Looking Glass 8K: The first holographic 32" 8K display is available
[13:35 Fri,29.May 2020 by Thomas Richter]
The creators of the kickstarter project "The Looking Glas" are now selling their 32" 8K holographic display, which allows 3D to be displayed without a headset or 3D glasses. The new display is significantly larger at 32" (81.28 cm) and has a higher resolution than all existing holo-displays, as it is based on an 8K (7,680 x 4,320 pixels) 10-bit panel.
Like the previous models of the 2018 kickstart campaign - which were only 8.9" and 15.6" in size - it offers 45 different viewing angles from one picture, which are made possible by a lenticular lens in front of a normal (8K) LCD panel - for comparison: the now discontinued RED Hydrogen 3D smartphone had only four perspectives using H4V format.
Looking Glass 8K Holo Display
These 45 perspectives are sufficient to get a comprehensive 3D impression, so that an object can be viewed fluently and without breaks from different perspectives. The high basic resolution of 8K (7,680 × 4,320 pixels) thus enables individual views with higher resolution than before, and the high frame rate of 60 frames per second additionally ensures a smooth display. The technology has obviously also been improved to such an extent that the lens attachment no longer needs to be as thick as before - only 10 cm is now required.
In contrast to a real holodisplay, however, it is not possible to see the 3D object from all around (360°) but only from an angle of 50° - but the videos give a good impression of the three-dimensionality of the image. The display is connected via two DisplayPort inputs for the image (and USB for power) and requires a powerful GPU, such as an Nvidia Geforce RTX 2080 Ti.
Looking Glass Holo Display Models
The new 3D display is primarily intended for professional users, i.e. users who work with 3D objects and want to view and edit them in real time in real 3D using a holographic display, such as 3D artists, physicians, Unity developers, product designers or architects. Due to its size, the 8K Looking Glass can also be used as an advertising display for marketing purposes. The three-dimensional images can be viewed by several people from different angles without the need for extra 3D glasses. The integrated images give a vague idea of the 3D effect: three-dimensional objects can thus be displayed apparently in front of or behind the screen.
It should be possible to convert almost any 3D content/model for the system using the new suite of SDKs and utilities provided. Via SDKs it will also be possible to create interactive apps with all kinds of controllers on the market (such as the Leap Motion Controller, Nintendo Switch Joy-Con Controllers, Intel RealSense, Microsoft Kinect, Xbox Game Controller), e.g. to manually manipulate (rotate, scale or transform) a 3D object in the display. 3D objects can be imported in the usual formats from programs like Maya, Blender, Solidworks, Z-Brush, AutoCAD or Cinema4D.
The new 8K Holo-Display weighing around 28.6kg has already been publicly demonstrated and the models of the first beta version have already been sold - orders are now being accepted for the next production batch, which is scheduled for delivery in spring 2020 - several thousand models of the previous model of "The Looking Glas" have already been delivered. The price is not yet publicly communicated, but will probably be quite high due to the 8K panel used - for orientation: the 15.6" model has cost 3.000 dollars so far. For the time being, the company is aiming at business customers, but later it will also serve the consumer market. From now on, orders can be placed via a form on the website of "The Looking Glas".
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