3D TV Reviews Blog

Nintendo seems to have a knack for repeat performances. Nintendo DS? Quickly supplanted by the DS Lite — and the DSi didn’t last too long either before it was succeeded by the DSi XL. Even the 3DS saw a revision, when it was supersized last summer. …

Nintendo seems to have a knack for repeat performances. Nintendo DS? Quickly supplanted by the DS Lite -- and the DSi didn't last too long either before it was succeeded by the DSi XL. Even the 3DS saw a revision, when it was supersized last summer. These redesigns typically don't change more than the device's size, but when the 3DS XL was announced, some gamers were left wanting. Didn't the original 3DS get an accessory specifically to address the lack of a second analog pad? Why didn't Nintendo take the opportunity to add dual-analog controls? Well, if that happened, Nintendo couldn't release an encore Circle Pad Pro accessory, could it? Let's take a look at the 3DS XL Circle Pad Pro and see what's changed.

Filed under: Peripherals, Nintendo

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Nintendo seems to have a knack for repeat performances. Nintendo DS? Quickly supplanted by the DS Lite — and the DSi didn’t last too long either before it was succeeded by the DSi XL. Even the 3DS saw a revision, when it was supersized last summer. …

Nintendo seems to have a knack for repeat performances. Nintendo DS? Quickly supplanted by the DS Lite -- and the DSi didn't last too long either before it was succeeded by the DSi XL. Even the 3DS saw a revision, when it was supersized last summer. These redesigns typically don't change more than the device's size, but when the 3DS XL was announced, some gamers were left wanting. Didn't the original 3DS get an accessory specifically to address the lack of a second analog pad? Why didn't Nintendo take the opportunity to add dual-analog controls? Well, if that happened, Nintendo couldn't release an encore Circle Pad Pro accessory, could it? Let's take a look at the 3DS XL Circle Pad Pro and see what's changed.

Filed under: Peripherals, Nintendo

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Most approaches to capturing 3D models of real-world objects involve multiple cameras that are rarely cheap, and are sometimes tricky to calibrate. The University of Glasgow has developed a method that ditches those cameras altogether. Its system has…

Most approaches to capturing 3D models of real-world objects involve multiple cameras that are rarely cheap, and are sometimes tricky to calibrate. The University of Glasgow has developed a method that ditches those cameras altogether. Its system has four single-pixel sensors stitching together a 3D image based on the reflected intensity of light patterns cast by a projector. Reducing the pixel count lowers the cost per sensor to just a few dollars, and extends the sensitivity as far as terahertz wavelengths. Real-world products are still a long way off, but the university sees its invention as useful for cancer detection and other noble pursuits. Us? We'd probably just waste it on creating uncanny facsimiles of ourselves.

Filed under: Science, Alt

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Via: New Scientist

Source: University of Glasgow

Some might say it’s been a long, long while since October — with “some” referring to the swath of Kickstarter backers who’ve been waiting oh-so-patiently for a Form 1 to call their own. Formlabs has just confirmed via a company blog post that the ve…

Some might say it's been a long, long while since October -- with "some" referring to the swath of Kickstarter backers who've been waiting oh-so-patiently for a Form 1 to call their own. Formlabs has just confirmed via a company blog post that the very first Form 1 3D printer shipped out today, as the Collector's Edition Form 1 and half of the Initial Formation tier of pledges hopped on a variety of delivery trucks. The rest of you backers can expect to begin printing "by the end of next week." For those keeping count, the Form 1 is actually a few months behind schedule, but in all honesty, that's pretty good considering the up-and-down nature of crowdfunded projects that manage to find the limelight.

The outfit is reminding folks that Form 1 units are shipped as they're produced, fulfilling Kickstarter rewards and preorders by priority. Specifics on group deliveries won't come for a few more weeks, but those in the Bay Area can swing by Maker Faire (or ICFF if you're in the Big Apple) to catch an early glimpse. Oh, and if you're just now hearing of this thing? You can place a $3,299 order right now, but you probably won't get it until July. Them's the breaks, kids!

Filed under: Peripherals

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Source: Formlabs

In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you’d like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with “Insert Coin” as the subject line.

Now that Google Glass and Oculus Rift have ent…

In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line.

Now that Google Glass and Oculus Rift have entered the zeitgeist, might we start to see VR and AR products popping up on every street corner? Perhaps, but Meta has just launched an interesting take on the concept by marrying see-through, stereoscopic, display glasses with a Kinect-style depth sensor. That opens up the possibility of putting virtual objects into the real world, letting you "pick up" a computer-generated 3D architectural model and spin it around in your hand, for instance, or gesture to control a virtual display appearing on an actual wall. To make it work, you connect a Windows PC to the device, which consists of a pair of 960 x 540 Epson displays embedded in the transparent glasses (with a detachable shade, as shown in the prototype above), and a depth sensor attached to the top. That lets the Meta 1 track your gestures, individual fingers and walls or other physical surfaces, all of which are processed in the PC with motion tracking tech to give the illusion of virtual objects anchored to the real world.

Apps can be created via Unity3D and an included SDK on Windows computers (other platforms will arrive later, according to the team), with developers able to publish their apps on the upcoming Meta Store. The group has launched the project on Kickstarter with the goal of raising $100,000 to get developer kits into the hands of app coders, and though it's no Google, Meta is a Y Combinator startup and has several high-profile researchers on the team. As such, it's asking for exactly half of Glass' Explorer Edition price as a minimum pledge to get in on the ground floor: $750. Once developers have had their turn, the company will turn its attention toward consumers and more sophisticated designs -- so if you like the ideas peddled in the video, hit the source to give them your money.

Filed under: Wearables

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Source: Kickstarter

Take the 3D sensor inside the Microsoft Kinect, shrink it down to a tenth of its original size and add a bunch of mobile capabilities, and you have yourself PrimeSense’s latest conquest, better known as Capri. The company, which is the brains behind …

Take the 3D sensor inside the Microsoft Kinect, shrink it down to a tenth of its original size and add a bunch of mobile capabilities, and you have yourself PrimeSense's latest conquest, better known as Capri. The company, which is the brains behind the Kinect, has been openly working on bringing a tiny-yet-advanced 3D experience to tablets, televisions and smartphones for quite some time now. And it's proud enough of its progress so far that it's willing to give some real-life demonstrations to developers attending Google I/O. You may not see Capri embedded on the PCB of your portable gadget anytime soon -- at least, not until PrimeSense winds up wooing the pants off a lucky OEM or two -- so in the meantime, the company has connected the sensor board to the Nexus 10 via micro-USB.

Unlike the Kinect, however, PrimeSense doesn't think gestures will play a significant role in how we use Capri to interact with our gadgets. Rather, it seems to be more focused on 3D-based use case scenarios, many of which haven't even been thought up yet. As you'll see in the video below, we were shown an AR game that takes the environment around you -- walls, furniture and other elements -- and uses them as restrictions, just as much as they would be in real life. In another app, Capri snapped a three-dimension shot of an object on the table in front of us, captured its measurements and let us export that image to another device or even a 3D printer. In many respects, PrimeSense appears to be taking the same strategy Google does with Glass: get developers excited about the tech in the hopes they'll come up with clever uses for it. And while the company isn't ready to put Capri in their hands yet, the SDK is up for grabs, and I/O is no doubt an ideal place to build excitement for it. If you're looking for more info, we have a gallery, video and press release below, and you'll find the SDK at the More Coverage link.

Gallery: PrimeSense Capri demo at Google IO

Filed under: Cellphones, Peripherals, Tablets, Mobile

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The Smithsonian has been experimenting with 3D scanning for some time now, using tools like laser arm scanners to map models of whale fossils and other ancient artifacts. Now the museum is utilizing the technology to preserve its collection for poste…

The Smithsonian has been experimenting with 3D scanning for some time now, using tools like laser arm scanners to map models of whale fossils and other ancient artifacts. Now the museum is utilizing the technology to preserve its collection for posterity. Its "laser cowboys" Vince Rossi and Adam Metallo are working full-time to record items for future generations, as part of an extensive effort to digitize 14 million prioritized objects (a list that also includes artwork and lab specimen). After the break, check out a video of the team working to preserve a digital copy of the Philadelphia gunboat, America's oldest fighting vessel.

Filed under: Science, Alt

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Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week’s most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us — it’s the Week in Green.

As scientists and renewable-energy developers continue to make advances in solar and wind technology, it’s …

Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.

As scientists and renewable-energy developers continue to make advances in solar and wind technology, it's becoming more apparent than ever that clean energy doesn't just represent the future -- it's also the present. Spain proved that this week, when the Mediterranean country announced that it produced an impressive 54 percent of its total energy in April from renewable sources. Researchers at Yale University discovered a way to boost the efficiency of solar cells by 38 percent simply by coating them with a fluorescent dye. In another promising development, scientists at the University of Georgia developed a way to harness the photosynthetic process to generate clean energy from plants. And at a conference in California, NRG unveiled a mini prefabricated solar canopy that could soak up rays in any garden or commercial lot.

Filed under: Misc

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