A Queen's University researcher
has created a Star Trek-like human-scale 3D videoconferencing pod that allows
people in different locations to video conference as if they are standing in
front of each other. The technology researchers at the Queen's Human Media Lab
have developed is called TeleHuman and looks like something from the Star Trek
holodeck. Two people simply stand infront of their own life-size cylindrical
pods and talks to a 3D hologram-like images of each other. Cameras capture and
track 3D video and convert into the life-size image. Since the 3D video image
is visible 360 degrees around the Pod, the person can walk around it to see the
other person’s side or back.
While the technology may seem
like it comes from a galaxy far, far away, it's not as complicated as most
would think researchers used mostly existing hardware – including a 3D
projector, a 1.8 metre-tall translucent acrylic cylinder and a convex mirror. The
researchers used the same Pod to create another application called BodiPod,
which presents an interactive 3D anatomy model of the human body. The model can
be explored 360 degrees around the model through gestures and speech
interactions. When people approach the Pod, they can wave in thin air to peel
off layers of tissue. In X-ray mode, as users get closer to the Pod they can
see deeper into the anatomy.
More information: