digital worlds:
i read something.
they were talking about the next evolution of television, but i think its use will reach far beyond the simple box. they mentioned the possibility of developing tv into a three dimensional medium. meaning the images we watch will have depth and perspective shifts. they used the example of animation programs. 3D animation programs already have what their title suggests, a third dimension. objects are built with depth, lighting sources are placed at a certain x,y,z value, meaning just like its 'reality' counterpart, an object will change perspective relative to a 'camera' move inside the program. an object will refract light differently upon this move and change its own dimensions to mimic the shift of 'reality' (whatever that is anymore). the interesting part came with this: at least in theory, tv's are being developed to broadcast these 3D worlds as they are, rather than the current medium dictates. of course today this 3D world be compressed into two dimensions. no more.
if 3D images can be displayed as they exist inside an animation program, then is there a possibility of the wonders of the digital world existing in the physical world? There has been the development of computer keyboards that are projected onto surfaces, and simply with a push of a projected button, say the letter p, a p will appear on screen. here is an interaction between digital and physical, can this apply to our 3D projected images? could we interact with them? could a digital world, similar to those seen in second life (or anything less nerdy), be projected into physical spaces and alter our perceptions of time + space, to the point where we no longer watch these worlds from behind a screen, but actually stand inside them?