Volumetric 3D Display only $40,000

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has produced a crystal-ball like display of tomorrow. This display can interact with Windows and Linux running mainstream apps because its Spatial Rendering Kernel is designed around standards like Open GL.

The technology behind it is not yet 3D-based as it uses a projector running @ 5000 FPS (frames per second) aimed at a rotating screen resulting in an optical illusion. Each projection is 768 pixels by 768 pixels which make the total 198 projections for each image (which are each 10 in. in diameter). Each image contains 100 million "volume pixels" or "voxels". The TI 1600 MIPS DSP (digital signal processor) runs the display. These are, however, limited to 8 colors.

The Actuality Perspecta display, which runs $40,000 and up, will likely not make it in the mass-market. "Component costs will decrease," said Gregg Favalora, Actuality's chief technology officer and a co-founder. "There could be a desktop unit in the future."

The U.S. Army Research Laboratory has become the first customer for this.

This is the first 3D display that is not based on either 2D rendering or requires goggles to be put on. "The industry is still a little ways off from full-motion 3D movies," Favalora said.