The shape of things to come

3D software and its associated hardware systems will be one of the key emerging technologies over the next two years, says one of the world’s leading technology forecasters

According to Daniel Burrus, founder and CEO of Burrus Research, two different applications of 3D technology are set to change the way we see the world.

‘The two different variations are, firstly, interspatial 3D of the sort that you can already see in Xbox and PlayStation, where you go into a 3D world,’ says the futurologist, whose research and consulting firm monitors global advancements in technology-driven trends.

‘This is going to be very big because you don’t need new equipment to view it; you will be able to access it via your home PC.

‘The other type involves 3D screens that you will wear augmented glasses to view, and the development of screens that you won’t need glasses to view. This area won’t grow as fast [initially] as the interspatial area.’

With interest in 3D now developing at an incredible pace, Burrus predicts that we will shortly see the development of 3D web browsers which will interface with other web sites, so that someone browsing the web will be able to interact with the products developed by a company.

‘What that means is that you will be able to visit an auto dealer, for example, and walk around looking at the cars, opening the doors, getting inside and playing with the controls.’

It’s a vision that was predicted around 10 years ago during the internet boom, when companies talked of a wonderful hi-tech future that was just around the corner. The difference now, according to Burrus, is that the timing is right.

‘We are at a stage now where users are only going to be limited by their own imagination,’ he says. ‘Processing is getting so powerful and readily available – so is bandwidth – and storage is also much less expensive. The timing is now.’

The fact that the timing is now has not been lost on the technology world’s biggest players.

‘When you combine what is being done on these new digital 3D worlds with the digital world being built by Microsoft and Google – and, believe me, they know this world is coming – then you realize that the day of a fairly complete digital world is not far off,’ says Burrus, adding that techniques for extracting 3D information from video have already been developed.

It’s a 3D world in which much of the work has already been done. With many modern buildings now being designed using CAD/CAM programs, many of the measurements have been digitally recorded, some are already in 3D.

It is a process that also involves many old buildings, with many museums and period houses already rendered into 3D by the architects entrusted with looking after them. In Dresden, Germany, researchers have even developed a way of recreating the streets fire-bombed out of existence during World War Two, by turning old photographs into 3D images and then mapping views taken from the opposite ends of a street onto each other.

In the future, the amount of 3D worlds and vistas that are fixed on a particular geographic point will only be limited by the amount of information that has been created on a particular point or object. (not sure what this means). It’s an idea that creates a novel – for some, perhaps frightening – image of a world where every location has the potential to be a massive 3D encyclopedia, full of information, sounds, images and memories.

As Burrus states, it is a world that knows no boundaries. But he also counsels that the application of this technology must be well considered.

‘I think one of the things that people will quickly realize is that there will be a need to integrate 2D and 3D together, and that you should not use one where the other will do a better job.

‘You should always use the right tool for the job. Why read a novel from a CD? The best reading material to put on a computer is reference material.’