Posted 02/17/09 at 02:30:26 PM by Andy Salisbury

In the land down under they’ve got a lot of neat things that are all their own, the John Butler Trio, dingoes, babies for them to eat, and now holographic car salesman. PDM, Australia’s number one digital media company has just launched the first life-size “Holographic Virtual Assistant” at the Audi Centre Sydney, Rosebery.

The holograph works with 3M’s dynamic Vikuiti rear projection film and rear mounted photo projector technology. Given Vikuiti’s particular digital content abilities, it’s allowed PDM to convert a 10mm thick piece of Perspex into a virtual, talking person.

The virtual assistant provides most of the essential information that one would need when looking to buy an Audi. What the dealership is offering, and targeted information depending on who is in the building at that time is all provided.

According to Allan Brinck, the Dealer Principal, “The Audi brand prides itself on innovation and quality and being a progressive brand, we are once again leading the way with this cutting-edge installation.  We have been aware of PDM’s track record of innovation in the Australian marketplace for quite some time.  The Virtual assistant is a great way for us to connect with our customers and a great example of Audi’s progressive brand coming to life.”

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Posted 11/07/08 at 12:40:45 PM by The Maximum PC Staff

Core 2 Quad? That's so early 2008. Intel officially launched its Core i7 CPU on Monday, and this speedy new chip is the hot topic of discussion this week. The podcast gang grills Gordon about his benchmarking experience with three Core i7 CPUs, and we have a lively debate about the usefulness of CNN's hologram interview technology. The release of the Left4Dead demo excites everyone, and we also welcome a new member to the Maximum PC team. As always, we also answer a load of listener questions!

Do you have a tech question? A comment? A tale of technological triumph? Just need to get something off your chest? A secret to share? Email us at maximumpcpodcast@gmail.com or call our 24-hour No BS Podcast hotline at 877.404.1337 x1337--operators are standing by.

Subscribe: http://feeds.feedburner.com/maximumpc/1337

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Posted 11/04/08 at 02:30:11 PM by Paul Lilly

While the presidential election might only come around every four years, the monotonous coverage has become all too predictable. Tuning in to your favorite news station will inevitably net pundits from both the Republican and Democratic parties giving a play-by-play analysis of how the voting has gone aided by a blue and red color coded map of the United States. Rinse and repeat in four years.

But this year the process looks to get a bit more interesting from a technological standpoint. Instead of remote interviews showing the candidates on a split screen or a floating window, CNN will look to up its geek cred with the use of holograms. 

"Everyone is doing something virtual this election year," says CNN senior VP David Bohrman, the guy who pushed the technology. "Virtual elements in a real set look so much better than a real person in a virtual set."

To make it happen, CNN will use 44 cameras and 20 computers in each remote location to capture 360-degree imaging data of the person being interviewed. The images will then be processed and beamed by computers and cameras located in New York. The end result, if all goes to plan, is that those being interviewed, whether a spokesperson from the Obama or McCain camp, will appear as though he or she is in CNN's television studio.

Will holographic interviews make you more likely to tune into CNN? Hit the jump and post your thoughts.

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Posted 10/30/08 at 03:19:26 PM by Alex Castle

It can be kind of hard to get excited over advances in advertising technology, but this new video from RealFiction is enough to get us interested. It shows off the company’s new holographic display, called the Dreamoc, which combines physical and virtual elements to create a pretty compelling effect.

The video shows a cell phone placed inside the display’s pyramidal glass case, with a rotating hologram “emerging” from the devices display. It’s a snazzy effect, and definitely worth a watch.

There’s no word on how much the display will cost, or how widely available it will be, so it’s too soon to say whether the Dreamoc’s going to be just a toy for the most upscale retailers or if you’ll see one in your neighborhood GameStop. Either way, it’s always good to see advances in the commercial application of 3D imagery. Hopefully it won’t be too long before this sort of technology becomes practical for consumer displays.

Check out the video and give us your opinions!

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Posted 08/07/08 at 05:12:15 PM by Paul Lilly

Hollywood has been on the touch computing bandwagon long before Microsoft debuted its surface technology, and while we may never see a computer like the one Tom Cruise used in Minority Report to hunt down future criminals, or be engulfed in a virtual holographic cone like Michael Douglas in Disclosure, we are starting to see some real life groovy demonstrations of the emerging technology.

The newest example comes from the high tech marketing gurus at Obscura Digital, who recently showed off its VisionAire project. On its blog, Obscura describes the artsy demonstration as "our standard multi-touch framework [integrated] with the Musion system we have in house," but instead of actually touching anything, the presenter gestures in mid-air to control the windows and objects seen floating around.

Catch the video here, then fire up your Wii to be reminded how far the technology still has to go before being ready for home use.

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Posted 06/20/08 at 11:45:54 AM by Paul Lilly

If you already own an R2D2 droid, then move along. For everyone else, be prepared to beam 3D images to and fro in the not too distant future. That is, if you're drinking the same Kool-Aid as Infosys. The ambitious tech company promises a holographic handset by 2010. With it, you'll be able to capture and send 3D snapshots by taking a series of 2D shots and using an algorithm to transform and calculate the extra third dimension. Infosys also envisions the technology being used in games, movies, and more.

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