World's first 100 million voxel volumetric 3D display
31 July 2002
News
Actuality Systems, a developer of advanced 3D display technology, presented the results of the development of its spherical 3D display technology at the AeroSense 2002 Conference held earlier this year in Orlando. The breakthrough technology is believed to provide the highest resolution volumetric imagery ever developed.
The unique monitor, code-named Helios, is shaped like a 51 cm diameter globe and can show high-resolution colour images that appear to hover in space, allowing multiple users to move completely around the 360° display and view images from any angle.
Unlike some 3D displays that require special stereoscopic goggles to simulate multidimensional imagery, or flat-screen monitors that translate 3D data into flat 2D images, this technology is volumetric, meaning that instead of simulating the effect of 3D, it actually illuminates voxels throughout the full range of 3D locations inside the spherical display. Custom embedded graphics architecture also takes computational load off the user's workstation, allowing fully animated 3D imagery that can be controlled and manoeuvred from the keyboard.
The display has a resolution of approximately 100 million volume pixels or 'voxels'. Instead of flat square pixels, voxels also have depth. Resolution is defined in terms of a stack of flat slices arranged around a centreline like thin wedges of an apple around its core. The company uses special graphics-rendering algorithms to generate the extremely fast, high-performance scene drawing that is crucial for smooth animation.
The company says that some typical applications include: drug discovery; virtual prototyping; air-traffic control; surgical planning; battlefield visualisation; game development; and other possibilities.
For more information: www.actuality-systems.com
Further reading:
From the editor's desk: The art of measuring the truth
Technews Publishing
Editor's Choice News
All electronic measurements are a lie. The trick is making the lie as small as possible.
Read more...
TSE has relocated
News
The Technology Station in Electronics (TSE) has entered a new chapter with its relocation from the CSIR campus to TUT-owned building at Ditsela Place in Hatfield.
Read more...
Innovative MyLegrand app
RS South Africa
News
Legrand SA is set to launch the MyLegrand mobile application, a digital platform designed to strengthen engagement across its professional network.
Read more...
Kulani Energy acquires critical assets from Optipower
News
Kulani Energy preserves engineering, procurement, and construction capability and positions a wholly women-owned firm at the forefront of South Africa’s grid expansion.
Read more...
From Cape Town to Johannesburg
News
Würth Elektronik South Africa has taken a significant step forward with its recent relocation from Cape Town to Johannesburg, marking a new phase of growth and ambition for the company.
Read more...
Lesley Havenga: Building partnerships for Africa’s electronics future
Editor's Choice News
As Würth Electronik expands its footprint across South Africa and the broader sub-Saharan region, Havenga’s blend of manufacturing expertise, supply chain knowledge, and people-centred leadership appears well suited to the task.
Read more...
Tackling e-waste with help from international partners
News
Every year millions of electrical and electronic devices and appliances, including mobile phones and computers, are thrown away and these items are now the fastest growing waste stream in the world.
Read more...
From the editor's desk: Pricing surge reshapes engineering reality
Technews Publishing
News
The recent and continuing surge in memory prices has become more than a supply-chain story confined to global semiconductor markets. We have watched in disbelief as the ASP of memory has risen by over
...
Read more...
Siemens democratises EDA software access
News
This collaboration will provide streamlined access to advanced electronic design automation software for European semiconductor innovation.
Read more...
Components distribution: A promising trend
News
The European electronic components market returned to solid growth in Q1, gaining 16,9%, with broad, but uneven, momentum across the region.
Read more...
printer friendly version