3D
is the future of computer interfaces.
What existing and future hardware and software will support
three-dimensional human-computer interfaces? When will volumetric displays
become available? Can we agree on some nomenclature
to differentiate the projection of three-dimensional data on a two-dimensional
plane, compared with actual 3-D (x, y and z) data input and output? How
will the third dimension be extended to television and games?
Here is a cool 2007 video from Johnny Lee, in which he uses a $40 Wii controller and his own software to convert an ordinary computer monitor to 3D.
You can see some cool ideas and animated presentations about 3D Information Visualization from Microsoft Research at http://dcr1.sts.winisp.net/Lists/Prototypes/AllItems.aspx, including the Polyarchy Heirarchy browser, the Multi-Plane Task Layout, Window Peeking and the DataMountain project. Having a large monitor, or dual monitors, will definitely help as you watch some of these presentations. Longhorn, the next version of Microsoft Windows, will have some sort of 3-D built in, which will require more powerful video cards than most present-day computers have.
Apple has not been left behind, with Fast User Switching being included in OS X.
And Sun has Looking Glass. From The Triangle Online, Feb 25, 2005:
The first thing that caught me eye was Project Looking Glass, a 3D window manager currently being developed by Sun Microsystems. The project is still very early in development, but the version running at the Expo was still impressive. Standard 2D applications run fine. Their windows are given a little bit of depth and can be rotated at any angle. This lets you free up a lot of desktop real estate and can also allow you to get creative with how you place windows on your desktop.
They also ran a 3D program written specifically for the 3D environment. It was a jukebox with the images of CDs spinning around. This intuitive way of selecting music is just one of the benefits that can be achieved only with a 3D environment. Since it is still early in development, it is rough around the edges and nowhere near ready for a release, according to the Sun representative. He also said that the performance hit is only 5-10%. The project is open source. The Sun rep said this was get more ideas from different people. It also didn't seem like Sun was ready to commit a lot of people and money to the project, though. That is a shame because 3D interfaces is uncharted territory, and Sun can really make a mark on the industry by being the first to perfect the 3D window environment.
Here is a slashdot review of a book by Doug A. Bowman, Ernst Kruijff, Joseph J. LaViola, Ivan Poupyrev:
Two-dimensional user interfaces (UIs) have been around for a long time, and people are accustomed to using them. However, 3-dimensional user interfaces have not yet received as much exposure. Only a select few applications utilize 3D UIs, some with more success than others. The book 3D User Interfaces: Theory and Practice (published by Addison-Wesley) attempts to give a broad overview of the field of 3D user interfaces. It discusses the hardware devices and the software techniques required to build successful 3D UIs and gives a number of design guidelines to follow when having to develop new 3D interaction techniques for specific applications.
From Technology Review:
2-D Holograms Make 3-D Color Display
Researchers from Seoul National University have developed a three-dimensional color display that uses a set of six holograms and is made from relatively compact and inexpensive components.
The three-dimensional displays could eventually be used to display any type of dynamic data for use in entertainment, art, medicine, and military applications.
The autostereoscopic system consists of red, green and blue laser diodes, a liquid-crystal spatial light modulator and a projection lens, and is 60 centimeters long. It generates slightly different images for the left and right eyes to produce the effect of natural three-dimensional vision....
A much better approximation to three
dimensional display is Sharp's autostereo display, now available in at least one
notebook.
See the April 2005 Toshiba item below.
Here is a link to an opinion piece from back in 1998: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/981115.html
Here is another thought-provoking piece from 1999: http://www.usask.ca/education/coursework/skaalid/theory/interface.htm
Technology Research News had an article in January 2005 discussing how humans will be able to interact with 3-D volumetric displays, once such displays become available. The article answers that we will use hand and finger gestures, like a fortune teller with her crystal ball. "The researchers' method involves using fingers to gesture in the space around and on the surface of the volumetric display. The user's finger positions and postures are tracked by a set of four cameras."
Nooface.com has an article January 27, 2005, describing the Croquet 3D operating system, and how it is being used in an application by 3Dsolve. The product will permit ad hoc, P2P networks where users can collaborate in a 3D space.
On Feb. 17, 200, this review of the PureDepth MLD-3000 multi-layer LCD display was published. The display actually has two stacked LCD displays, illuminated by one backlight. The reviewer finds it to be an interesting device, but not too usable.
Toshiba on April 16, 2005, announced a 3-D display requiring no special glasses. Information is available in Japan Times , JCNNetwork, and Toshiba's press release. Commercialization is expected in 2 years. The 3D effect can be seen as far as 30 cm from the display, and as far as 30 degrees off-axis.
The June, 2005, issue of Popular Science magazine (http://www.popsci.com) had an article about 3D displays.
In April, 2006, students at Delft University displayed the world's largest (3-D display). It contains 8000 LEDs in a box 8m x 4m x 2m. Each LED is encased in a ping pong ball.
And if you are looking for cheap thrills, get some free red and blue glasses from (where else?) 3DGlasses.com and watch their online movie!