Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
63,537
30,846


Macenstein points us to an interesting video which claims to create a "holographic" effect on the iPhone by performing real time adjustments to the image based on rotation:
The application works by assuming a constant viewing angle (35-45 degrees), typical for when the device is placed on a tabletop. The 3d scene’s perspective is warped using anamorphosis, the same technique used in Hans Holbein’s painting The Ambassadors. This application does the exact same but updates dynamically.
Our only confusion is its apparent ability to detect rotational information on what appears to be a flat surface. Of course, it's possible that the demo was performed on an angled surface.

See Video

Article Link
 

mingisback

macrumors regular
May 21, 2003
111
0
United States
Looks like a hoax to me.

-The iPhone can't sense rotation-

-Looked like that character is imposed on the screen-

-Fun AfterEffects project for some n00b-
 

KindredMAC

macrumors 6502a
Sep 23, 2003
975
218
It isn't that good of a fake job. It still looks like a cat walking in an LCD screen. I didn't get a sense of depth from the video at all.
 

zombitronic

macrumors 65816
Feb 9, 2007
1,127
39
That's a cool effect, but as people are saying, how does it sense rotation? The table would have to be at an angle for this to work at all. I suppose future versions of the iPhone could incorporate an advanced digital compass to help with this.
 

The Stig

macrumors 6502a
Nov 4, 2006
681
34
On the track
I want to believe... but the rotational makes it hard.

When you look at the part where you can see his face on the screen it looks like he behind the cat, and the white of the cat covers him.

So I'm going to call fake... but a nice one at that.

The Stig
 

Yuppi

Cancelled
Aug 6, 2007
197
0
Aehm, actually the rotation can be accomplished using the camera....
It kind of looks like it is scanning the background. But I don't know how much light would poke through. Maybe someone can try it. Laying the 3G phone flat on the surface and take a picture.
 

ariel

macrumors regular
Sep 15, 2003
149
8
i vote real

the guy seems to be real - as far as i can tell he's an artist who does videos with that cat... here's the page where he announced it on 8/8

http://www.davidoreilly.com/blog/2008/08/ihologram/

he invites iPhone programmers to help. I'm not one so i won't help, but maybe someone can contact him about it.

ETA: the thing that bothers me is the song... first, what is it? secondly, the cat walks in time with the song, is the song part of the application or is it playing in the background in the room while he's filming?
 

joshysquashy

macrumors 6502a
May 13, 2005
707
1
UK
the guy seems to be real - as far as i can tell he's an artist who does videos with that cat... here's the page where he announced it on 8/8

http://www.davidoreilly.com/blog/2008/08/ihologram/

he invites iPhone programmers to help. I'm not one so i won't help, but maybe someone can contact him about it.

ETA: the thing that bothers me is the song... first, what is it? secondly, the cat walks in time with the song, is the song part of the application or is it playing in the background in the room while he's filming?

The song is "Like A Pen" by The Knife (iTunes Link)

Looks cool, would install this on the iPhone, even as it currently exists - a demo app.
 

plinden

macrumors 601
Apr 8, 2004
4,029
142
Hmm, I played around with the accelerometer code a few weeks ago. I'm trying to remember if you could detect such rotation.

I'm going to do a bit of handwaving since I didn't play with it that much.

The UIAccelerometer code returns a value depending not only on the acceleration (ie. movement) but also the orientation of the iPhone, and in all three directions (not just detecting portrait/landscape mode). But leaving it flat on a table and rotating it won't change that underlying orientation information (I think), unless, as MacRumors said, it's on an angled surface.

However, you could detect the movement involved in the starting and stopping of the rotation (since it involves acceleration from and to rest). Perhaps it's doing that - but then you also need to accurately measure the speed of rotation to accurately shift the view.

It would be easier to work with a surface at a known non-zero angle.
 

zombitronic

macrumors 65816
Feb 9, 2007
1,127
39
There's a compass applications in the iTunes store and if that works, it should be possible to let the animated figure walk into specified direction, i.e. North.

Compass Application

There's no compass in the iPhone and that's not a "real" compass app. It's a static image and you use a stick and sunlight to determine your bearings.
 

SnowLeopard2008

macrumors 604
Jul 4, 2008
6,772
17
Silicon Valley
a compass is a device or mechanism that points north. the compass free app does point north, although a better version would use gps/wifi triangulation to simulate a compass needle that moves/ points north when launched. but the developer wanted something universal and simple. thus compass free app was born, no triangulation needed. just sunlight/shadow.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.