Virtual Worlds

HoloDesk: More Augmented Reality Pr0n

Microsoft Research is up to their usual cleverness: HoloDesk is a novel interactive system combining an optical see through display and Kinect camera to create the illusion that users are directly interacting with 3D graphics. A virtual image of a 3D scene is rendered through a half silvered mirror and spatially aligned with the real-world […]

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Inside Glenn Derry’s Workshop (video)

Inside Glenn Derry’s Workshop (video)

Avatar’s special effects innovator Glenn Derry hacks together blockbuster filmmaking tools. Learn more about his workshop and homebrew virtual camera in MAKE v27.

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How-To:  Life-Size Replica Artillery Piece

How-To: Life-Size Replica Artillery Piece

When I first saw this shot from user eqqman in the MAKE Flickr pool, my thought was, “Oh, look, some tourist photographed a cannon in a park somewhere and tagged it for our pool. How odd.” Reading the fine print, however, tells the story…

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NEWS FROM THE FUTURE: Prisoners forced to “gold farm” in virtual worlds

NEWS FROM THE FUTURE: Prisoners forced to “gold farm” in virtual worlds

NEWS FROM THE FUTURE: Prisoners in lucrative internet gaming work… As a prisoner at the Jixi labour camp, Liu Dali would slog through tough days breaking rocks and digging trenches in the open cast coalmines of north-east China. By night, he would slay demons, battle goblins and cast spells. Liu says he was one of […]

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Life-Size Portal Turret Replica, Including Laser

Life-Size Portal Turret Replica, Including Laser

I think it’s safe to describe Ryan Palser as a “replica video game prop master” at this point. Those of you who enjoyed his fantastic Fallout 3 replica weapons last summer will probably also enjoy his exquisitely crafted Portal turret replica. going on.

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Kinect Han Solo in Carbonite

This is an experiment with Kinect and Processing. People in front of it are posing like Han Solo and get frozen in 3D. We are already exporting the 3D models for 3D printing. So stay tuned. The software will be open source soon if anyone is interested. [Thanks, Michael!]

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iPhone 4 3D Scanner

iPhone 4 3D Scanner

Using projected light from four different directions, an app called Trimensional, from Georgia Tech researcher Grant Schindler, will assemble a 3D scan using an iPhone 4’s built-in camera. Once you’ve captured a desirable visage you can optionally memorialize said countenance by outputting a watertight file and sending it to your favorite 3D printer.

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