What about computer graphics/modeling and virtual worlds in 3-D?  Chinnock discusses the need for content in 3-D.  Why not give students the ability to create content/images/etc?  Will the programs to do this be too expensive for schools to utilize in individual classes like they do with some programs such asMicroSoft Word?

These questions (and more) will all probably be asked and answered in the near future, I am sure.  Not to mention that the future of 3-D  is not just about projectors.  There are also advances being made in holographic displays and three-dimensional monitors.

But this is all leading to the fact that the walls between the real world and virtual reality are slowly crumbling away.  We now have the ability to create a virtual reality room.  Surround sound and cameras that can follow your movements already exist.  Combine that with the projectors that Chinnock discusses, pointing in all directions in a room, connected to a super-fast computer that can feed realistic CG to those projectors based on your movements, and you pretty much have the early version of a Star Trek holodeck.  Imagine what Second Life would be like then?

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The New York Times had an article about this technology. You put an object on the scanner, the object gets scanned with a laser, and then you have a 3-D scan of a 3-D object. If you have something too big for the scanner, they also have laser devices like a camera that can take care of those. Then, you can edit the 3-D object in a computer program. Scanners start at $2500 and go up to nearly $40,000 for the camera, just in case you want to start saving up (to buy me one of course).

They also have the 3-D “printers” that can re-create the objects, in full color, using a resin or a starch-based powder. Sweet.

I’m thinking that, other than being cool, this could also be a giant leap forward for Second Life. The $2500 scanner is for desktops. The way the computer world goes, that will come down to about $250 in 2 years, right? So, want to create a realistic avatar of yourself? Want to recreate your favorite chair, coffee mug, chia-pet, or what ever in Second Life? What ever you want to transfer into Second Life will be a realistic possibility in the future.

The educational possibilities for the 3-D printer are also endless, as soon as the cost comes down. Ancient artifacts could be scanned and “faxed” to classrooms everywhere. Distance art education could become a reality. Of course, there are also new legal issue to wrangle with. The Time article linked above deals with those issues and some other ideas.

I’m ready for my Holodeck now….

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