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As it turns out, 3D technology is available in almost any office. A startup called Lumii has developed an optical algorithm that allows users to print color holographic photographs on conventional inkjet printers.
The technology was demonstrated at the Siggraph 2016 California Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Technologies. Visitors went through the 3D scanning procedure, the data obtained was processed by special algorithms, after which the volumetric images were printed on an Epson color printer - an ordinary office apparatus. After combining two pictures printed on transparent film, guests received holographic self-portraits.
Usually the volumetric effect is achieved through special lenses or relief layers applied over the image. Lumii uses quite common materials and equipment, backed up by a special algorithmic engine. The resulting "printouts of light fields" have the effect of a full three-dimensional parallax, so you can admire the hologram from any angle.
The company was founded by three MIT alumni: Tom Baran, Matthew Hirsch and Daniel Leitinger. “One of the long-standing goals of display developers is to create screens with image quality that is indistinguishable from reality. Our research is aimed at creating high-resolution auto-multiscopic light fields with vertical and horizontal parallax, ”the developers explain.
The two main advantages of the new technology are low cost and high quality. “Instead of specialized optics or lenses, we algorithmically transform 3D models - like those used in AutoCAD or other CAD editors - into custom drawings. Then we print the images, lay them on top of each other and get a three-dimensional effect, ”says Baran.
Initial 3D models can be created using reasonably inexpensive 3D scanners such as Microsoft Kinect One, Intel Realsense F200, or Structure Sensor. The data is processed by the Lumii algorithmic engine and printed on film. Using a photo printer, you can get a high-resolution 3D image in as little as fifteen minutes. The idea turned into such a hit that the developers had to print out several hundred holograms at the conference.
The development has excellent commercial potential. According to the creators, low-cost, high-quality digital and projection screens with light field optimization technology will open up new possibilities in human-computer interaction, 3D printing and industrial additive manufacturing, medical diagnostics, advertising, augmented reality, visual arts and so on. Moreover, the implementation requires only inexpensive, publicly available equipment.
