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You might one day be able to immerse yourself in 3D holographic movies thanks to new technology reported today. US researchers unveil in the journal Nature details of 3D holograms that can be updated almost in real time.

Other beneficiaries of the technology include military commanders, who could gain a 3D picture of a battlefield, and surgeons performing complex micro-surgery.

Professor Nasser Peyghambarian of the University of Arizona and colleagues report how they recorded, displayed and updated images on a palm-sized screen measuring 10 centimetres by 10 centimetres.

Source: http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2008/02/07/2157059.htm?site=science&topic=latest

If you gave Lego brains, you might get something like Posey, a new hands-on way of interacting with computers developed at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, US.

When Posey's plastic pieces are snapped together, an exact copy of the construction appears on a computer screen. Every twist of, say, a stick figure's arm is mirrored in 3D modelling software.
To see Posey in action, skip to one quarter of the way through this video clip (65mb, mp4 format) showing one of the researchers at a public meeting.

The project, led by Mark Gross, aims to provide a more playful interface for computers.
"We're a big fan of construction kits, like Lego and Zoob," says Michael Weller, who is also working on the project. "One of the cool things about them is they allow undirected play that allows you to explore your ideas."

Source: http://technology.newscientist.com/article/dn13261-smart-lego-conjures-up-virtual-3d-twin.html

The American company "TDVision" has developed a technology that allows users to view 3D digital content in High Definition format. TDVision developers, who demonstrated this technology at this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, say they've created devices that blur the line between reality and virtual environments, making the dreams of video gamers come true by letting them step right into a virtual world.

The TDVisor stands at the center of this technology. This portable device reminds one of a rather bulky pair of glasses connected to a PC. When worn by the user, the TDVisor delivers a 3D stereoscopic display through a number of TDVision applications, enabling 3D visualization of various computer generated content, such as video games, computer aided design visualizations, and true 3D video streams. The result is a 720p, 108’’ diagonal equivalent screen with true 3D display with no flickering or side effects. As TDVision put it, using their device feels “just like looking at a real image through a window”.

Source: http://www.tfot.info/news/1086/virtual-reality-in-high-definition.html

A New York-based company called SpaceTime has launched a new browser, free to download and use, that presents Web pages and search results as floating slabs that can be flipped through, organized, and navigated in 3-D. The graphics concepts are similar to those found in "first-person shooter" video games, in which players navigate an immersive virtual environment. But instead of shooting monsters, SpaceTime users can "fly" through search results such as Web pages, pictures, and eBay auction items. When a user turns her view to the left, the right, up, or down, she can see all the Web pages she has previously called up and zoom in on the one she wants. "SpaceTime is interesting because it constantly redraws the scene that you see ... just like a video game where you can assume any position," says Edward Bakhash, CEO of the company.

Anyone who has used Vista, Microsoft's new operating system, knows that viewing 3-D content on a computer isn't new. With Vista, windows are arranged in a 3-D stack, and users can flip through them and pick the one they want to bring forward. The upcoming version of Apple's OS X will use a similar effect in a feature called Time Machine that presents and saves every version of a file created on the computer. Bakhash says that SpaceTime is different because it doesn't need to be hardwired into an operating system, and it allows for more-dynamic navigation.

Source: http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/18817/

Microsoft Corp. will announce it has licensed technology, code-named “TouchLight,” which it developed in its Redmond, Wash., research lab, to EON Reality Inc., a leading interactive visual content-management software provider. The technology will augment EON’s visualization offerings with its cutting-edge ability for users to physically interact with 3-D visual content.

EON Reality will incorporate the “TouchLight” interactive display technology into its existing commercial, automotive, aerospace and defense industry product lines. EON’s customers will be able to use the technology for dynamic marketing displays, product demonstrations and truly interactive training experiences.

Source:http://www.eonreality.com/news/news_archive/press_releases07_18_06.htm