Cheap 3D Computer Vision?

InspectorPraline writes "According to this article at the New York Times [free reg req'd], a tech firm known as Tyzx is developing optics technology that will have three-dimensional capability -- using two cameras attached by a high-bandwidth connection to a custom processing card inside a PC. The article makes one believe that the system would have a top speed of as much as 132 stereo frames per second, which could be very useful in security systems. Of course, the real question is who's behind the cameras, but we can all drool over the other possibilities, right?"

Re:2.5d?

[negativekarmanow tm]

What the hell do fractal dimensions have to do with anything? I can get a pretty good 3d picture with only two eyes.

Re:Security? Nah....

[billcopc]

Nahh.. easy of quality pausing ? I don't think so. DVD works for the pr0n industry because of all the cheap kids who own a 60$ DVD player and no VHS. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it does represent a very early technology jump.

Just think back of the early 80's when audio CDs started hitting the market; lame cd players would cost 400$ and up, and the discs themselves were hard to find, but eventually gained popularity and eclipsed 4-track tapes. It took years for the transition to progress, and now if you're seen buying a music tape the clerks will be wondering where you've been living for the last fifteen years. But fifteen years ago if you were purchasing a CD, those same clerks (ok, their parents) were probably wondering where you got all the cash for a cd deck/discman, and pretty much everyone in the street would chat you up about your shiny cd player. Same thing's happening with video, right now we're somewhere in the middle, as DVD is well on its way to widespread acceptance in the home market.

Of course the pr0n industry has little choice but to follow the technology trends. Nowadays everyone wants 4-hour multi-angle ass-to-ass compilations with running commentary by the not-so-great Rocco himself, and since DVD discs are so compact, they can stuff more of them in the bottom dresser drawer underneath their socks.

Uses for 3D Computer Vision

[scotpurl]

No more radar guns for police (now you'll need an invisible car)

Fighter planes that don't need radar (but will need scads of cameras all over it -- both visible, infrared, and tetrawave)

Computerized athletic officiating (which may finally kill the politics of skating and gymnastics)

Better identity recognition software (now you don't have to face the camera)

Custom-tailored clothing (no more scanning mechanisms)

Automated grocery checkout (the machine identifies the fruits & veggies so that the clerk doesn't have to type in a 4-digit produce code)

Another reason for George Lucas to go back and re-film all 6 episodes into digital 3-D.