Gizmodo: 3-d

Amazing DSI Brain Scanning Visualizes Your Mind's Inner Workings In 3D

John Mahoney — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 15:00:00 EDT

What's that monkey thinking about when he's mushing down that banana or tossing feces at you? Well, you're looking at it—this is a map of where a macaque's thoughts live. It's made possible by new 3D visualization algorithms developed by neuroscientists at Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston which render a brain's billions of individual neuron connections in full-color 3D, with each visible strand representing several tens of thousands of the too-small-to-image neural pathways. It's all done by simply applying new processing to existing MRI scan data, and thankfully, it works on human brains too.

The tech, called diffusion spectrum imaging, takes current data from MRI scans and analyzes it for the passage of water molecules along the individual neuron connections in the brain. It then processes it to spit out the 3D maps. It's possible to do on live subjects (like the human brain image above), but more detail can be achieved by scanning non-living samples for up to 24 hours.

Doctors are using the new images to better understand our brain's infinitely complicated wiring, and to avoid important neural nets during surgeries. More including 3D model animations (awesome) at: [Technology Review]

Good News: The Air Force Wants a Holodeck

John Mahoney — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 18:50:00 EDT

Finally, we can all agree on something: the Air Force wants a holodeck. I want a holodeck. You want a holodeck. Luckily for us, the Air Force is a good party to have overlapping interests with, technology wise; they have the billions to do it, and according to a recent request for proposals, are now getting serious. Specifically, they want "petabyte command and control databases [that can] be visualized and controlled dynamically in 3-D," and they don't want it to suck.

Namely, they want said holographic system to be bright, huge, have a great interactive interface, and be visible in 3-D with the naked eye. Watching a little too much TNG, guys? Noah at Danger Room compiles a few sources that say a lot of the holographic optics tech isn't that far off, surprisingly. Instant trips to Tahiti with giant palm-frond fans, here we come! [Air Force RFP via Danger Room]

Film Industry Wants to Set a Standard For 3D Viewing at Home

John Mahoney — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 11:45:30 EDT

The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, the folks behind such innovations as the color bar test pattern, want to codify a standard for watching 3D content in home theaters. They're casting the net wide to include all possible sources and displays, from over-the-air broadcast to DVDs and Blu-ray. Ars points out that Hollywood is both excited to sell you their movies again, this time in glorious 3D, and worried about potential lost revenues at 3D theater screenings of, say, George Lucas's 3D Star Wars remake. [Ars Technica]

3D Drawing Pad Makes Your Dirty Doodles Come Alive

Benny Goldman — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 21:30:00 EDT

With the 3D drawing pad, your ugly scribbles will look like high-tech masterpieces. The paper on the pad has a special background that makes black pencil marks appear 3-dimensional when seen through those classic blue-and-red specs. A pack of 50 sheets (with glasses) is only $4, an awesome deal if it really works. I know what you're thinking, but I'm more mature than that. I would use my 3D pad to draw ripe, juicy watermelons and big, long rocket ships. [Product page via Coolest Gadgets]

Mark Cuban To Resurrect Movie Theaters, NBA and 3D At Same Time

Benny Goldman — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 09:45:18 EDT

Mark Cuban thinks he can save the dying business of movie theaters, which are steadily losing out to home entertainment options as televisions get bigger and video games and pay-per-view choices get better. His plan? Enlist the help of two even more archaic forms of entertainment, the NBA and 3D glasses.

Tuesday night's Dallas Mavericks game against the LA Clippers will be shown in 3D at the Magnolia Theater in Dallas. Cuban believes that the set-up, which consists of the Fusion 3D camera system from Pace as well as two super serious Sony SXRD 4K 10,000 lumens digital cinema projectors, will promote widespread 3D adoption since "watching sports, concerts and special events" in 3-D will be something that "only theaters will be able to offer." (He does add that Samsung and others are bringing it to TVs, but somehow that doesn't get in the way of his argument.)

Let's get real here for a second, Mark. There are about 25 people who still care about the NBA (myself included), and probably 14 people who have worn a pair of 3D glasses in the last decade. Finding a single person in Texas interested in doing both at the same time sounds next to impossible. You've already banned bloggers from your team's locker room because they said some things you didn't like. For a so-called technology pioneer, you sure seem out-of-touch. [Reuters]