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Displays Hardware

3D Animations In Mid-Air Using Plasma Balls 234

Posted by kdawson from the what's-that-crackling-sound dept.
An anonymous reader clues us to research at Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology that has produced the ability to make animations by creating small plasma balls in mid-air. The technology doesn't use vapor or strange gases, just lasers to heat up oxygen and nitrogen molecules above the device: up to 1,000 brilliant dots per second, which makes smooth motion possible. When the tech improves it could be used for street signs or advertising.
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3D Animations In Mid-Air Using Plasma Balls More

3D Animations In Mid-Air Using Plasma Balls

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  • Oblig... (Score:5, Funny)

    by band-aid-brand ( 1068196 ) on Wednesday August 15, 2007 @02:39PM (#20239713)
    I, for one, welcome our new lethally hot gas based advertisement overlords...

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by niceone ( 992278 ) *
      Can we get sharks out of the way too?

      • Sharks? No. Mosquitos? YES! (Score:5, Interesting)

        by Cpt_Kirks ( 37296 ) on Wednesday August 15, 2007 @03:45PM (#20240577)
        Growing up in a mosquito infested area, I often thought that someday, an anti-mosquito laser system could be developed.

        This technology could possibly do that. If it can focus a laser on a particular spot long enough to make plasma out of air, it can zap a skeeter!

        And you thought a bug-zapper was entertaining...

        • So something like mosquito point defense? I love it.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Rich0 ( 548339 )
          Actually, all it needs to do is create a glowing plasma ball out of reach and leave it there. It would be a built-in bug zapper as it attracts the bugs and zaps them both in a single package. No need to try to track and shoot the things...

          • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

            by Anonymous Coward

            No need to try to track and shoot the things...

            If we don't actively track and kill mosquitoes with laser beams, then the terrorists have won

        • Re:Sharks? No. Mosquitos? YES! (Score:5, Funny)

          by Bluesman ( 104513 ) on Wednesday August 15, 2007 @07:06PM (#20242781) Homepage
          I like the way you think.

          But what we really need is a way to control mosquitos so that they can swarm to form advertisements. Then we'd get the laser bug zapper for free.

        • Growing up in a mosquito infested area, I often thought that someday, an anti-mosquito laser system could be developed.
          Why don't you make one? Here's [slashdot.org] a starting point. You'd be in the perfect place to do some field tests!

          Put me down for a back-order, I'll buy one.

        • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

          by fractoid ( 1076465 )
          I always wanted to make one of these! Passive sonar to locate the bug, and then a laser tracking system to set the little bugger on fire. :) Never got past the safety aspect though - I mean, we're talking about using a laser strong enough to punch a hole in a mozzie, being aimed around the room and fired by a system that could well just decide based on a strange echo to pop you in the eye. I'll take itchy over permanent blindness, tyvm. :/

          Other ideas were the same tracking system attached to a nerf gun, a

  • pink tentacle? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 15, 2007 @02:39PM (#20239715)
    I'm not clicking that link.
  • Till the new nike or coke ad hits a planes and lights it on fire!

  • cool but Yikes! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Lumpy ( 12016 ) on Wednesday August 15, 2007 @02:41PM (#20239749) Homepage
    It uses high power lasers to heat the air into a "plasma" when running it has the sounds of crackles as mini explosions occur.

    Oh yeah, that's a display I want. Instead of the cat blocking the screen, the cat bursts into flames. How the heck am I going to explain that one to the wife?

  • "Street signs or advertising" (Score:5, Insightful)

    by smclean ( 521851 ) on Wednesday August 15, 2007 @02:42PM (#20239775) Homepage

    Hah, who sees an amazing technology like this and immediately begins thinking about its potential use for advertising? To me, its use in advertising seems like the only downside to this technology..

    "Guys!! I just heard that they came up with a way to project images directly in to your brain! Awesome, think of the *commercials*!! "

    • Re:"Street signs or advertising" (Score:5, Funny)

      by HTH NE1 ( 675604 ) on Wednesday August 15, 2007 @03:24PM (#20240281)

      "Guys!! I just heard that they came up with a way to project images directly in to your brain! Awesome, think of the *commercials*!! "
      But not in our dreams. Only on TV and radio, and in magazines, and movies, and at ball games... and on buses and milk cartons and T-shirts, and bananas and written on the sky. But not in dreams, no siree.

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by Rob T Firefly ( 844560 )
      I for one can't wait until this hits advertising. The prospect of insanely expensive, bleeding-edge display tech that even my social conscience thinks I should steal excites me greatly.

  • What the hell? (Score:4, Funny)

    by east coast ( 590680 ) on Wednesday August 15, 2007 @02:43PM (#20239801)
    While it's at least mildly interesting I had a real problem with one of the linked sources. Not the linked source itself but the obviously photoshopped cruise liner [burton-jp.com].

    What the hell is that all about? I know that it may be able to swing this in the future but let's not get out of hand. Not to mention that my 12 year old nephew is a better photoshop hacker.

    • Re:What the hell? (Score:4, Funny)

      by MajinBlayze ( 942250 ) on Wednesday August 15, 2007 @03:35PM (#20240429)
      Photoshop? Don't give them that much credit; it looks like they made the picture using MS Word

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by pimpimpim ( 811140 )
      Simple psychology: by showing that they are crap in photoshopping, you are more inclined to believe the other other pics that don't look photoshopped will probably be real. Do we need to explain everything out here! ;)
      • I know! Can't you see the look of surprise on that kid's face?

        I've more or less given up on attempting to understand Japan...

  • Star Wars (Score:5, Funny)

    by JoeDuncan ( 874519 ) on Wednesday August 15, 2007 @02:47PM (#20239831)
    So am I finally going to be able to play holo-chess against a wookie?

  • Back to the Future then? (Score:3, Funny)

    by roman_mir ( 125474 ) on Wednesday August 15, 2007 @02:47PM (#20239849) Homepage Journal
    So a giant holo-shark appearing in the air abouve you and then twisting above you and closing its jaws right on you can be created in the air with lasers? I need a Delorean and a 1955 sports almanac. Also I am going to a corner drug store to get some plutonium unless Mr. Fusion is in business already.

  • Street signs and advertising? I THINK NOT! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by alta ( 1263 ) on Wednesday August 15, 2007 @02:47PM (#20239853) Homepage Journal
    Forget it, that's not the early adopters.

    It'll be used for video games and pr0n. We all know who gets tech first. The problem I see is that it heats up they air to the point that when you get too excited and attempt to touch... You loose a hand or other appendage.
  • Sadly, the article doesn't say much about the technology of the device. Can the size of the balls of light be changed? Will colored images ever be a reality - might it be possible using a sealed chamber and changing the composition of the gas? What are the ratings of the laser diodes used in this? Would it be possible to use a laser diode from a DVD burner to construct a homebrew version of this?

    For now, it remains a nifty demonstration, and nothing more.
    • The color of the balls is the spectrum of the air plasma at the very hot temperatures that are produced by the laser. Unfortunately, this is a very rich spectrum across the entire visible range in these kind of plasmas, which would make it basically impossible to make any other color than white. You could conceivably make other colors by changing the gas to something other than air (which is primarily an oxygen/nitrogen mix), but then you aren't projecting them into the air anymore. Also you couldn't make e
      • On the issue of whether you could make something like this with a DVD laser diode, forget about it. The power levels required of lasers to cause electric breakdown (plasma formation) in air are extremely high. Laser diodes are typically limited to a few hundred milliwatts, whereas lasers that are powerful enough to create plasma spots in air are in the megawatt range. They are pulsed so they don't output this power continuously, but still way beyond what laser diodes can achieve.

  • Lightsaber anyone? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Thansal ( 999464 ) on Wednesday August 15, 2007 @02:53PM (#20239915)
    Make me a portable version of this and I can finally have my friken LIGHTSABER!
    • Now that I think of it, ions carry electrical charge, and can be used as a "wire".

      If you could ionize a short beag, and then hook a stun gun on it, you'd ionize and electrify the beam in that it would probably knock them out.

      It would probably take a few thermocouples with a radioactive battery.

  • Polluting? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Lazarian ( 906722 ) on Wednesday August 15, 2007 @03:00PM (#20239995)
    Wouldn't heating oxygen and nitrogen in air with lasers to the point of making glowing plasma also create ozone and nitric oxides? This sounds like it would be the same as having dozens of electric arcs going off in mid air.

    As much as I like the idea of being assailed with even more ads everywhere I look, this seems to be a very environmentally harmful idea. Along with harmful gases being produced by plasma discharges, it would be noisy as well, not to mention that displays like this would give off UV light as well, just like an electric arc. Bad idea.

    • Re:Polluting? (Score:4, Insightful)

      by mikael ( 484 ) on Wednesday August 15, 2007 @03:15PM (#20240163)
      As long as they put the device in a sealed box, this would not be a problem. Maybe they could use neon/argon gas as they do with ordinary tubes, thus eliminating the danger of creating oxides.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by joggle ( 594025 )
        They would then need a way of dissipating the heat. If this is in an outdoor, hot environment this may be difficult to do cost-effectively.

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by P3NIS_CLEAVER ( 860022 )
      Lightning from thunderstorms do this on a grand scale every day. Probably won't be an issue outdoors, or in a confined area with ventilation.

    • Re:Polluting? (Score:5, Funny)

      by StikyPad ( 445176 ) on Wednesday August 15, 2007 @04:11PM (#20240891) Homepage
      That's why I'm working on my Laser Retinal Projector (patent pending) which aims the lasers directly at the retina. Since the eye is sealed system, there's virtually no danger of toxic gases! What's more, it offers a high degree of privacy, and if you're forgetful it can literally etch the images into your mind for life.*

      *Limit of one etch per mind.

      WARNING: Looking directly at the Laser Retinal Projector may cause minor explosions of the eye.

    • Wouldn't heating oxygen and nitrogen in air with lasers to the point of making glowing plasma also create ozone and nitric oxides? This sounds like it would be the same as having dozens of electric arcs going off in mid air.

      Boy that almost sounds as bad as generating ions just for dubious air purification [sharperimage.com] purposes. Or using nitrogen oxide as a aerosol propellant or packing gas [wikipedia.org].

      Really, crying wolf every time someone invents something hurts the cause of environmentalism.

      • There are several forms of nitrogen oxides. Nitrous oxide is the one used for an anesthetic and foaming agent. Nitric oxides are formed from electric discharges along with ozone and are generally considered harmful when inhaled even in low concentrations. Those produced by lightning gets diluted by vast amounts of air, and eventually nitric oxides are converted to nitric acid when exposed to water and is beneficial to plants when precipitated by rain. In an urban environment these same substances can build
    • Is ozone really that much of a problem? I was under the impression it was pretty much inert... never mind that there are still places (especially down around Australia IIRC) where the ozone layer is really thin.

      The UV seems a more likely problem. The only practical solution I can see for the at is a have a glass or plastic barrier between the viewers and the display (might be necessary anyway, since you obviously wouldn't want to touch this display even accidentally) that can block the dangerous frequencies
  • I was wondering when Stephen Baxter's tech for those Xeelee books was going to get here.

    as an aside, I love his stuff. no one ends a universe quite like him.
  • It was impressively loud and bright when running. For some reason they couldnt run it continuously but turned it one for a few minutes every half hour.

  • Very cool, but not likely to be used... (Score:5, Informative)

    by Darlok ( 131116 ) on Wednesday August 15, 2007 @03:13PM (#20240149)
    Well, first, this is sadly old news. The technology was actually exhibited at SIGGRAPH 2006 [siggraph.org] in Boston last July. It's pretty cool, but I'm not sure it would ever be put to practical use, at least in its current form.

    For one thing, it's loud! Every plasma ball makes a sizzling pop as it winks in and out of existence. Now magnify that by thousands of times as it scans out a 3D wireframe... the entire area for quite a distance surrounding fills with an ear-splitting sound of angry electric bees. There was talk of putting it on buildings to run electronic billboards in cities, but anyone within a few blocks would need ear protection to co-exist with it!

    Very cool stuff, but we're a loooong way from 3D open-air advertising.

  • Some video (Score:5, Informative)

    by desideria ( 140436 ) on Wednesday August 15, 2007 @03:20PM (#20240229)
    There's video of the projector in action here [youtube.com]

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Trogre ( 513942 )
      Which leads to this [youtube.com] much more impressive (and probably fake) one. Does anyone know the story behind these guys?

  • YouTube video... (Score:5, Informative)

    by CyberSnyder ( 8122 ) on Wednesday August 15, 2007 @03:21PM (#20240249)
    http://youtube.com/watch?v=He2QTpelAjE [youtube.com]

  • If I'm not mistaken... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by thatskinnyguy ( 1129515 ) on Wednesday August 15, 2007 @03:24PM (#20240277)
    ...plasma balls in mid-air is one of the things needed for a fusion reactor.
    • I guess my regular balls are getting less valuable by the second!

    • That's true (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Poromenos1 ( 830658 ) on Wednesday August 15, 2007 @07:11PM (#20242827) Homepage
      And space is one of the things needed for a space elevator!
    • True, but generating plasma with lasers isn't the problem. For one thing, these lasers wouldn't produce anywhere near enough heat/pressure (yes, pressure, as in essentially massless photons pushing atoms around) for fusion, and for another just initiating fusion doesn't make it self-sustaining. It needs to have new fuel (typically hydrogen isotopes or He3) introduced, and waste products (typically He4) removed eventually. Since the startup lasers draw a great deal of power, you don't want to run them any mo

  • Unintended side effects (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Caerdwyn ( 829058 ) on Wednesday August 15, 2007 @03:29PM (#20240347) Journal
    Interesting stuff. However, I'd be concerned about unintended side effects... specifically, nitrous oxide and ozone.

    When you heat up an oxygen-nitrogen gas mix to those temperatures, you will get nitrous oxide and ozone. This is not just a problem with cool little sparky devices. Hydrogen-oxygen fuel systems (think: Saturn V) may produce only water vapor, but at such a high temperature from the exhaust, the oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere does its thing and... nothing you'd want to breathe.

    And ozone, while very nice for blocking UV rays, is a carcinogen when inhaled.

    THE WORLD WILL KILL YOU! film at eleven, Jim Cummings narration.

    That being said, I'd certainly love to see a demo. If they can somehow deal with the ozone/NO2 hazard, this could be a blast. "Help me, Obi-Wan, you're my only hope"

  • Plasma displays?

    This is very, very cool.

    And I see it ending very, very badly, for some new Darwin Award recipient.

  • Attracting lightening (Score:2, Informative)

    by Iowan41 ( 1139959 )
    Yeah, let's ionize the air in a column!
  • As Bela Lugosi said in Ed Wood:

    I'm not going near that goddamn thing!

  • up to 1,000 brilliant dots per second (Score:4, Funny)

    by noidentity ( 188756 ) on Wednesday August 15, 2007 @04:03PM (#20240777)
    Come on, 640 brilliant dots per second should be enough for anybody!
  • This is something that I thought about over the years: how to get a focal plane of sorts to exist in 3D. It seems that the obvious answer was to focus lasers on points in a gas filled volume of space. I'm pretty sure that this will, in ten or so years, finally give us working holographic displays. At the moment, I must assume that the power consumption must be very high in order to ionise the gas. Perhaps placing this system in a glass box with gasses that are more easily ionised might be cheaper? I also wo

  • here's a youtube video of it in action (Score:3, Informative)

    by jollyreaper ( 513215 ) on Wednesday August 15, 2007 @04:20PM (#20240999)
    http://youtube.com/watch?v=He2QTpelAjE [youtube.com]

    Kind of hard to see what they're doing at first, you might think it's just projected onto the wall, but then the camera pans around and you now see the lights against an open window. Yup, 3D. About at the level of pong right now, monochromatic voxels doing simple stuff, but you can easily extrapolate where they're going to go with it. Return of the Jedi Death Star display within 10 years? I think so. :)

  • wow! (Score:2)

    by toQDuj ( 806112 )
    That is fucking COOL!

    I never thought I'd see the light of day that we get "holographic" displays. Of course, this is not holographic, but it's everything the movies portrayed as an imaging device of the future.

    Let's hope this develops into something with high resolution, colour and a little less noise :). Although I think the latter will be challenging.

    B.
  • I think I saw this demonstrated at SIGGRAPH 2006. If it wasn't specifically this, it was another, virtually identical device. I know this is first-gen, but I don't yet think it's cut out for advertising. The resolution of the device I saw was extremely low, but I presume that will improve; what's more striking is that it was horribly noisy. When operating, it produced continuous arcing, cracking and buzzing noises... a sound somewhere between the noise of a vibrating metal tray full of ball bearings and a

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