Why the future is looking good

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Nvision is a three-day event for professionals and enthusiasts

For those unfamiliar with the term "visual computing" is a catch-all term encompassing anything driven by graphics.

The cutting edge of visual computing was on show at the Nvision conference in California's Silicon Valley where gamers faced off against one another, sporting tricked out high-spec PCs running the latest graphics cards.

But as Marc Cieslak discovered when he visited the event a host of visual innovations are squeezing every possible pixel from a computer.

<a class="bodl" href="#opti">OptiTex</a><a class="bodl" href="#elec">Electronic Arts</a> <a class="bodl" href="#spatial">Spatial View</a><a class="bodl" href="#iz">Iz3D</a>

OPTITEX

Simulated garments can be applied to a 3-D model or animationThe worlds of high fashion and high technology might not immediately seem to be the most comfortable of bedfellows.

However, clothing simulation outfit OptiTex is is getting the two closer together by showcasing the latest fashions on a virtual catwalk.

"We started off needing a way to sample and prototype garments without having to actually cut physical samples, which usually takes a lot of time and a lot of money having to send things overseas," says Matt Bakhoum from OptiTex.

Instead, OptiTex models individual swatches of fabrics whose characteristics are translated as data.

"Every time you try and simulate fabric it's a very painful process and fabric is tough because it's got a lot of properties - just like water," said Mr Bakhoum.

"Some of those properties that we look for are bend, sheer, stretch, friction and weight," he adds.

Artificial apparel is created by applying this data to a pattern for the garment which is about to be simulated.

OptiTex software renders the results which can be applied to a 3D model or animation to see how it looks.

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ELECTRONIC ARTS

Dwayne Wade is rendered in real time, in different environmentsThere's no doubt that the video games industry has the most voracious appetite for graphics so sharp you could cut you finger on them.

At the show games giant Electronic Arts showed off a prototype system which uses a camera to measure a player's ability to take a shot at an imaginary basketball hoop.

The quality of that shot is then judged by a super high-res image of US basketball star Dwayne Wade.

What makes this demo special is its ability to render the NBA star in real time, in different environments, with changing lighting.

It is perhaps a glimpse of how video games will look in the not too distant future.

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SPATIAL VIEW

Lenticular panels clip onto the front of a screen3D cinema is threatening to make a comeback. More and more big Hollywood movies like the latest Harry Potter film are receiving the 3D treatment.

And this experience is no longer the preserve of the movie theatre - 3D could very soon be coming to a computer near you.

Several different systems which create 3D images are on the way.

A company called Spatial View has developed lenticular panels which clip onto the front of a screen.

The panels work with software which tracks the viewer's position and attempts to then provide the viewer with a 3D image.

The lenticular system has been around for a while, normally seen on 3D postcards.

"The disadvantage of lenticular in the past has been that you have to stay very fixed in front of your screen but with our new eye tracking software we are able to remove this disadvantage," Claus Kessler from Spatial View says.

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IZ3D

Convention attendees watch a 3-D game at Nvision 08Iz3D has a different approach and has produced 3D monitors.

Its approach calls for a viewer to wears a pair of polarized glasses in order to see a 3D image.

The monitors themselves are made of two panels sandwiched on top of each other.

One panel produces an image for the right eye, the other an image for the left.

A 2D video game image is converted to 3D by software which runs in the background while a game is being played.

This software needs to be tweaked for each individual title, but it is a relatively simple operation to write that code for any game which supports Microsoft's DirectX.

At the show Nvidia showcased a 3D system which again uses special glasses paired with high-end graphics cards to produce stereoscopic images.

But why has this technology - which was first made popular in the 1950s - been revisited, repackaged and re-booted for the 21st century?

Aaron Rapp from Iz3d says that the gaming industry is trying to keep up with Hollywood.

"Hollywood is coming out with 10 to 15 3D titles next year. You see people like James Cameron putting out movies like Avatar in 3D, a highly anticipated film.

"The great thing about the gaming industry is that the technology and the content is already there.

"We don't have to go and make new content, we can use existing games and we can take those games and just render them in 3D."

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