Sunday, February 28, 2010
Mind-Blowing : The Future of Architectural Visualization
FreshHome: "Traditional 3D visualization tools are limited to 2D display technology (computer monitors for instance). Zebra’s holographic images are unlike anything you have ever seen. The image literally “floats” in the air. You will be tempted to reach into the image with the expectation that you will touch the object being presented."
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9 comments:
This is SO cool. I've never heard of a holographic drafting software or anything of this sort. It's funny how in movies, this kind of software is made through special effects to show a really technologically advanced system and yet we are developing one today. It would be so much easier than making models and also so much easier to make a ground plan and drafting and still be able to improve and adjust it after seeing a 3d version of it. In the video you can see how the program not only has full color capabilities but can put light sources in the model and switch from bird's eye view to street view and adjust the size of the holographic projection. If this software develops fast enough and I could use this in my senior year to design a show, this would be awesome.
While the fact that this time of thing is now possible, and that soon this means that we're on our way to 3D everything visual, the actual product seemed a little limited and unnecessary. Based on the video and article, I got the impression that each of the holograms was a one shot kind of deal. That once the hologram existed, there was no way to alter the existing idea without re-making the thing. While the presentation style one was absolutely amazing to look at, I find myself wonder just how useful something like this really is when with physical models you can at least alter them post creation.
I agree with Charley. I was so amazed by the fact I was looking at the technology that exists in one of my favorite television shows, Bones, that my skepticism immediately set in and I had to read more. Each image has to be crafted and after, it can be manipulated. Though this is still a leap, it is not exactly ready for our industry. In architecture (where this article was posted), it makes sense that if you work 7 months to create a building, and really want to give your clients the full 3-D picture, this is the way to go. Unless you are designing a set for a huge production (the kind that can foot this kind of one time visualization) or designing costumes for a company who wants to see 3-d visualizations, the time, money, and effort needed to make this possible probably does not exist. But it is still really really cool.
Every couple of years it seems like we see another one of these in various states of prototyping. If we can make it work, I think it would be great, however, there are some laws of physics that seem to prevent this sort of thing from becoming truly realizable. It would be great, though, if we did finally come up with a way to do this. I could see (once the price comes down tremendously) scenic designers using it in lieu of a model box. Lighting designers could use it as a pre-visulaization tool in 3D space on the actual 3D model of the scenic design. It would be a great tool to have in a design meeting -- we shall see.
While they don't say anything on their website about cost (other than contact us), they do give some statistics on how long the process to make one takes. It's about a half-hour for a square foot of printing.
While the thought of using it for lighting design seems interesting, it appears that the image requires a special lamp to be viewed properly (their website shows something resembling a telephoto lens). What could be interesting, however, is to print it in such a way that each side has a different scene, and coult be used as a sort of lazy-susan storyboard.
A very cool piece of equipment, and is very interesting in terms of seeing the progression of 3D technology. Using something like this in order to see how a set would look in a 3D view, or see how something might look in a certain space could be really helpful from a design or a construction standpoint in that you'd be able to see what you are building ahead of time and make either design changes or just give you a clear picture of what your building, or just for use when giving some kind of design presentation. Can't wait to see what other 3D technologies people come up with next.
When I first looked at the pictures in this article, I was reminded immediately of the technology used in the movie Iron Man by Tony Spark to design his suit. It would be so fascinating to use technology like this in the future. I think that the ability to view project in a 3D space like this could be very useful in a number of applications, and for designing for theatre we could get a better sense of what a design could look in the performance space before actually loading in a show.
3D displays are definitely an interesting sector in upcoming technology. There's actually a whole lab on campus in newell-simon specializing in 3d vision. While 2d displays are largely about improvements, people are still experimenting with brand new approaches to 3D displays. My favorite solution (although a bit ridiculously expensive) was one prototyped at microsoft out of inkjet printer parts. Mists of ink - in full CMYK - formed a constantly falling display. I'm still curious to see how these things shape up.
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