HoloCube 4-way volumetric rightfully no-mathed display!

September 10, 2006 1:21 AM

TimeCube HoloCube. Warning: May contain parabolic mirrors and unlatched electronic components.
posted by loquacious (15 comments total)

well, if that don't beat all. t'were hard on my brain display, but i think it did me more good than harm. so i thank for it.
posted by nola at 2:45 AM on September 10, 2006

As far as I can tell from this video, the Holodeck operates by vibrating very quickly while beams of light are projected onto it, producing a kind of reverse strobe effect which actually does look kind of 3D.

For those on slow dial-up who are still waiting to download the video: If you can imagine R2D2 projecting his recording of Princess Leia onto a rapidly vibrating piston in some schizophrenic guy's mother's basement, and Princess Leia looks like a small immobile triangle, and the piston is making so much noise that her vital message is lost, you have an idea of the awesome power of the Holodeck.

Apparently he invented a 'frugal dot matrix display for MC6809 system' in 1987. I wonder if that's when his latent psychosis first expressed? You only see a tiny flash of him in the video, but there's something about his blurry, pixelated eyes which is going to haunt me all through the night.

Remember:

UPDATE: HADAMARD TRANSFORMS CONVERT IMAGES TO HOLOGRAMS
FREE SOFTWARE AVAILABLE (I have not successfully done this.)

Excellent find!
posted by A Thousand Baited Hooks at 3:12 AM on September 10, 2006

Because Sound is the high bandwidth signal here, even in case
of an action scene, the elements of projection in a
Cube 5 Holodeck Room are expected to be like "little shiny speakers".
But there is no mystery about making sound in a room full of speakers.














Loved that last line.
posted by lazaruslong at 3:30 AM on September 10, 2006

It still needs an ATI or ENVIDIA card in order to run F.E.A.R., Prey and Oblivion.
posted by Smart Dalek at 3:32 AM on September 10, 2006

DILUTE! DILUTE! OKAY!
posted by hal9k at 4:10 AM on September 10, 2006

I suspect a pottery wheel may have been dismantled for this project.
posted by itchylick at 6:07 AM on September 10, 2006

That's pretty cool, IMO. A quick google search turns up this commercial design, which uses a set of LCDs rather then vibrating. There are other volumetric displays based on quickly rotating 2d panels.
posted by delmoi at 6:15 AM on September 10, 2006 [1 favorite]

this product is probably one of the coolest looking, although this gets into real sci-fi territory, creating a 3d image in air.
posted by delmoi at 6:20 AM on September 10, 2006

delmoi - i saw a working prototype of your second link at SIGGRAPH this year. the noise it made was fearsome, and the demo couldn't run for more than 30 seconds, nor more often than every 20 minutes, due to power troubles.

That said, it was freakin' neat.
posted by casconed at 6:41 AM on September 10, 2006

I feel almost certain I've seen a more polished version of this idea, where a 3-d image is traced out by lights on a rapidly oscillating piston - similar to, but not quite the same as, delmoi's links. It's a neat idea, and anyone that builds even a crudely working implementation out of "spare parts and junk" in the garage is pretty cool in my book.
posted by Wolfdog at 6:46 AM on September 10, 2006

WANTED: HADAMARD TRANSFORMS TO CONVERT IMAGES TO HOLOGRAMS. THIS IS NOT A JOKE. I HAVE NOT SUCCESSFULLY DONE THIS. CONVERGENCE NOT GUARANTEED.
posted by Wolfdog at 7:03 AM on September 10, 2006

Don't leave without visiting the Dreamatron.
(also under construction)
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 7:16 AM on September 10, 2006

The stuff at the bottom of the first page is phenomenal:

notes:to self: Post screen capture of VB CUBE 2K failure.



notes:to self: Post appropriate liberated non-exclusive "license"
notes:to self: Post plans for poor man's VR helmet #2

posted by gramschmidt at 12:18 PM on September 10, 2006

What, did they get tired of building their own bongs?
posted by Astro Zombie at 2:03 PM on September 10, 2006

Doesn't the Jeffersonian Institute have a 3D displaying computer they use for forensic recreations? From what I've seen on TV, it's waaaay quieter.
posted by bDiddy at 10:11 AM on September 11, 2006