Sixth Sense technology could be the new way to view the world. Haven't heard about it? Check out this video of Sixth Sense technology as Pranav Mistry and associates have developed it at MIT:
It is an exciting development and has the potential to change the world. It is a further development on the idea of augmented reality. Believe it or not but Pranav and his team are giving the idea away for all to use. He even mentions giving the software he has developed for the concept away as open source!
Have a look at his full presentation of the idea here on TED.com
Augmented Reality (AR) has long been talked about and has been lauded by many as the "next big thing" in terms of interactive software.
Here is what Wikipedia has to say about it: Augmented reality is a term for a live direct or indirect view of a physical real-world environment whose elements are merged with (or augmented by) virtual computer generated imagery - creating a mixed reality. Read more here.
Here is an example of a Kiwispan building projected via Augmented Reality onto my desk:
It would be easy to assume that there is little use for such technology beyond a novel way of presenting models and ideas. But watch this video of the technology as it is being developed by BMW for foolproof vehicle maintenance and troubleshooting:
So as you can see, augmented reality has the potential to be much more than just a toy.
Here is what BMW have to say about the technology: "Research in the field of augmented reality is paving the way for a number of new applications in BMW Service. BMW Augmented Reality techniques provide ideal support in maintenance work on complex technical innovations in the vehicle. Using special data goggles and wireless access to a powerful computer, BMW mechanics have all the information at their disposal, precisely where they need it: in the workshop, at the vehicle."
At Coastal Concepts we will be keeping abreast of the developments in AR with keen interest. The video by BMW was posted on youtube in 2007 so we are sure there must have been some interesting developments since then.
Currently at Coastal Concepts we can present your models like they are shown in the top video (thanks to the clever AR media plugin from Inglobe Technologies), if you think this may be useful to you or your business then contact me.
Rendered animations, or what could be put in layman's terms as 'moving pictures that look real', can pose some real issues for those that create them.
Let me rephrase, creating rendered animations has posed some difficulty for us here at Coastal Concepts, and I'm sure we are not alone. The issue comes about because rendering and ray-tracing require a lot of computing power. Despite the relentless improvements in computing hardware some still images require hundreds of hours of computing on machines that are significantly more powerful than the average family PC.
My initial solution to the problem was to link up many redundant computers on a local network to create a cost effective render farm. This is still a potential avenue for us to investigate but requires more capital investment than initially anticipated, so more demand for such a service is required before we develop it further.
But as any experienced cat-skinner will tell you, there is always more than one way to do it.
So instead of trying to fight gravity and obtain more and more power, the solution, this time round, seems to be to go the other way, to lighten the load. You see, ray tracing uses complex mathematical algorithms to work out how light acts in a certain model and creates an image through computing these algorithms (I wont pretend to understand how the technicalities of this actually work).
So do we need such complex algorithms?
To get a high quality still image from ray tracing many purists believe unbiased rendering is the only way to go. Unbiased rendering makes less assumptions about the way certain materials act in certain light conditions and thus can be controlled more accurately. Given the right user, this allows a more realistic image to be created.
But when it comes to movies and animations, the Nth degree of detail isn't noticed by the viewer because the image is moving. So these more complex algorithms required for super good-looking still pictures aren't needed for super good looking moving pictures. Therefore, less complex maths can be employed to give a very similar visual effect, and voila, the computing load has been lightened immensely.
It is now much easier for Coastal Concepts to provide ray traced videos of any project, from any angle. This is a much more pleasing presentation and really provides the 'wow' factor when you are using our 3D modeling services to promote your product or potential project.
Check out this test video, bearing in mind that I have just fired it through the renderer without texturing it properly.
The first in a set of building models submitted to the Google Earth 3D layer have been accepted today.
These were carried out for the Eastland Group and will allow all who use Google Earth to look around Gisborne City (first city in the world to see the sun, not to mention a great place) to see the Eastland Group's buildings in 3D, get a feel for them, find out a bit about the building and link to occupier's websites.
A great advertising tool and source of information I'm sure you will agree. You can link directly to the models (provided you have Google Earth installed) by clicking on these links:
Simply click the link and if you have Google Earth installed you will be prompted to 'open with', select Google Earth if its not already selected and hit 'OK'. Google Earth will then open and navigate to the model.
Having your commercial premises in Google Earth raises the profile of them immensely and allows people to view and get a feel for them from anywhere on earth, provided they have an internet connection.
There is also an application for real estate here so if you are a real estate agent and would like to discuss lifting the profile of the properties you are selling then contact me.
Or if you would like to see any building or structure in Google Earth then flick me an email. We pride ourselves on providing a highly affordable 3D modeling service and I am sure the low cost of such high-profile advertising will surprise you.
