Malayalee Professor concocts Tele Presence, the next step to 3D Technology

What if technology were so advanced that you could walk around the television set to take a peek at the psycho hiding behind the heroine’s door? Or what if you could stand close to Sehwag when he’s batting out another century in a test match? Thanks to the technology developed by Malayalee Professor Dr. Jayan Thomas of Arizona University, this distant vision of 3D imagery is slowly turning into reality.

Dr. Jayan Thomas worked with Arizona University’s 6 member team to innovate the technology of tele presence, which is one level ahead of 3D. This technology allows a person to view the 3D image of objects or humans which has been projected on to the screen. This path-breaking technology is all set to put 3D imagery out of business when the viewer can watch even live event coverage in the comfort of his home. What is more, he can even stroll around the image screen or take a sneak peek to obtain a 360 degree view of the objects projected on the screen.

Dr. Jayan is the Associate Research Professor at the Arizona University’s College of Optical science. The technology that he has developed, called tele presence, needs no holographic spectacles for 3D effect. For live event, every 2 seconds the 3D image of the event will be refreshed and sent to the receiving screen. 16 cameras working synchronously take the shots of the event which are converted to ‘Hogels’ or holographic pixels. Special plastic screens help develop the pixels into a 360 degree image view for the audience at home.

Implications of this technology are immense. With a prediction of seven years required to market this technology, they can put to use extensively in the fields of medicine, films and animation once launched.