April 2, 2008

VisWall: See Your High-Def Picture, And Feel It Too

If you think 1080p resolution, infinite contrast ratios and LED backlights are the best flat-panel displays have to offer, you're dead wrong. The 14 foot by 8 foot widescreen VisWall located at the Tufts Center for Scientific Visualization has a 3D picture so intense and real that viewers feel that they are actually right in the display! With a huge 9 megapixels of resolution and twice the sharpness of the best high-def TV's, the VisWall is actually used by scientists to visual images and situations that are usually beyond the capability of the human eye.

The display uses twin projectors rather than multiple projectors resulting a smooth image and eliminates "ghost" images using a German-designed filter. The VisWall also goes another sense beyond vision, something we won't have in the HDTV world until touchscreens are prevalent. It has something called "haptic" ability meaning it can use computer-generated feedback to impart a feel of touch on a viewer using remote controls to, for example, use an on-screen scalpel to perform a virtual surgery. It's akin to your child being able to feel as if they can give their favorite cartoon character a hug through your LCD TV! Wouldn't it be nice to have a VisWall in your living room? Cost to build-$350, 000.

Via Boston Globe