While browsing around, one youtube video posted on “Microsoft research” channel got my attention.
It features a very interesting device that enables the user to directly interact with 3d graphic elements. Although I have the feeling that Microsoft will target the entertainment market with this system, I would love to see it being used with sculpting 3d software like Zbrush and Mudbox or even with more complex software like 3d max.
I remember how many times I felt the need to put my hand through the monitor, grab the model and refine it like I would have done with a traditional clay model. Although the technology is still at an early stage, after seeing the demo I think that I may be able to do just that sooner that I had expected.
"HoloDesk is a novel interactive system combining an optical
see through display and Kinect camera to create the illusion
that users are directly interacting with 3D graphics. A virtual
image of a 3D scene is rendered through a half silvered mir-
ror and spatially aligned with the real-world for the viewer.
Users easily reach into an interaction volume displaying the
virtual image. This allows the user to literally get their hands
into the virtual display. A novel real-time algorithm for rep-
resenting hands and other physical objects, which are sensed
by the Kinect inside this volume, allows physically realistic
interaction between real and virtual 3D objects."
