At SIGGRAPH2009 Asia, University of Tokyo researchers are showing off their new nifty handheld display that aims to bring more natural ergonomics to digital image viewing. Using a basic sheet of plexiglass positioned above a projector, the system can recognize the shape and orientation of the sheet and superimposes an image on the sheet. By bending, rotating, and moving the sheet with respect to the projector, the display changes the slice viewed on the screen for easy navigation through volumetric data.
From the white paper on the Volume Slicing Display:
With the VSD, radiologists would be able to retrieve a certain amount of three-dimensionality from a flat X-ray plate at any time, by just touching certain portions of the screen, orientating and manipulating it freely above a calibrated projector. It is interesting to note that such interface could solve another important issue, that of the confidentiality of the patient data, since without the machine the piece of paper will only show an undecipherable 2d-barcode identifying the patient.
Link: The Volume Slicing Display (PDF)…
(hat tip: Vizworld)