| I'll start by saying this is a really interesting device, and a very impressive technological feat. However, I have some major criticisms too: The only advantage I see to this vs. something like HoloLens is that it doesn't require a head mounted display. Unfortunately for this project, that's not as big a barrier for serious companies as they need it to be. In time I think this "advantage" will also dwindle due to shrinking component size, etc. The price is also considerable - it's about a thousand dollars cheaper than a HoloLens (I'm going to keep going back to HoloLens because to me they're directly comparable.) But the thousand saved also comes with some significant drawbacks: - The notion of collaboration seems to be non-existent with this device - I don't see them showing how that might work based on their promo clips. Seems to be single user driven. - It has a back-face. How do you render something like text so that it's readable from all perspectives? - Control appears to be limited with no standard input. HoloLens tracks the users hands, by comparison. - Does it have a top on it? At that point, what really separates it from a 3D TV? Seems like you'd only get limited perspective translation. I'm having trouble coming up with really practical applications for such a device, that wouldn't be better suited by a head mounted personal device. I fully support the effort if they find their niche, but coming from a VR/MR point of view, I can't really see any real advantages. Please enlighten me! I don't mean to be a downer! |
Full disclosure, I'm working with the company right now. I made the Unity Asset Tutorial Video as well as the rhythm game Rhythm Reach (and am currently taking a break from prepping for our launch party).
Also, take what I'm going to say w/ a grain of salt as I've been working in Volumetrics on and off for nearly 10 years with my personal project Lumarca: http://www.albert-hwang.com/lumarca/ -- so I've been drinking the Koolaid for a while now...
Volumetric Tech is a completely different medium, full of it's pros and cons. Many of the things people are bringing up in this thread are totally true and often infuriating when you start working in this space. You get x-ray vision (for better or for worse). It's impossible to meaningfully document (video always smashes it back into 2d). A focus on voxels make traditionally 2d content a weird problem (like text). And, to be sure, supportive tech for this isn't nearly as advanced as the stuff supporting VR. In terms of engineering, this creates a tough balancing act between price, visual fidelity, and scalability.
So -- why do it?
I do it because it's the only form of digital 3d media that exhibits passive physical presence. It's viscerally present in a way that no other digital media is. When people see a truly volumetric display for the first time (in person), 90% of the time they're totally floored. This is true even of my other volumetric display that had much much worse visual fidelity. The content is "worldlocked" in a very real way.
You also bring up the very real problem of practical applications. We're also exploring these questions (medical visualization w/ DICOM integration, songrams, games?). While this display is far from perfect, we're hoping that the low barrier to entry (a little $ + Unity) + some community presence, we'll make the environment friendlier for finding those solutions.
Anyhow, if you (or anybody on this thread) visits the NYC area, please drop us a note to come by to see it for yourself in person!