Freescale Semiconductor Inc. to unveil 3-D glasses

Freescale Semiconductor Freescale's RealD 3-D glasses are expected to cost about $100 for a set of two.

Freescale Semiconductor Inc. today will unveil new technology that allows viewers to watch 3-D television in their homes using specially designed wireless glasses expected to cost about $100 for a set of two.

The technology that allows the glasses and remote control to communicate with the television was developed and is being marketed at Freescale's Chandler and Tempe facilities.

The company will announce a partnership today with RealD Inc., which licenses 3-D technologies and offers the most widely used 3-D technology in movie theaters, at the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Hosted by the Consumer Electronics Association, more than 120,000 people are expected to attend the four-day event.

TV and game manufacturers could be shipping products using the technology within the next six months, said Glen Burchers, Freescale director of global consumer segment marketing.

"Some people are projecting that games are going to be what really drive the sales of this," he said. "I know Hollywood would not continue to make 3-D movies unless people were enjoying them and paying for them."

While there are no 3-D sports films yet, sports were the first to embrace HD technology so the potential for filming live sporting events in 3-D also exists, he said.

Freescale chips in RealD's glasses communicate with the TV and remote through radio communication called ZigBee RF4CE. Burchers said the company had a couple of customers interested in the technology, but no products had been shipped yet.

The lenses of the glasses turn off and on alternately without the viewer noticing and give a clearer, cleaner picture than the "passive glasses" used in movie theaters today.

Many of the consumer 3-D products shipping today rely on older infrared technology, which can be limited by line of sight and can suffer interference from household lights. Freescale says its technology enables devices to operate from longer distances and removes vision barriers.

Jim McGregor, chief technology strategist at Scottsdale-based In-Stat, called Freescale's technology viable for the time being.

"Obviously we're stuck with the glasses environment for the next couple of years until autostereoscopic technology comes down in price," he said.

Autostereoscopy does not require the viewer to wear glasses to see 3-D.

"The first place you're going to see that technology realistically is going to be in mobile devices," McGregor said. "Right now . . . it's really only good for about one user to be able to view it."

Freescale's technology will be a bridge to expensive big-screen TVs equipped with 3-D technology that won't require headwear, he said.

Burchers said creating a 3-D haven in the home would be fairly expensive.

"Most of today's high-end TVs will support 3-D and then you simply need a 3-D DVD player, which you can get for as little as $250," he said. "And then the glasses. The estimates are they'll be coming out at ($100 for a pair). So, you get a new TV and for another $300 or $350 you can be watching 3-D."

MORE ON THIS TOPIC

Some Arizona firms attending CES

- Freescale Semiconductor Inc. based in Austin, Texas. The company, which has operations in Chandler and Tempe, announced there are 13 computer tablets for sale that feature its microprocessor technology. The tablets feature power management chips and sensors designed and manufactured in the metro area. The company says its technology will be inside 10 more tablets expected to be produced in roughly a month.

- iGo Inc. in Scottsdale said it will expand its portfolio of mobile accessories, including a light slim pocket projector capable of projecting videos from a Flip video camera, smartphone or other device; a compact USB charger for mini- and micro-USB or Apple devices; noise canceling headphones; sound disks that fit inside knit caps with a built-in microphone for smartphones.

- HPL LLC in Gilbert will be offering drying agents for electronics, including cellphones. The product is called Dry-ALL.

- IQ Smart Solutions will debut a mount to put an iPad on the car seat head rest so children or others in the back seat can watch shows or movies. The company also offers cellular-phone mounts for vehicles.

- Taser International Inc. in Scottsdale, known for its stun guns, said its Protector Safe Driver system for distracted driving will be available for sale for the first time at the CES. The device uses a base unit in the car, a handset application on the phone and software to lock down the smartphones of teenagers or others so they can't talk, text, e-mail or Web surf while driving. It costs $249.95 and there is a monthly subscription.

by John Yantis The Arizona Republic Jan. 6, 2011 12:00 AM




Freescale Semiconductor Inc. to unveil 3-D glasses

Star Wars-like holograms may beam your way soon

Ever since Princess Leia appeared as a video hologram in "Star Wars," pleading for help from Obi-Wan Kenobi, scientists have been pondering how to make the technology real.

See the new hologram technology

But they have been hampered by the difficulties of re-creating a lifelike, fast-moving image, including the need for better laser technology and an approach that required less computer power.

Now, a science team led by the University of Arizona has made a breakthrough with a 3-D holographic system that creates moving images in near real-time without the need for special glasses. The technology, featured today on the cover of Nature, is a step closer to being able to videoconference in 3-D holograms some day.

"It's no longer science fiction," said Nasser Peyghambarian, the study's co-author and an optical-sciences professor at UA.

The three-dimensional video holograms take a person or an object in one location and transport the image to another location. On one end, 16 cameras take pictures from multiple angles, then the images are sent over the Internet. On the other end, the images are fitted together using a computer program. Then, a unique plastic screen refracts light from lasers to reproduce the image.

Several people were used to test the images in the lab, including Pierre-Alexandre Blanche, a UA research assistant professor and the study's lead author.

"Usually, science is not that much fun. You collect data," he said. "But here, it's very visual. I can talk to my friends, who are not scientists, and they know what I'm doing."

Holograms projecting a 3-D stationary image have been around for years. In the past two decades, scientists have been making gradual progress in creating video holograms.

Video holograms are especially striking because, depending on where you look or stand, the perspectives created are close to what you see in your natural surroundings.

The technology has many practical applications. You could give a business presentation from Arizona and have your 3-D image broadcast to colleagues in another city. A college professor could teach a class while "standing" in your living room. Advertisers could project the 3-D image of a car or a sharply dressed model in the middle of a mall. People who view the image could move around and see different sides of the person or object.

Scientists say it will likely be at least seven to 10 years before the technology is available to the public.

Right now, the images aren't projected fast enough to be displayed continuously, as was the case in Princess Leia's plea for help in the 1977 movie. In 2008, UA succeeded in increasing the speed with which the image is updated to every four to five minutes. Now, with improvements in lasers and plastic material, the image is updated every two seconds.

Researchers are working to increase this to 30 frames per second. The maximum size is a 17-inch screen. Researchers want a larger display of 6 to 8 feet so humans could be projected as their actual size. Those details are expected to take another couple of years to work out.

Ultimately, "I don't think there's any fundamental physics that would prevent us from getting there," said Peyghambarian, whose research is funded in part by the National Science Foundation.




by Anne Ryman The Arizona Republic Nov. 4, 2010 12:00 AM




Star Wars-like holograms may beam your way soon

Sony at work on 3-D TV that won't require glasses

TOKYO - Sony Corp. is working on 3-D televisions that don't need special glasses, joining a race with rival Toshiba Corp., but sees cost and technological hurdles to overcome before they can go on sale.

Toshiba said this week it is working on glasses-free 3-D TVs, although no decision had been made on when they will go on sale.

Mainstream 3-D TVs now on sale, such as those from Panasonic Corp. and Sony Corp., require glasses. But there are already screens that don't require glasses, mainly intended for store displays. They require the viewer to stand in specific spots for the 3-D effect to emerge, and the image quality is much lower than that of screens using glasses.

"Seeing 3-D without glasses is more convenient," Sony Senior Vice President Yoshihisa Ishida said Thursday at Tokyo headquarters. "We must take account of pricing before we can think about when to start offering them."

Sony showed its latest 3-D products for the Japanese market, including flat-panel TVs and Blu-ray recorders.

Sony said it plans to be No. 1 in market share in Japan in 3-D TVs and 3-D players and recorders, taking advantage of its position as an electronics maker with a movie studio.






by Associated Press Aug. 27, 2010 12:00 AM



Sony at work on 3-D TV that won't require glasses

The $100 BankNote

Welcome to The $100 BankNote, an electronic newsletter provided by the U.S. government to help businesses and organizations around the world prepare for the redesigned $100 note's introduction on February 10, 2011.

U.S. Government Prepares Global Public for New $100 Note

A new $100 note will begin circulating on February 10, 2011. To ensure that the people who rely on the $100 note know how to use the security features in the new design, the U.S. government has launched a global public education program.

Read more »

The $100 BankNote

Phoenix's CityScape uses new building program

by Austen Sherman The Arizona Republic July 8, 2010 12:00 AM


Jack Kurtz/The Arizona Republic - Ondrei Poliak of Hunt Construction holds a building-information modeling field tracker. The tablet shows a 3-D model of the building that streamlines construction and facility management. Phoenix's CityScape is the first in North America to use this technology


An innovative software program is helping the developers of downtown Phoenix's CityScape know the building inside and out - without having to peer into every nook and cranny of the sprawling project.

The software allows programmers to create 3-D models of a building before construction and incorporates all construction information and documentation. The program not only assists in spotting construction issues but ultimately is expected to mean smoother building management and maintenance, according to CityScape project managers.

CityScape is the first project in North America to use the building-information modeling software.

Hunt Construction Group, based in Scottsdale, teamed with Artra Inc., the software's creator. Artra Inc. is a part of AEC Design Group based in Gathersburg, Md.

The software enables Hunt to virtually navigate through the buildings and find potential mistakes in the construction beforehand.

"It's like being in a video game. You can navigate through it like a flight simulator," said Ondrei Poliak, national director of building-information modeling technologies for Hunt.

The Artra software interfaces with a platform known as NavisWorks, which also provides a virtual model. What makes Artra unique is the depth of the software. After all the mechanical, electrical, plumbing and construction information is used to create the model, all the associated documentation is attached, along with a construction schedule.

While searching through the construction model, a user can select a part and find its serial number, manufacturer and warranty information. Having all the information in place enables the process of construction, and facility management after completion, to be streamlined onto one disc, eliminating the need for stacks of drawings and documentation.

"We have developed CityScape with a focus on being the highest quality in the marketplace today. While we did not require Artra, its use is consistent with the standards we have set for the project," said Jeff Moloznik, the project manager for CityScape and RED Development LLC.

Artra also has created a handheld module known as a field tracker. This device allows workers to create "punch lists" as they inspect buildings, looking for any defects or broken fixtures. With the field tracker, a photograph of the problem can be taken and recorded with the documentation. When the device is loaded back on the docking station, it syncs that information to the software so the necessary individuals are notified and the proper action is taken to resolve the issue.

After the building is handed over to its tenants, the field trackers can be used by facility-management staff.

"Things fail over time," Poliak said. "They will need to be able to reference the documentation, and Artra embeds all of that digitally."

Hunt chose to use CityScape to launch its work with Artra because of the type of building. Hunt is only responsible for the retail and office-space tower currently being constructed in Phase 1. He said this particular building is a "core and shell" project, which makes it simpler to test the software for the first time.

"We wanted to poke holes in the software and resolve them with the Artra staff," Poliak said. "This is a good test bed to load up data and see what it can do."

Moloznik said Hunt also will use Artra during the construction of the Kimpton Palomar Hotel in CityScape's Phase 2.

"The timing was right to use this technology. Its use compliments and enhances the vision of the project in ways that serve the users, but is invisible to them," he said.

Steve Dales, director of U.S. business development for Artra Inc. and the creator of NavisWorks, said working with Hunt has been terrific.

"They saw the light. There are very good people in Hunt who are very forward-thinking," Dales said.

Artra has been used in construction in the United Kingdom since about 2002.

Dales said about 15 projects in the U.S. are currently looking to use Artra, and the company is serious about the marketplace in the States, having already invested $2 million in marketing.

"With this software, we will revolutionize the way the construction industry works," Dales said.



Phoenix's CityScape uses new building program

Playboy's 3D centerfold and other dubious magazine gimmicks - The Week

Battery-powered covers? Holographic windmills? Playboy isn't the only publication trying to inflate readership with marketing tricks

posted on May 14, 2010, at 6:38 PM

Playboy's June centerfold: Almost real-life! Photo: Getty

With its June issue, Playboy thinks it's concocted an idiot-proof way to boost its sagging sales: A 3-D version of Playmate of the Year, Hope Dworaczyk. (Yes, special glasses are required.) "Today's print environment," says Playboy editorial director Jimmy Jellinek, requires that you "create newsstand events." (Watch an AP report about Playboy's "3D centerfold" gimmick.) But the 57-year-old magazine, which has lost over half its circulation since 2006, is not the only publication that's tried to pop out at the newsstands as digital media has overshadowed print. Here's a look at four of the more desperate cover stunts in recent history:

Esquire's E-ink experiment
October 2008
Harnessing the same technology used in the Amazon Kindle e-reader, Esquire created the first-ever e-ink magazine cover for its 75th anniversary issue. Powered by a special mini-battery (that died after 90 days), the flashy cover blinkily declared, "The 21st Century begins now." While Esquire editor David Granger said he hoped the issue would be put "in the Smithsonian," the cover faced a barrage of bad reviews. Particularly damning: Esquire's "little experiment," said Anya Kamenetz in Fast Company, had a carbon footprint 16 percent greater than a typical print publication.

Rolling Stone's historic 3-D cover
May 2006
For its 1,000th issue and 40th Anniversary, Rolling Stone created a holographic, 3-D cover, allegedly the first in magazine history. Though the cover, a collage image of 100 cultural figures the editors judged "most influential" since its 1967 launch, reportedly cost nearly $1 million, the investment apparently paid off. The issue sold out at many newstands, reported Jack Shafer in Slate. "Nobody in magazine publishing will say no to anniversary issues until readers do," Shafer said at the time, and "I don't think that day has arrived."

Popular Science's boggling "augmented reality" cover
July, 2009
For its "Future of Energy" issue, Popular Science embedded an "augmented reality" module on its cover. The idea was that a reader would hold the cover upright in front of his computer's webcam, triggering the computer's monitor to display a "3-D" image of spinning windmill blades. "The investment was significant," said PopSci Media group publisher Gregg Hano. But "we felt the technology would be well-received by our readers. It is certainly something that we plan to utilize again." They haven't used it since.

Playboy's daring Marge Simpson expose
November, 2009
Playboy attracted a swarm of media attention when it showcased a "nude" Marge Simpson — the first cartoon character to land the coveted spot. Playboy CEO Scott Flanders (no relation to Ned) said the cover would help the publication reach a younger audience. "We thought it would be hip, cool and unusual," he told the Chicago Sun-Times. But "objectifying" the blue, beehived mother of three struck Gawker as "creepily fanboyish." Still, fortunes may be looking up for Playboy: After cutting its frequency, the magazine is back to publishing 12 issues a year, reports Folio.



Playboy's 3D centerfold and other dubious magazine gimmicks - The Week

The $100 Bill Gets a Makeover - Bucks Blog - NYTimes.com

By JENNIFER SARANOW SCHULTZ The New York Times April 21, 2010

Officials from the government unveiled a new $100 bill look Wednesday.

The $100 bill has gotten a new look intended to thwart counterfeiters.

Officials from the Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve board and the United States Secret Service unveiled the new design Wednesday. The government had announced it last month.

While the bill retains the security features found on the previous design, the new design also has a couple of new features. Among them, a blue “3-D Security Ribbon” contains images of bells and 100s that move and change as you tilt the note. Meanwhile, the “Bell in the Inkwell” on the front of the note changes color from copper to green when the note is tilted.

According to the government, the $100 note is the most widely circulated and most often counterfeited denomination outside the United States. “This note incorporates the best technology available to ensure we’re staying ahead of counterfeiters,” Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said in a statement.

The reaction online so far has been positive from bloggers at sites like creditcardoutlaw.com and Bargaineering.com.

What do you think of the new design? You can learn more about it here.

The $100 Bill Gets a Makeover - Bucks Blog - NYTimes.com