Planar3D: An Exploration of Stereoscopic Displays

StereorMirror Visits Beijing

2008-07-23T09:36:00.000-07:00

Every four years the International Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS) organization holds a conference with worldwide participation. The quadrennial conference is synchronized with Summer Olympics and, this year, it coincided with the Olympic site as well. About two javelin throws from Beijing’s new Bird’s Nest stadium, a different group of well-trained experts assembled to see the latest developments in imaging, software and hardware for photogrammetry.

We demonstrated our StereoMirror technology to a good portion of the 3,000 people that attended the meeting. Planar stereo monitors could also be found in booths belonging to photogrammetry software leaders ERDAS (formerly Leica Geosystems), Intergraph, DAT/EM Systems International and Inpho. In addition to showing aerial images for photogrammetry, we highlighted the superior image quality of our monitors with a slideshow of the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven and the nearby Olympic sites. Unfortunately, the stereo pictures of the Summer Palace and The Great Wall were not captured until the exhibition had concluded. We'll have to bring those to the 2012 ISPRS meeting in Melbourne, Australia.

In addition to the image quality and viewing comfort, there were many visitors that appreciated the open viewing angle for collaboration. Whether standing or sitting, it was easy for 3 or 4 people to gather around the SD2020 and see high quality stereo imagery. It was a great to talk with people from Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Morocco, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Thailand, The Netherlands, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam and others. There was also plenty of local interest that will keep our new distributor in China busy.

Schrödinger User Symposium

2008-06-20T17:04:00.000-07:00

I spent a couple days at the Schrödinger User Symposium in Portland recently. I was really impressed with the topics presented at the conference. I was humbled at how little I know about computational chemistry, but I appreciate the geniuses working in drug discovery. For example, one speaker (Michael Podvinec) shared about the development of drugs to treat a viral infection called Dengue Fever. This disease affects 50 million people and kills 12,000 per year . The people working on a cure or vaccine for this and other deadly diseases analyze complex 3D molecules to determine whether compounds can perform a needed function. Although I don’t understand the composition and functionality of these drugs – I was a physics guy – I do see the need to have an accurate understanding of the three-dimensional structure of these molecules and binding sites.

Many computational chemists use stereo to analyze complex molecules. We showed our StereoMirror technology to the symposium attendees and had a very positive response. A number of Maestro users said our monitor was the best stereo display they had ever seen. I believe we can provide a very good tool for viewing protein structures in 3D without compromising the image quality or comfort that people are used to seeing on a 2D monitor. Perhaps an SD monitor will contribute to the success of developing a cure for some awful disease. I hope so.

Bjork in 3D

2008-04-29T08:22:00.000-07:00

U2 isn't the only artist playing with 3D. Bjork's new video Wanderlust also explores the potential of 3D. You can check out this time elapse footage of some of the production.

Or see a 2D version of Wanderlust.

3D Cinema Boom

2008-04-14T11:11:00.001-07:00

The market for 3-D cinema is getting even more mainstream media coverage these days. This time, it's Fortune, getting in the mix with "Who's Cashing In on the 3-D Boom?" The article is solid overview of the various players, including the production side of the business.

Shooting 3-D films used to be a nightmare; you needed a pair of perfectly synced cameras for every scene. Shooting digital 3-D is easier, but you still need a two-camera setup that captures images fast enough to play back at 144 frames a second (rather than 24). The leader in the field is Pace Technologies, based in Burbank, Calif. Founder Vince Pace, best known for the underwater rigs he built to shoot "Abyss" and "Titanic," has now shifted his entire production business to 3-D. His equipment has been used to make every major 3-D feature film so far, including "Hannah Montana," "Avatar," and "Journey."
http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/03/technology/cash_3D_boom.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2008040706

ABC News Includes Footage of Planar's StereoMirror

2008-03-31T16:37:00.000-07:00

We are very proud of our involvement in the clinical studies at Emory University. The results of this study were previewed at RSNA and receieved a lot of media coverage. Now ABC News has covered the story, and their video footage includes prominent shots of Planar's StereoMirror.

See the complete coverage by ABC News. Be sure to go to clip #3 for the story "Seeing Mammograms Like Never Before."Visit Planar3D for more more details about the clinical study.

Trends in Medical Displays

2008-03-13T09:51:00.000-07:00

Planar's Chief Scientist, Adi Abileah, recently presented on Trends in Medical Displays. There is a lot of great content here, including coverage on Planar's StereoMirror and stereoscopic displays.

The presentation is available on SlideShare.

View Upload your own

StereoMirror Goes to West Point

2008-02-22T15:48:00.000-08:00

Military Geospatial Technology covered the Geospatial Information Science program at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. The article includes a shot of a current cadet using Planar's StereoMirror.

At the heart of that effort is the Geospatial Information Science (GISc) degree program, one of five majors within the Geography and Environmental Engineering Department. The goal of the GISc program, according to its Website, is to give "future Army officers, regardless of branch, the knowledge set to leverage these tools when leading soldiers in our high-tech digital Army."

from Geospatial Academy, Military Geospatial Technology

3D Display Immersed in Work

2008-02-20T11:42:00.000-08:00

The February issue of ProAV magazine has a great article on how 3D/stereoscopic technology is being used in professional applications. The article includes stats about the growth of the 3D market and photos of other 3D environments.

Planar's own Scott Robinson, StereoMirror Product Manager, gets quoted throughout the piece.

“They found that the 3D view has reduced false positives by something like 49 percent and false negatives by 40 percent,” says Robinson, product manager of
stereoscopic displays at Planar. “What we're seeing in the medical market is that we need to go through some of these clinical trials and give evidence that not only does a stereoscopic view not do any harm, but it also enhances, for example, a radiologist's diagnosis.”

ProAV article, Immersed in Work, February 2008.

U23D

2008-01-09T11:25:00.000-08:00

You don't need a StereoMirror to see this film, but it probably could have helped during production. 3ality Digital did the production work, including the sophisticated stereoscopic camera set-up. We look forward to seeing this one when it's released at Sundance.

For more coverage, check out this article.

"Previous generations of 3D film relied heavily on gimmicks, and the limits of the technology resulted in eyestrain--diminishing the life-like qualities," according to production company 3ality Digital, which, in an overview posted at the film's website, said it was shot using "cutting-edge technologies ... from artificial intelligence that aligns 'eye position' of a stereoscopic camera in real time, to first-ever high-res 3D systems with zoom lenses, robotic control, and integrated digital processing."

StereoMirror Covered in Scientific American

2007-12-19T09:33:00.000-08:00

The stereo mammography study by BBN and the Emory Breast Clinic continues to get great coverage. Even Scientific American has an article on the study that includes additional statistics from the U.S. Department of Health on the number of women and men diagnosed with breast cancer. Here's the paragraph that mentions the StereoMirror.

Stereo mammography provides radiologists with a three-dimensional view of the internal structure of the breast by taking two images from slightly different angles—much the way our two eyes create depth perception, or moviemakers create 3-D IMAX films. These mammography images are displayed on two Planar Systems high-resolution—2,500-by-2,000 pixel—liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors attached one on top of the other at a 110-degree angle, with a specially coated glass partition between them. The glass allows a radiologist wearing cross-polarized glasses to see the lower monitor (placed at eye level) while simultaneously viewing a reflection of the second monitor (placed slightly above eye level and angled downward).

Scientific American article

Presentation at RSNA

2007-12-13T14:16:00.000-08:00

There was a lot of great coverage of the presentation by Dr. David Getty at RSNA. He discussed the results of the clinical study performed by BBN and the Emory University Breast Clinic. The study evaluated whether digital stereo mammography could significantly reduce false positives and false negatives in the detection of breast cancer. Here's a sample from an article in the RSNA publication distributed at the show. Check out page six.

Dr. Getty said he now looks to improve standard scrolling through the stack of image slices by giving radiologists a stereo view through the volume of slices. If this technology works, he said, radiologists could interactively move the stereo pointof- view around to look at all areas. For
example, when viewing images of dense or fatty breasts, the radiologist could render some areas “invisible” in order to check suspicious areas. “This could be incredibly powerful,” Dr. Getty said. “The possibilities are very exciting.”

Page 6 of http://rsna2007.rsna.org/V2007/documents/DailyBulletin/wednesday2007.pdf

For more details about the study see Planar's release or www.planar3d.com/mammography.

Digital Mammography

2007-11-09T17:24:00.000-08:00

Good Morning America did a review this week of various technologies for detecting breast cancer sooner. The clip highlights some solutions that are still years away from being readily available. It's still interesting coverage for us, as the StereoMirror is being used in clinical trials for digital mammography. Look for more announcements about this at RSNA.

Here's a highlight from the article that accompanies the GMA story.

Doctors said patients' best bet for now is using digital mammography to see the cancer in the smallest possible stage, which can make a huge difference. It can detect things traditional mammographies can't.
Sixty percent of the country has access to digital mammographies.
"I feel like it took me two centuries forward," said Dr. Karen Katz. "I can see so many things that I never saw before."

SEG in San Antonio

2007-10-05T08:13:00.000-07:00

I just got back from SEG (Society of Exploration Geophysicists) in San Antonio. The society is focused on the exploration of oil and gas. It was an impressive show that included a half dozen booths sporting more square footage than my house. It is always fun to show the StereoMirror technology to a new group of people. Hearing "wow", "cool", "oh my goodness" and exclamations unprintable in a family friendly blog make me really glad I have this job. We found a conglomerate of stereo enthusiasts that use 3D visualization for seismic interpretation. My hope is that developing some corporate relationships with companies that provide the visualization software, building a base of SD monitor customers and simply learning about this industry of interpretting complex 3D data will allow Planar to provide a valuable display solution to this market.

A number of people/companies that use the immersive "cave" visualization rooms told us that the stereo image quality of the StereoMirror was superior to anything they had seen. I believe our monitors would be a nice accompaniment to the stereo rooms by allowing content to be created, editted and monitored. Others would like to use the SD monitors as a high quality, less expensive replacement of the "caves".

Stereo-what?

2007-10-03T15:05:00.000-07:00

If you are curious about how stereoscopic displays work, we have put together some great resources on this topic. Check out Stereoscopic 101 and several comparison grids showing the pros and cons of various stereoscopic/3D display technologies.