Holographic 3D Telepods May Revolutionize Videoconferencing -- Science & Technology -- Sott.net
A Queen's University researcher has taken inspiration from Star Trek to create an other-worldly way to meet with one another. Using a series of strategically placed projectors and Microsoft Kinect image sensors, Dr. Roel Vertegaal and his team at the Human Media Lab in Canada have created a human-scale 3D videoconferencing pod, allowing people in different places to meet with one another, just as if they were in the same room at the same time.
Source: Holographic 3D Telepods May Revolutionize Videoconferencing -- Science & Technology -- Sott.net
"Why skype when you can talk to a life-size 3D holographic image of another person?"
Beam me up Scotty: Life-size hologram-like telepods revolutionize videoconferencing | Human Media Lab :: Queen's University
While the technology may seem like it comes from a galaxy far, far away, it's not as complicated as most would think. Dr. Vertegaal and his team used mostly existing hardware – including an array of Microsoft Kinect sensors, a 3D projector, a 1.8 metre-tall translucent acrylic cylinder and a convex mirror.
The research team, also consisting of John Bolton, Kibum Kim, Peng Wang and McGill Prof. Jeremy Cooperstock, used the same Pod to create another application called BodiPod, which presents an interactive 3D anatomy model of the human body. The model can be explored 360 degrees around the model through gestures and speech interactions.
When people approach the Pod, they can wave in thin air to peel off layers of tissue. In X-ray mode, as users get closer to the Pod they can see deeper into the anatomy, revealing the model’s muscles, organs and bone structure. Voice commands such as "show brain" or "show heart" will automatically zoom into a 3D model of a brain or heart.
The 'telehuman' pod creates a convincing 3D 'human' inside the glass tube, using a 3D projector and a specially shaped pane of glass
How the 'telehuman' creates a convincing 'hologram', using a 3D projector onto a specially shaped pane of glass
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