A team led by Jean-Baptiste de la Rivière at Bordeux-based Immersion has figured out how to integrate multi-touch technology to create a 3D table-top display that allows viewers to interact without breaking the 3D illusion.
The French visual simulation company showed off the display last week at the SIGGRAPH computer graphics and animation conference in Los Angeles. Visitors to the conference were able to use polarized 3D glasses and touch the screen to interact with a 3D cityscape model on the tabletop device.
The polarized glasses used with the display are wired with orientation and position sensors that allow multiple users to view an image in real-time simultaneously from their own unique perspective. An active shutter system allows each set of glasses to synchronize with the display and only transmit images that match the perspective of the user’s current position.
The display also uses a sensory trick that allows users to interact with the produced images without ruining the 3D illusion. The system raises images while it is being viewed, but once a hand is close to the display an infrared sensor will cause the objects appear to be lower so the hand does not appear to pass right through the image.
To see the Immersion 3D multi-touch display in action, check out the video posted over at NewScientist.
While I’ve not been very excited about 3D video, I would love to see one of these in person. The interactive aspect of this display versus simply viewing images is an attractive feature to me. Other than the obvious purpose of showing off architectural design projects, it seems that there could be some great potential for future gaming purposes.
