Zspace interactive holographic 3D display

Infinite Z has a virtual holographic 3D display and pen input device that goes by the name zSpace. This technology combines stereoscopic images with infrared cameras that actually track head and hand movements to construct a more realistic holographic effect.

For the zSpace illusion to work, you need to wear a pair of special glasses. Not only do the glasses perform the required image separation for stereoscopy, but they also have embedded infrared reflectors to help the system track your head. This allows you to move your head so that you can view a hovering object from different perspectives. The screen actually changes what is being displayed based on where you’re looking at it. This innovation allows the illusion of three dimensions to work much more effectively. The system has real-world uses now in architecture and medicine.

The zSpace is designed for professionals working in fields like 3D modeling, so it is priced accordingly. It’s available for $3,995 and people enrolled in Infinite Z’s developer program can buy a device for only $1,500.

“Virtual Holographic 3-D,” also lets you manipulate virtual objects as if they really were floating just inches in front of you. The special stylus connected to the display also contains sensors that allow its movement to be tracked in three dimensions. You can use the stylus to “grab” parts of the virtual image in front of you and move them around in 3-D space.

Here is a white paper

ABSTRACT
Interactive stereo displays allow for the existence of a natural interaction between the user and the stereo images depicted on the display. In the type of display discussed here, this interaction takes the form of tracking the user’s head and hand/arm position. Sensing the user’s head position allows for the creation of motion parallax information, an immersive depth cue that can be added to the binocular parallax already present in the display. Sensing the user’s hand or arm position allows the user to manipulate the spatial attributes of virtual objects and scenes presented on the display, which can enhance spatial reasoning. Moreover, allowing the user to manipulate virtual objects may permit the creation of a sense of spatial relations among elements in the display via proprioception, which may augment the two parallax cues. The congruence among binocular parallax, motion parallax, and proprioception should increase the sense of depth in the display and increase viewing comfort, as well as enhance the ability of our intuitive reasoning system to make reasoned sense out of the perceptual information. These advantages should make interactive stereo displays, which may be classified as a form of cognitive enhancement display, the display of choice of the future. Interactive stereo displays may be particularly important for applications in industry, medicine, government, and education.

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