3D Technology

Sony upgrades the PS3 to 3D

PlayStation 3 / PS3 is now 3D capable

During the E3 Expo last week, Sony announced that its popular PlayStation 3 is now 3D game capable, via a new firmware upgrade. The upgrade is available for download from playstation.com. Here is the US download link.

There are no 3D games currently available for the PS3, but that is set to change soon, when Sony unveils it’s new Bravia 3D TVs (because the fist set of games will only be initially available to Bravia TV buyers). First titles will likely include Motorstorm Pacific Rift, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, Wipeout HD, Super Stardust HD, and PAIN (note: these 3D games are probably going to be “patched” versions of 2D games. No word yet on 3D games being made from the ground-up for the PS3, yet).

A firmware update to allow the PS3 to play 3D Blu-rays was not announced.

The PS3 has sold over 35 million units so far.

Nintendo 3DS – Kid Icarus Uprising Trailer from the E3 Expo

Here is the trailer for the new Kid Icarus Uprising game at the 3E Expo, for the just released Nintendo 3DS.

What Nintendo 3DS gameplay could look like

Here is a video showing how the newly released Nintendo 3DS games could look like. It’s a demo of a DSiWare game, not an actual 3DS game, but it’s still pretty impressive. It’s likely the 3DS will use similar technology, but take things up a notch:

Nintendo 3DS released today

Nintendo quashed rumours and speculations by releasing the 3D version of the DS – the 3DS, at the 2010 E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo, in California, today.

The 3DS is able to display 3D images without glasses! A first of it’s kind, it’s sure to be a best-seller. That won’t be hard, as it’s predecessor, the standard DS has sold over 128 million units.

It has two screens. The top one is a 3.5-inch 3D display with a resolution of 800 x 240 pixels, while the bottom one is a touch screen that is not 3D and has a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels.

Features of the 3DS:

• Can switch between 2D and 3D, also control the level of 3D
• Wi-Fi system-to-system communication
• Two cameras on the back to take 3D pictures
• A front-mounted camera to track user movements
• A gyroscope
• Motion sensors
• Can play 3D movies

Game makers who are developing for the platform include: Activision, Disney, Dreamworks, Ubisoft, Hudson Soft, Warner Bros., Atlus, Bandai Namco, Capcom, Electronic Arts, Konami, and Sega.

The first game for the 3DS will be a new 3D version of Kid Icarus. Other games to come shortly include Star Fox 64, Bomberman, The Sims 3 and Ridge Racer. Probably a new Donkey Kong 3D, too (we can hope)!

No word on where, or when you can buy it, nor how much it will cost. Nintendo is being tight-lipped for now, but that won’t last long.

Order the 3DS from Amazon – click here!

Nintendo’s DS 3D – coming soon

Update: the 3D version of the Nintendo DS, the 3DS, has been released at the E3 Electronic Expo!

There has been talk going around about a 3D version of the Nintendo DS, but the planned release is still quite a way off:  March 2011. The 3D version of the DS is supposed to be able to produce 3D effects without the need for any 3D glasses. There may be some more information forthcoming about the 3D DS in the next few days during the E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010.

The DS is a handheld gaming console and was released in 2004. It’s been the best selling handheld console of all time and as of the first quarter of 2010 has sold over 128 million units.

Nintendo DS. Image source: Nintendo.com

King Kong 360 3-D Attraction – coming soon!

Universal Studios, California is in the works with a new attraction in a 3D, 360 degree format. It’s a new take on King Kong and is tentatively titled “King Kong 360 3-D,” and is helmed by Lord of the Rings directer Peter Jackson. It will be a ride with train/tram cars that will be surrounded by 180-foot-long, 40-foot-tall 3D screens!

The attraction is due to be open next month, in July 2010.

Here is a trailer:

History of 3D: Static Images – The Stereoscope and Beyond

Static 3D Images

The first attempt at a mechanical method of generating 3-Dimensional, or “3D” images was with the invention of the Stereoscope.  Various dates exist for the invention of the Stereoscope, such as  1838, or 1844 and by a David Brewster (if the historical records I have been able to find are accurate).  The method was called stereoscopy.

Early Stereoscope. Image Source: foto.hut.fi

The two pictures placed side by side to produce a combined image that looks 3D were called Stereographs, Stereocards, or Stereograms. Stereo in Greek means “solid”, so these were images that appeared to be solid when viewed by the Stereoscopic method. The left image is viewed by the left eye and the right image by the right eye. The brain processes the two separate images into an illusion of a unified picture with depth.

During the Great Exhibition (also known as the Crystal Palace Exhibition, due to the building it was held in), that took place in London, England in 1851, stereographs received great public attention and their rise to popular use began.

The Great Exhibition, London, 1851.

The next great development in 3D image technology came in 1853 with the invention of the Anaglyph by Wilhelm Rollmann in Germany. Anaglyphs are images made of two color layers, usually red and cyan, which are offset to produce a 3D effect when viewed with glasses with red and cyan lenses. These are the typical kind of 3D glasses that have been in use for many years.

The American Cival War (1861–1865, also known as the War Between the States) was the first major conflict that saw the use of 3D images. The Spanish–American War was also documented with stereo photography. Photography in those days was a very cumbersome wet-plate method where images were stored on chemically treated pieces of glass. The cameras were big, heavy and bulky, the chemicals needed to develop them were dangerous and the photographers often pulled their cramped darkrooms around in a cart! Photography back then was strictly for professionals!

In the late 1800′s, at the time of the Industrial Revolution, many businesses in London began developing ways to mass-produce stereographs and millions were sold in the coming years. Stereograph libraries started and many varies of stereoscopes were produced, including hand-held portable devices, to larger, furniture-like objects that become the center of parlors and living rooms.

An 1893 era "furniture-like" stereoscope.

During World War II (1939 through to 1945) 3D imagery was taken to new heights with the advent of stereoscopic images taken from airplanes. 3D maps were produced which were viewed with army-issued 3D glasses.

When I was a kid I had a modern version of the Stereoscope called a View-Master, which was first introduced in 1939. I was a kid in the 1970′s, so I had several generations of development behind my great View-Master, of the red plastic type, pictured here.  Oh, the hours I spent looking into the wonderful 3D worlds in that device! I still have it somewhere, I’m sure, along with the reels of tiny stereo photos (8mm film, I believe).

I loved my View-Master! You clicked the blue lever to advance the photos, and changed reels once you had looked through the short series. They had reels of many things, like NASA space reels, Star Trek, and cartoons, come to mind.

The classic design of the View-Master

The maker of the View-Master is Fisher-Price and they are still making them today! They have evolved the look of the viewers into some wild styles, but the underlying technology is very much the same – it was good then, and it’s still good now!

Other developments in static 3D images came in the 1990′s with computerized printing methods. Here is an example of a 3D image that is possible to experience without any special glasses. Get close enough and let your eyes unfocus…do you see it?

"Puput". (Bob Mannle, 1995). Image Link: foto.hut.fi

I really enjoyed these computerized printing methods, because I never liked wearing the 3D glasses and the red/cyan lenses made me feel a bit ill after a while.

I don’t think there have been many advances in static 3D images since then, but if you know of any then drop me a line and let me know.

The really exciting modern developments in 3D images came with moving 3D images in computer games and movies!