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Sweet 3-D Waterfall Displays 'Tetris,' Trounces SkyMall Inventory

by Matthew Zuras on July 3, 2010 at 11:00 AM

Tetris projected on waterfall
We don't want to insult any of our loyal readers when we say that water sculpture, in general, rarely attains an aesthetic value exceeding the fine objets available in your monthly SkyMall catalog. (Maybe you have one? Send pics!) Perhaps Peter Barnum, Srinivasa Narasimhan and Takeo Kanade -- researchers at Carnegie Mellon University -- also enjoy the aesthetic of cheaply produced, disco waterfalls for the home. Where else would they find inspiration for their 3-D water 'Tetris' contraption?

What elevates their device from simple, mass-produced schlock to slightly more interesting, science-y schlock is the fact that their 'Tetris' projection is both fully playable and volumetric in design. Using only a single projector and camera, the device switches between cascading sheets of water, which are sourced from 50 stainless-steel needles on each of the three planes, so the projections never overlap or obscure the other layers. Check out a video after the break to see it in action.

The researchers claim that, with the depth-of-field provided by the three panes, their device can deliver higher-resolution images than those produced by existing waterfall displays. We could speculate about the potential uses of this prototype, but why bother? We figure these kinds of displays are just going to end up in your kid's dorm room anyway, but it's not that we're opposed to any scientific advancements in how we play 'Tetris.' Plus, for all our bellyaching, we still like a good piece of nouveau tech kitsch. Send us one for the Switched offices! [From: The New Scientist, via: Technabob]

Tags: 3-d, Carnegie Mellon, CarnegieMellon, display, kitsch, Peter Barnum, PeterBarnum, projection, sculpture, skymall, Srinivasa Narasimhan, SrinivasaNarasimhan, Takeo Kanade, TakeoKanade, tetris, top, water, waterfall

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