blgardne@esunix.UUCP (Blaine Gardner) (01/17/88)
In the local KayBee toy store last week I saw a set of stereo-imaging
(3-D) glasses for the Sega game system. These are the liquid-crystal
shutter type (like Tektronix makes), not the cheap red-blue stuff.
The glasses were selling for about $50, and this relatively low price
got me wondering about adapting them to the Amiga. The hardware ought to
be trivial since a mere game machine is driving them, but is anyone
working on stereo vision software for the Amiga?
I know that there is a stereo CAD package for the ST, and I seem to
remember Leo dropping a hint that he was working on some kind of stereo
vision project. What I'm really wondering is if these inexpensive
glasses would make a true 3-D imaging package possible for the Amiga.
Leo? Anybody?
(I hate to see the ST with something the Amiga doesn't have. :-)
PS KayBee also had the Atari 2600 trackballs for under $10. The
hardware hacks posted by myself and others work quite well with this
trackball if you want a trackball on your Amiga instead of a mouse.
--
Blaine Gardner @ Evans & Sutherland 540 Arapeen Drive, SLC, Utah 84108
UUCP Addresses: {ihnp4,ucbvax,allegra,decvax}!decwrl!esunix!blgardne
ihnp4!utah-cs!esunix!blgardne usna!esunix!blgardne
"Nobody will ever need more than 64K." "Nobody needs multitasking on a PC."mills-cl@pike.cis.ohio-state.edu (christopher mills) (01/25/88)
My eccentric friend is going to do just this (buy Sega glasses) as soon as he can find then on sale somewhere. The software should be pretty simple (We already have a decent red-blue 3D program). Gee... Maybe you could just draw the picture on an interlace screen (I knew that flicker was good for something...). The aforementioned friend already altered an atari trackball. He swears by it. Chris Mills
ewhac@well.UUCP (Leo 'Bols Ewhac' Schwab) (01/25/88)
In article <645@esunix.UUCP> blgardne@esunix.UUCP (Blaine Gardner) writes: >The [Sega] glasses were selling for about $50, and this relatively low price >got me wondering about adapting them to the Amiga. The hardware ought to >be trivial since a mere game machine is driving them, but is anyone >working on stereo vision software for the Amiga? > Yes. >I know that there is a stereo CAD package for the ST, and I seem to >remember Leo dropping a hint that he was working on some kind of stereo >vision project. What I'm really wondering is if these inexpensive >glasses would make a true 3-D imaging package possible for the Amiga. > > Leo? Anybody? > The Sega glasses are excellent; much better than the StereoTek glasses for the ST, at half the price. The Sega glasses work well with the hardware we've developed. You should be seeing a 3D experimenter's kit for the Amiga Real Soon Now (sorry, not even I know the exact release date). For interested parties, we've been having a minor argument about how to do 3D over in comp.graphics.... _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ Leo L. Schwab -- The Guy in The Cape ihnp4!ptsfa -\ \_ -_ Recumbent Bikes: dual ---> !{well,unicom}!ewhac O----^o The Only Way To Fly. hplabs / (pronounced "AE-wack") "Simplicity and clarity should be your theme in dress." -- A fortune cookie I got in LA's Atomic Cafe.
ruslan@ecsvax.UUCP (Robin C. LaPasha) (01/27/88)
The stereo imaging projects by Leo and others sound great. One question: will you be able to use two or more sets of (Sega or other brand) glasses simultaneously? In other words, will the software/hardware be able to drive two or more sets of glasses (most normally worn by two or more people) watching the same image at the same time? Is this a difficult thing to implement (once you've got one working?) Robin LaPasha ruslan@ecsvax.UUCP
blgardne@esunix.UUCP (Blaine Gardner) (01/28/88)
in article <5148@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu>, mills-cl@pike.cis.ohio-state.edu (christopher mills) says: > My eccentric friend is going to do just this (buy Sega glasses) as soon > as he can find then on sale somewhere. The software should be pretty simple > (We already have a decent red-blue 3D program). I'd be interested in seeing this red-blue 3D program. Is your friend planning to release it as PD or commercial? If he's willing, could you post it here? -- Blaine Gardner @ Evans & Sutherland 540 Arapeen Drive, SLC, Utah 84108 UUCP Addresses: {ihnp4,ucbvax,allegra,decvax}!decwrl!esunix!blgardne ihnp4!utah-cs!esunix!blgardne usna!esunix!blgardne "Nobody will ever need more than 64K." "Nobody needs multitasking on a PC."
blgardne@esunix.UUCP (Blaine Gardner) (01/28/88)
in article <5064@well.UUCP>, ewhac@well.UUCP (Leo 'Bols Ewhac' Schwab) says: > The Sega glasses work well with the hardware we've developed. You > should be seeing a 3D experimenter's kit for the Amiga Real Soon Now (sorry, > not even I know the exact release date). > > For interested parties, we've been having a minor argument about how > to do 3D over in comp.graphics.... Thanks for the info Leo, I'll take a look in comp.graphics, and I'm looking forward to seeing what you're working on. If you don't post a message here when your experimenter's kit is ready, could you send me e-mail? -- Blaine Gardner @ Evans & Sutherland 540 Arapeen Drive, SLC, Utah 84108 UUCP Addresses: {ihnp4,ucbvax,allegra,decvax}!decwrl!esunix!blgardne ihnp4!utah-cs!esunix!blgardne usna!esunix!blgardne "Nobody will ever need more than 64K." "Nobody needs multitasking on a PC."
blgardne@esunix.UUCP (Blaine Gardner) (01/28/88)
in article <2413@crash.cts.com>, haitex@pnet01.cts.com (Wade Bickel) says: > This is what I'm working on. We'll have the glasses and some software > RSN. This will include at least one game, one serious scientific app., and > what I hope will be a proof of the value of Multi-Tasking (Yeah!). > No CAD/CAM work is going on, that I know of. I would be real > interested in supporting anyones legitimate effort to create such (ie: send > them glasses, interface, and 3-D development environment. Finanicial > arrangements might also be possible???). > I really like the design of the glasses we'll be selling. Hey, wow! Two people working on 3D systems. Looks like great minds do think alike. Not just 3D imaging available for the Amiga, but competition in the field already! (Unless Leo and Wade happen to be working on the same project?) Well, keep us posted, I'd like to see the occasional rumor/status report on how this stuff is coming along. Um, just thought of something. If we do have two seperate 3D efforts going on here, is it time to hammer out a stereo-image IFF spec? What about hardware/software compatibility? -- Blaine Gardner @ Evans & Sutherland 540 Arapeen Drive, SLC, Utah 84108 UUCP Addresses: {ihnp4,ucbvax,allegra,decvax}!decwrl!esunix!blgardne ihnp4!utah-cs!esunix!blgardne usna!esunix!blgardne "Nobody will ever need more than 64K." "Nobody needs multitasking on a PC."
cjp@antique.UUCP (Charles Poirier) (01/28/88)
In article <4499@ecsvax.UUCP> ruslan@ecsvax.UUCP (Robin C. LaPasha) writes: >The stereo imaging projects by Leo and others sound great. >One question: will you be able to use two or more sets of >(Sega or other brand) glasses simultaneously? I experimented with the 3D-breakout game that uses red-blue filters. The same effect would occur with Sega-style full color glasses, it being a geometric effect. The basic problem is that when you move your head to the right, the back of the perceived scene slews over to the left. To get two people side by side, they'd each have to put up with a rather distorted view. Or perhaps one person slouches down and the other looks over the first's shoulder, since there is no equivalent vertical distortion. Or I guess you could use two monitors. Perhaps one could get side-by-side support for 3D by using 4 interleaved views instead of 2. Each pair of glasses would be synched to one stereo pair, and would blank out entirely for the other person's view. You could then tell the program the off-center angle for each viewer, and it could generate views with no perceived distortion. This might cause a lot of flicker though. -- Charles Poirier (decvax,ihnp4,attmail)!vax135!cjp "Docking complete... Docking complete... Docking complete..."
haitex@pnet01.cts.com (Wade Bickel) (01/28/88)
The glasses we (Haitex) are bringing to market include glasses
and an interface which is plugged into the Joystick port. Unless the
guy doing our hardware has changed the design since two weeks ago (unlikely)
the interface will support two pairs of glasses, which we will market
independantly, when the second batch are shipped.
As far as implementing 3-D goes, I have some code which we give to
developers (and which will be available to the public once it's tested
amounst a controlled group) to ease the job. None-the-less, some applications
require extesive understanding of trig and basic algebra. Others are quite
easy.
Some drawbacks:
1) I work in (Benchmark) Modula-2, so if you don't you'll need
to do some translation.
2) My code does not use intuition (for speed reasons).
3) My code does not support mult-tasking (as far as I can tell,
this would require an O.S. change, though I have one re-
maining possible kludge fix????). Sorry.
We are activelly seeking 3-D applications and supporting the
integration of 3-D support into existing products. If anyone has any intrest
in doing any 3-D programs please get in touch with me. We would like to
support some shareware/freeware app.s if possible.
Thanks,
Wade.
UUCP: {cbosgd, hplabs!hp-sdd, sdcsvax, nosc}!crash!pnet01!haitex
ARPA: crash!pnet01!haitex@nosc.mil
INET: haitex@pnet01.CTS.COMcosell@cosell.bbn.com (Bernie Cosell) (01/29/88)
In article <2046@antique.UUCP> cjp@vax135.UUCP (Charles Poirier) writes: > >I experimented with the 3D-breakout game that uses red-blue filters. >The same effect would occur with Sega-style full color glasses, it >being a geometric effect. The basic problem is that when you move your >head to the right, the back of the perceived scene slews over to the >left. We didn't notice this effect, but we DID notice that the game was essentially impossible. There have been half-a-dozen or more of us who've tried it on my Amiga and *NO*ONE* can track the @#$^%@#$%^ ball in 3D. The room looks really great. The paddle is not too bad. But no way on the ball. I sure hope that it is not inherent in trying to do moving 3D images. __ / ) Bernie Cosell /--< _ __ __ o _ BBN Labs, Cambridge, MA 02238 /___/_(<_/ (_/) )_(_(<_ cosell@bbn.com