EE Times - August 6, 2007 - (Page 15) News analysis Siggraph taps virtual video, multitouch By Nicolas Mokhoff San Diego — Siggraph’s annual emerging technologies exhibition is the harbinger of computer interfaces and graphics expected in the next 10 years. This year, out of 75 submissions, 23 installations were selected to be showcased at Siggraph 2007 here this week. Here are some highlights: • Researcher Hiroo Iwata, of the University of Tsukuba (Japan), will demonstrate his String Walker, a locomotion interface that provides a locomotion sensation. It uses eight strings actuated by motor-pulley mechanisms mounted on a turntable. String Walker enables users to maintain their positions while walking in various directions in virtual environments. This proprioceptive feedback for walking, which is not provided in most virtual environments, is still in a preliminary state and will be useful in virtual-environment applications, University of Tokyo such as training or visuresearchers will show Haptic Telexal simulation. istence, a highly • David Merrill, a realistic haptic researcher at Massainteraction among chusetts Institute of humans and Technology’s Media objects located Lab, is showing the remotely. With Haptic Telexis“Sound of Touch,” a systence, one can tem that enables users perceive the exact to “paint with sound.” shape of an The system’s technoloobject, which simgy and interface design plifies complex tasks such as in adopts characteristics telesurgery and 3of acoustic instruments. D modeling. The samples are recorded and made malleable to paint with sound on physical textures and resonant objects. The technology builds on a technique for continuous digital convolution for and a piezoelectric sensor for stimulatcreation of semi-acoustic musical instru- ing the samples. A “texture kit” enables ments. A standalone wand incorporates sonic experimentation with a wide range both a microphone for recording samples of physical textures and resonant objects. www.eetimes.com • Andrew Jones, a researcher at the University of Southern California Center for Creative Technologies, details a 3-D >>16 stereoscopic display that rento one, the prototype achieved 1 million to one. Tone reproduction in dark areas has especially been improved. The prototype projector consists of two systems to generate Super Hi-Vision resolution. The next goal is to display 8K x 4K images with one system. • Production: For smooth transmission of programming to a broadcasting station from various locations, NHK developed a fiber-optic transmission system that conveys a baseband 24-Gbit/s Super Hi-Vision signal without the need for compression. In the transmission system, the data is converted to three 10-Gbit/s signals of different wavelengths and multiplexed using dense wavelength division multiplexing for transmission over one fiber-optic cable. Using two amplifiers for relays, the system was reported to have transmitted the Super Hi-Vision signal over 186 miles. Outwardly appealing NHK is working to build an ecosystem for Super Hi-Vision in global standardization bodies. It scored a victory last year when its video format (7,680 x 4,320 pixels) was included as one of the International Telecommunication Union’s large-screen formats in the ITUR BT.1769 standard. The large-screen standard includes 4K x 2K (3,820 x 2,160) and 8K x 4K (7,680 x 4,320). NHK is also working at the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), a powerful technical society in the area of standardization for broadcasting equipment. It proposes that Super Hi-Vision be included in SMPTE’s discussion agenda. NHK’s lab has also been partnering with related industries. ■ Hard-disk drives in driver’s seat By Mark LaPedus San Jose, Calif. — The disk-drive industry is a mature business, but an emerging application is creating a new growth market for the technology: automotive infotainment systems. Shipments of hard-disk drives are on the rise for applications such as storage and playback of music, video and other digital content in automobiles. Total shipments of disk drives in automotive infotainment systems are expected to reach 16.6 million units by Established suppliers of audio playback solutions, such as Alpine Electronics, have seen consumer interest in CD-based technologies drop sharply, with shipment reductions of 15 percent to 35 percent widely reported. CD and DVD optical technologies do not compare favorably with harddisk drives in system performance and storage capabilities, iSuppli said. “The expansion of infotainment in vehicles is providing users with a multimedia environment that has the capability to exceed the entertainment <<4 HDTV 2013, a fivefold jump from 3.5 million in 2006, according to iSuppli Corp. (El Segundo, Calif.). Automotive disk-drive shipments will rise at a compound annual growth rate of 25.1 percent from 2006 to 2013, making it the fastest-growing storage solution for cars, iSuppli said. Embedded navigation systems typically use one of three storage formats: CD, DVD or disk drive. Demand for CDs is dwindling as the primary map storage format for navigation systems in favor of dual-layer DVD technology. systems found in their home,” said Richard Robinson, principal analyst for automotive electronics at iSuppli. “In the very near future, vehicles will be required to receive and store broadcast digital content from radio, television and other data-delivery systems, such as WiMax,” he said. “This requirement is shaping the strategies that are being developed by vehicle manufacturers as they look for suitable replacements for current read-only optical technologies, including harddisk drives.” ■ and sends it back via a satellite-mounted antenna. The signal is received in the home via an approximately two-foot parabolic antenna; then it is demodulated at the wideband demodulator. Quadrature phase shift keying was used for the modulation. “The signal is actually transmitted and received through a simulated satellite path, but there is no home-use upper Hi-Vision display yet,” said a spokesman. To experiment with the transmission via an actual satellite, NHK and the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology will use the WINDS satellite, a satellite for superhigh-speed data transmission, expected to be launched by March. • Display: Home displays, even experimental ones, that can deliver 8K x 4K resolution are not yet available. To achieve that high resolution in a 100-inch display, one pixel should be as small as 0.3 mm x 0.3 mm—or half the size of a pixel in today’s 50-inch HD panel. The smallest at present is in a 6.5-inch plasma display panel with 144 x 81 pixels, each 0.3 mm x 0.3 mm, developed by NHK, Pioneer, Noritake and NBC. With the small pixels, the display achieved luminous efficiency of 1.1 lumen/watt by using Ne-Xe gas in the panel. Victor Co. of Japan Ltd. (JVC) is working with NHK to develop a Super Hi-Vision front projector with high dynamic range. The prototype projector processes image data in two stages using three I-DLA devices, for R, G and B in the first stage, and a device for luminance processing in the second stage. Compared with contrast ratios of present front projectors at several thousand August 6, 2007 | Electronic Engineering Times 15 http://www.eetimes.com
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