ENLIGHTEN3D

By Joshua Koopferstock

Back in the hotel after day 1 at CES, and I am in awe.  This show is gigantic.  I’m pretty sure that if it was 3 weeks long, I still wouldn’t have seen all of the booths.  From a 3D industry perspective, I noticed one thing of interest today while walking the floor.  People are going crazy for 3D displays.  Absolutely crazy.

Vegas, baby!

Around nVidia’s booth where they were showing off a 3D gaming computer rig (and selling 3D shutter glasses for $199; I was tempted…), there was such a crowd of people I couldn’t even shove my way through the booth, and almost got bowled over in the process of trying.  At the DALITE booth, where they were promoting their projection screen that preserves polarization, I had to wait in line for a demo.  Of a projection screen company!  People (well, CES technology nerds, anyhow) are eating up the 3D home entertainment technology, and this is despite the fact that in many cases, it is not quite ready for prime-time.  The DALITE demo was neat, but I felt like I was looking at it cross-eyed for half the time (not the fault of the screen they were selling, but still).

A view of the show floor

I’m not sure if it’s a failing of the technology, or a lack of experience in using the tools in these nascent stages, but there is definite room for improvement.  The polarized glasses seem to especially require controlled viewing conditions (i.e. viewer’s position relative to the display) to work effectively.

That’s it for the quick day 1 report.  I’ll try to take more relevant pictures tomorrow; I spent most of the day with my jaw hanging open, and forgot to take out the camera for the blog.

By Joshua Koopferstock

2009 promises to be a formative year for 3D and Computer Vision. 3D films are getting all the press at the moment (see this excellent blog on 3D Movies), but this year should bring us much more than just a new dimension from Hollywood.

Just today, Apple announced at MacWorld that its new iPhoto program would have facial recognition built in, following Picasa’s lead of a few months back, and bringing yet another computer vision application to the masses.  Expect visual search to keep blossoming in 2009, with uses you may not have considered before.

In the next weeks and months, I will have many more posts on the innovative technologies that are going to shape our fields for 2009 and the years to come.  From computer vision research analysis to 3D film reviews to chipset technology, there is so much to write about, I’m having trouble containing myself and not going on for a few thousand words right here.

To begin an exciting 2009, I’ll be heading to CES later this week, so if you want to meet me there for a chat or a beer, just send me an e-mail.  Alternatively, you can look for me as I wander around; I’ll be the guy standing in front of the 3D displays, drooling.

Happy New Year to all of you!