“Avatar” and all of the hype about stereo 3D-enabled TVs aside, I still don’t get the impression that stereo 3D has really found it’s breakthrough application. CG generated films have a definite niche. But 3D micro-shutter glasses for you and your friends/family in your living room (fragile, costly and headache inducing)? I don’t think so.
3D visualization for CAD, design, architecture and mapping is a real market (check out the Infinite Z immersive, real-time virtual-holographic display, and Zebra Imaging plastic holograms for mapping and architectural design.). But it is still very limited in terms of market penetration and the ultimate value to most CAD/Design users is still untested.
But when it comes to something that is more pervasive and mainstream, I am wondering if it will be 3D digital signage that ends up the big breakthrough application. Last week was the Digital Signage Expo in Las Vegas and I noticed several press releases about companies planning to release auto-stereoscopic (no glasses needed) 3D digital signage that will be “popular with companies looking to reach consumers that have become desensitized to traditional media.”
As I wrote about previously, the upcoming Catalyst 10.3 driver for Radeons will introduce 3D stereo driver hooks - enabling third-party vendors to take advantage of more 3D stereoscopic options.
Barco has introduced a new graphics display controller, the MXRT-7300, specifically designed to speed up 3D imaging and digital mammography applications in radiology departments. It is powered by a FirePro workstation GPU with 1 GB memory. It supports 10-bit (1,024 simultaneous levels of gray and over 1 billion colors) display of up to 3,280 x 2,048 pixel images. This level of shading gradation and resolution is critical for accurate visual diagnosis using digital images,.
“With the brand-new MXRT-7300 graphics processor, our customers will enjoy an immediate performance improvement when manipulating large datasets in mammography, as well as an acceleration of OpenGL and DirectX functions increasingly common in high-end PACS (picture archiving and communication systems) environments”
Industrial design students are invited to create home appliances that take into consideration, the shrinking domestic spaces. Your ideas will shape how people prepare and store food, wash clothes, and do dishes in the homes of 2050 when 74%* of the world’s population are predicted to live in an urban environment. Growing populations living in concentrated areas dictate a need for greater space efficiency. This year, special consideration will be given to designers that submit a design within the context of a range or suite of solutions/appliances. The design ideas should address key consumer requirements; being green, adaptive to time and space, and allowing for individualization.
Deadline: 1 May, 2010
Prizes:
1st prize: €5,000 + 6 months’ paid internship at an Electrolux global design center.
2nd prize: €3,000
3rd prize: €2,000
The video below gives more details. So industrial design students, use your FirePro (or other) cards and win the challenge!
SIGGRAPH's Computer Graphics Quarterly Newsletter features an article titled "Ending the Tradeoff of Time vs. Quality when Creating 3D Computer Graphics Content - Stepping Up the Production Workflow with Real-Time Rendering Software".
The article is about MachStudio Pro specifically, but more generally about how today's fully programmable hardware GPUs (e.g. FirePro V8750) can be optimally tapped by writing software that structures advanced rendering effects as separate independent processing passes.
"MachStudio Pro exploits a confluence of enablers emerging on the 3D graphics scene to address a glaring and unfilled need. Real-time rendering coupled with a comprehensive 3D workspace streamlines workflow, ending the compromise between time and quality."
A short video from first night at SolidWorks World 2010. It was an open cocktail evening and people came over to the AMD booth with the Eyefinity display and just had fun!
AMD has a strong presence at SolidWorks World 2010 (hence the timing of last week's news that the entire FirePro family is certified for SolidWorks 2010 running Windows 7).
The 3 Eyefinity screens look pretty amazing as you can see in the photos below from the AMD booth.
The research section at SolidWorks World has some pretty cool things showing.
Two things really stood out:
The Microsoft Surfaces touch table – more advanced than last year
The Infinite Z immersive virtual-holographic display. It offers interactive experience through direct interaction with virtual holographic models using a stylus and 3D glasses. This demo was really impressive - full color, full motion, 100% in space. Tony Stark's design lab in Ironman anyone?
A few days ago I covered the announcement that the ATI FirePro S400 Synchronization Modules and ATI FirePro V8750 graphics accelerators were certified for Sogitec 3D simulation products. The S400 allows for multiple FirePro V8750 GPUs on multiple PCs to be used in conjunction to synchronize high density synchronized 3D rendering across many systems for large displays.
Given the incredible amount of press coverage over this announcment (avionic simulations are obviously a pretty big deal!), I thought is would be interesting to show some digital photos of the S400 and Eyefinity technology being shown at I/TSEC.
Just saw this promo page for Innovation Revolution 2010 which, based on the “evergreen” in the URL appears to be a site geared toward an upcoming generation of FirePro professional cards. Currently there is no information on the site, however there is a contest promo to win a FirePro V3750.
CG Channel recently reviewed the FirePro V8750 in the leading DCC apps, and directly compares the performance to the Quadro FX4800, the much pricier Quadro FX5800, and the FirePro V8650 (its predecessor). Cut to the chase: the FirePro V8750 is able to match or outpace all of the Nvidia cards across the majority of tests in Max, Maya, Softimage and Mudbox. And if you are a MachStudio Pro user, you will see a doubling of performance with the V8750 vs the V8650.
Quotes from the article:
“AMD has got a winner on it’s hands in the FirePro V8750. It is an excellent piece of hardware with excellent performance numbers. To say it was a pleasant surprise is a bit of an understatement, as I was a bit shocked that it performed so far ahead of it’s competition, and even outpaced it’s competitor’s highest end offering, the mighty 4 GB Quadro FX5800, something that it’s not even targeted at.”
“If you are considering purchasing a Quadro FX4800, or even a 5800, I suggest you seriously consider the FirePro V8750, believe me, you won’t be disappointed.”
FireUser.com is a community resource for visualization, 3D, video and engineering professionals to learn about the latest acceleration and display technologies, discuss support issues, as well as influence the features and direction of the FireGL and FirePro accelerator line.
CG Channel recently 
