Details->

Goal and Features of Infinite-3D
(sorted by importance, low to high)

• Supporting current 2D software:
  • Capture application 2D updates into textures for 3D display
  • User input in 3D send back to 2D applications.
  • Basic manipulations like move, rotation and resize in 3D environment.
  • Visual enhancements such as lighting, shadowing, deforming.

• More possibilities for hardware:
  • Infinite3D also demand new graphics card to have more advanced features such as texture memory paging, and protected mode.
     
  • Input hardware such as 'glove', head/eye tracker, etc.

   

• New metaphors:

  • The set of new metaphors featured:

    better cognitive, better grouping and sorting of information, better direction of information...
    They are different than most of current attempt for 3D metaphors, which are only intuitive mimic of real world objects.
    Many of the real world objects are created to aid human brain processing underline information. There is no need to mimic real world objects again. The new metaphors are aimed to directly aid the human brain to process information.
     

• Virtual world for user and applications
  • Application runs in 3D space
  • Applications can run in same or different 'locales'. Locales are user configurable, user can create locales by grouping same type of task, tasks need extensive inter-application collaboration, or by tasks that mostly likely to run at same time.
  • Application projection: one or part of one application can project to more than one locales. Multi applications can projected into one 'projection wall' for more flexible and more closed collaboration.
  • One applications can be shared by multiple users.
     
• Providing framework for new 3D software:
  • 3D software are more dynamic and initiative, they push information to user, better attract user's focus, better feed back to user.
  • The interface can let software more directly communicate with users mental working process.
  • Deeper multi-user collaboration, 3D software can divide itself into multiple security domains, each to be shared by different users. The security of information flow is provided by the system.

   

• Unified Visualization and user interaction:
   - the separation of computation and visualization/user interaction.
  
  Currently, from PC to PDA, from CD player to watch, every device has to have it's own display and input hardware.  For example, Cell phone or PDA with small low res screen and small buttons. Each of your PC/Laptop has it's own monitor/LCD and keyboard. Small LCD display and control buttons on your CD player. Display on small devices add up the cost, and visibility of the small display is contradict with the goal of making these devices small. One monitor for every PC is waste of resource and $, since at one time you can only focus on one monitor.
   
  Infinite3D is multi-layered. Server can run on high performance computers and issue OpenGL rendering commands directly to video card and HMD, this is heavy server, thin client.
  3D application can also run on light device such as PDA, Cell-phone or even consumer electronics, and issue 3D GUI commands to a Infinite3D server which is run a PC or HMD with portable computer.
  
  HMD with portable computer running Infinite3D sever can remove the need for displayer and controller for each device. With Infinite3D carried on HMD, you can connect your HMD to one or all of those devices, see and control applications on all devices.
  
  The PDA is no longer a small screen showing simple 2D window, it will become large, 3D interface on high resolution HMD or PC screen. Watch, CD player can build with much simpler physical display/input, and have full featured, glorious view in Infinite-3D world.