Forget HD, let’s talk 3-D imaging

Many people seem to think that engineers are overly serious people, concentrating more on the… Many people seem to think that engineers are overly serious people, concentrating more on the technical side of things than the “human” side of things.

Although engineers are, for the most part, technical people, this assertion that most are robots could not be farther from the truth.

As proof of the “spark” that makes engineers surprisingly interesting people, I offer a recent announcement by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers.

Engineers have been working tirelessly on developing imaging techniques for the creation of 3-D images and pictures. Of course, these pursuits do have serious applications, including advanced imaging for medical procedures and better and more exacting blueprints that manufacturers might follow when assembling products, but this is not the primary reason engineers are so fascinated with better 3-D imaging.

The main reason engineers are so incredibly enthralled with the 3-D-imaging phenomenon is the fact that having freely accessible real-time holograms would be exceedingly badass.

IEEE announced two recent advancements made in the field of holographic imaging. Keep in mind, these are not as advanced as the technologies presented in “Star Trek” nor anywhere near as seamless as the small droid integration shown in “Star Wars.” The technologies are also distinctively expensive, making them far beyond the reach of everyone save the wealthiest and most influential.

Still, the technologies prove concepts and thus have begun to provide great excitement to the technology sphere. These advancements ultimately give us all hope that perhaps the vision of “Star Trek” or “Star Wars” will eventually come true. We could at some point receive 3-D interactive television. We could watch movies actually displayed in three dimensions.

The possibilities are endless. Imagine watching the movie “Cloverfield” in a large open space so that the monster seems to step right in your path. Clever directors could put little surprises in movies as delightful side effects of the 3-D display – with 3-D capabilities, it’s possible to hide objects behind other objects in a particular scene, requiring the viewer to move his head to get a better look.

Movies will no longer be something you stare at – you’d be forced to reposition your body to follow the action and thus become one with the characters on the screen.

So what are these miracle technologies that will ultimately lead us down to the road to 3-D nirvana? The first seems quite logical. In fact, you might have even thought of it yourself.

Why not simply place a series of flat screens together until they form a cube? Each screen would display some “slice” of the image. When viewed from the outside, each slice would add up to a 3-D representation of the object, allowing the viewer to walk around the image, view it from different angles and scrutinize its shape in all three special dimensions.

Amazing, you say. The living room will never be the same, as you will require multiple couches to allow people free reign to take in television shows from all angles. The only problem is that high-resolution displays are expensive. Just think about constructing a decently sized 3-D monitor: It would take many constituents and add up to quite a sum. In fact, the first prototype costs tens of thousands of dollars, and therefore it won’t likely be appearing in American households for quite some time.

So how do we get 3-D images to be affordable? The second technology, a product of the Mitsubishi Corporation, promises to provide the illusion of 3-D without the exorbitant cost of the 3-D monitor.

Mitsubishi thinks it has the answer to the 3-D puzzle in an updated version of the age-old 3-D glasses. Moviegoers have been using 3-D glasses for quite some time, and they don’t work that well.

Mitsubishi claims to have hit the nail on the head, however, in announcing the coupling of Blu-Ray display technology, the high-end high-definition televisions and a new design for 3-D glasses.

This combination doesn’t provide the truly 3-D effects that a hologram would, nor does it allow you to hide little Easter eggs behind objects in the scene. It just fools your mind into thinking that there’s an extra dimension popping out of the TV.

Whether these technologies are simply an update on an old theme or a brand new way of thinking, they are at least signs that the general engineering community is dedicated to making our television experience as enjoyable and “sick” as possible.

More interest and more funding will undoubtedly lead to greater thought and better research. “Star Trek” and “Star Wars” might be a far cry from the 3-D technologies of today, but in a field as exciting as 3-D imaging, it’s just a matter of time before the scientific community takes it to that level.