be a clear surface. The EON Holographic-I is made up of two projectors together with a stereoscopic screen that allows 90 % of the light to come through. By placing objects that have a brilliant color, towards a black background, objects appear “as floating in the air”. The Holographic-I comes together with a workstation, EON’s software and EON simulations.
The Virtual Presenter or the EON Holostage is a screen that only holds 10 percent of the light. Combined with a video codec system, filming a person on a black background that appears on the Holostage as a virtual presenter.
The HoloPodium has the same effect as a Holostage except it is a more compact solution that can fit in a lobby and welcome a group for example.
The IPortal is an Augmented Reality device; a small compact computer with a camera that picks up fiducial markers. It can be used combined with a GPS in areas such as architecture to “walk through” a building before it is actually built.
The Concave Stereoscopic room is EON’s flagship when it comes to ICatcher products. Here you get a screen that takes up your complete field of view with very high resolution for Stereo presentation. Usually two projectors are blended across each other in a room for seated audience.
Auto-stereoscopic screens provide stereo effect without the use of glasses. The EON IBox,(19 inch or 42 inch box) is using two LCD monitors in a beam splitting glass to provide a passive stereo effect without the trouble of aligning two projectors on top of each other. EON has added a video codec to the IBox, which allows an Augmented Reality effect in your presentations, such as holding an object over your shoulder.
Front or Rear projection?
The choice of projection comes down to space limitations and intention of usage. If you want to be able to draw near and touch the screen for example, than you will need a rear projection screen.
The limitation with rear projection is that it occupies a large amount of the room. EON has techniques to minimize the space by “folding” the light using mirror systems; and can drop the space by one half.
The EON ICube is a “CAVE” system that can be set up with 3,4, 5 or 6 walls and be combined with cameras that track the persons eye position in real-time. It is considered a rear projection system – everything except the floor (4 Wall Icube) which is projected down from the top. The beauty with the ICube is that it allows you to be completely immersed in a virtual world, it makes you feel like you are actually there. The down side would be that it allows only one person in the Cube at the time; It is expensive to build a CAVE that enable two people in.
Using the EON ICube connected via the Internet to EON Coliseum, a conference room, a single screen EON Icatcher stereo display and thirdly a PC laptop, the participants are able to share, discuss and interact within one interactive 3D environment. EON Coliseum is a new collaborative EON software solution that allows multiple users to experience the same immersive environment from two different areas of the world using existing bandwidth available.
Active or Passive Stereo Projectors?
The advantage of passive stereo is the inexpensive projectors and glasses.On the other hand the system is a bit tricky to set up, and may cause undesirable effects, such as white haze if not set up properly. Passive Stereo requires two projectors and polarizing filters that are placed in front of the projectors together with polarized matching glasses. You can use any inexpensive projector and a very broad spectrum of filters. The filters have to be placed in the proper orientation and distance from the projectors to block out the light otherwise it can produce a “ghosting” effect.
+ Least expensive
- Complex to set up
Infotech is considered a flexible passive stereo solution. The systems uses specials colors wheels something close to a red and green inside two pairing projectors. When the projector are aligned together the displayed image appears as a the natural color.
+ No need of a special screen, you can project on any wall
- Price of glasses
Active stereo projectors use a single projector at a very high refresh rate (120 frames /sec typically)
The release of the DLP chip from TI has driven down the price for active projectors. At a affordable rate you get a compact, active stereo system that requires no alignment, no filters and nothing to mess up.
+ Just turn on the projector and connect to your laptop.
Active Stereo Glasses: Liquid crystal shutter glasses (also called LC shutter glasses or active shutter glasses are controlled by an infrared, radio frequency, DLP-Link or Blue-tooth transmitter that sends a timing signal that allows the glasses to alternately darken over one eye, and then the other, in synchronization with the refresh rate of the screen. Meanwhile, the display alternately displays different perspectives for each eye, using a technique called Alternate-frame sequencing, which achieves the desired effect of each eye seeing only the image intended for it.
XpanD 3D is a manufacturer of shutter glasses. The cost is for a pair of Xpand stereo glasses is approx. $85 US (down from around $500 dollars/pair) These lightweight 3D glasses have a number of advantages such as replaceable batteries.
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