This article was taken from the August 2013 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
All-singing, all-dancing -- 3D telepresence is becoming real
Why we tested
As will.i.am often finds himself with meetings in two different time zones at once - and a long-haul flight isn't always logistically possible -- holography is his next best option.
How we tested
Wired tried five immersive display systems, from 2D projections to 360 degree near-holographic models. We judged on realism, immersiveness and elaborateness of staging. Many suffer from lags and motion blur, and eye contact can be an issue, with skewed gaze ruining the illusion. We judged against these concerns, ranking from rudimentary to convincing, and on their "uncanny valley" factor.
Musion Eyeliner (pictured above)
A world leader, recognised for digitally resurrecting Tupac Shakur at Coachella 2012, Musion doesn't create true holograms but adapts the Pepper's Ghost effect. An HD projector illuminates a thin, effectively invisible foil in front of the stage, from a 45-degree angle. The image hits a reflective surface below the foil, and also passes through it, on to the stage behind. The 3D effect is extraordinary; Wired was genuinely hesitant to differentiate humans and projections. The subject appears to look directly at you, offering a disturbing intensity of intimacy.
Unfortunately, only the audience can see it -- those on stage rely on monitors.
Live telepresence needs a fast, direct connection of 10-20 Mbps (recordings are higher quality), but Musion uses its own codec that reduces lag and eliminates most of the signs of motion blur.
Wired: Convincing to the point of creepy
Tired: Elaborate staging; visible by audience only
Score: 8
Cost: Rentals from £40,000
Specifications
Projection effect: Pepper's Ghost
Telepresence: One way (one to thousands)
Display area: 6m x 4m stage (varies)
Line of sight: Direct
Polycom RealPresenceExperience (RTX)
Polycom's RTX is a virtual conference-room. A single widescreen with rear projection gives the sense of a continuous oval table, beaming in rooms elsewhere built to the same spec. wired hooked up with various rooms around the world, from Stockholm to Hong Kong, all relatively fuss-free. After a few minutes adjusting, the effect is natural, full-size and absent of cues suggesting anything other than real life. Rooms with symmetrical distances from cameras (held within the screen) make for natural line of sight and a comfortable conversational distance. Ease of set-up and a rock-solid back end makes the RTX convenient enough for the first-class-flying financier to think twice before travelling.
Wired: Ease of use; natural feel
Tired: The image is only in 2D
Score: 6
Cost: Installations from $300,000
Specifications
Projection effect: Rear projection
Telepresence: Two way
Display area: 96" x 42" (24:9) screen
Line of sight: Direct (EyeConnect)
DVE Immersion Room
A mix of Musion and Polycom's methods, DVE's Immersion Room uses the same Pepper's Ghost effect as Musion, but has engineered it to work convincingly in a close-up environment. For 3D telepresence, it's the better of both. The setup we tried was to the same spec as that used by the US Department of Energy. A beam-splitting angled foil projects a 120-inch image across from the table, and produces an intensely bright, lifelike image. The screen is apparently edgeless, making the staging of an illusion unnoticeable, and the camera sits invisibly behind the screen, so line of sight is direct and communication feels very natural. Any codec can be used, so performance quality varies -- but clients can pick and choose to adapt it to their specific needs.
Wired: Close-up hologram
Tired: The very expensive option
Score: 8
Cost: Installations from around $1.2 million
Specifications
Projection effect: Pepper's Ghost
Telepresence: Two way (up to nine per room)
Display area: 120-inch (16:9) screen
Line of sight: Direct
immersaVu
The immersaVu consists of a widescreen dome engulfing the viewer with a 160-degree field of view. A projector beams on to a convex mirror above the viewer's head, reflected onto the 80-inch-wide screen. Intermediating software processes the image to correct and de-warp the projection. The unit is light and easy to set up -- a single unit that can be mounted on a wall or table. Quality depends largely on the HD projector, with options for 3D and 4K upgrades.
With a stereoscopic 3D camera for capture and glasses for the viewer, a fully immersive one-on-one conversation can be had -- but the enclosure is better suited to 3D viewing and gaming, both of which impress.
Wired: Immersive enclosure
Tired: Rudimentary telepresence options
Score: 6
Cost: From £8,000
Specifications
Projection effect: Dome projection
Telepresence: One way(one-to-one)
Display area: 80-inch screen
Line of sight: Varies
TeleHuman
Of the systems reviewed here, researchers at Queen's University in Canada have produced the closest to 3D telepresence -- and they used everyday hardware: ten Microsoft Kinect sensors (which track a participant's movements), plus a projector and convex mirror in a 1.8m acrylic tube in which the projection appears. The cylindrical projection allows the viewer to move around with a 360 degree parallax effect. The setup is light and mobile, and the life-size 3D impresses, but it's a little rough round the edges.
Wired: True 3D
Tired: Heath Robinson construction
Score: 7
Cost: Custom orders, price TBC
[TeleHuman are commercially developing the system with Edinburgh-based company Pufferfish]
Specifications
Projection effect: Cylindrical
Telepresence: One way (one-to-one)
Display area: 1.8m x 0.76m tube
Line of sight: Head tracking
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
