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Zeiss's "Holocam" turns glass windows into cameras

digitalcameraworld.com

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Re: Zeiss's "Holocam" turns glass windows into cameras

#61

Post by IshKebab »

swyx wrote: post #49
KMnO4 wrote: post #15

The article is poorly written, as it only discusses the camera component. Strangely, they chose stock images of holographic and optical displays, but didn’t mention that even once. The Zeiss site is a much better read: https://www.zeiss.com/corporate/en/about-zeiss/present/newsr... In summary: 1) ZEISS unveils holographic Smart Glass at CES 2024, both for displays/projection/filtering, but also another component whic…

Edit: theres an actually good demo video showing the real state of the tech rather than mockups: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NORPeCcIXRQ buried below in the comments so just surfacing higher. everything else is artists lying to you. --- > Glass surfaces can also generate energy. The microoptical layer in the window pane absorbs incident sunlight and transmits it in concentrated form to a solar cell. This combines…

Nah, this will only be good enough for sensor-level power (like 5W from a whole window). Only useful in very limited circumstances. It's not going to replace normal solar power.

Re: Zeiss's "Holocam" turns glass windows into cameras

#62

Post by [deleted] »

mrandish wrote: post #24

After some searching I found a patent I think may be related to this https://patents.google.com/patent/WO2020225109A1/en because it uses the phrase "Holocam", is German and was filed by Audi (the press release mentions automotive applications as the primary initial use case). It's a translation from German which makes it a bit tougher to parse than the usual patent. The total lack of any deeper information beyond the…

[deleted]

Re: Zeiss's "Holocam" turns glass windows into cameras

#63

Post by fourteenfour »

airstrike wrote: post #35
fourteenfour wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here's their CES page with a video: https://exhibitors.ces.tech/8_0/exhibitor/exhibitor-details....

Thanks for sharing. More of an animation than a proper video

For sure, was disappointed with the original article for only linking generic keywords back to their own site. At least the CES one is from the horse's mouth.

Re: Zeiss's "Holocam" turns glass windows into cameras

#64

Post by krisoft »

tqi wrote: post #41

"Webcams that enable you to look anywhere on your screen." Minor aside, but does anyone actually care about this? Forever ago, I was told to try and look into the camera in order to project eye contact during video calls, but now that just seems like a cultural hangup that arose from people not being familiar with video calling. Now that it is more ubiquitous, I feel like we all have collectively agreed that the eye…

> but now that just seems like a cultural hangup that arose from people not being familiar with video calling.

Eye contact is about as old as humankind. So maybe in 300,000 years we can check if we get over it with video calls.

It is not that communication is not possible without it. It just removes an additional layer.

Eye contact conveys all kind of useful meta data. Depending on the circumstances and other verbal and non-verbal cues it can mean "I'm listening to you", "oh, maybe let's push more on this topic", "have you also caught that?", "perhaps it would be wiser to not talk about that", "i'm specifically addressing you" or "can you help me out here?". And these are just the ones immediately applicable in business settings. Let's not even talk about all the ways it can be used during flirting.

And it works on a subconscious level. I regularly DM role playing games, both online and in-person. The lack of eye contact is a serious impediment in online games. One can use eye contact, or the lack of it to judge engagement. One can signal with eye contact turns or who an NPC is talking to. It can also be used to help less talkative players seize amazing role playing moments.

Can we get by without it? Sure. We can communicate anything using a 1-bit communication channel using morse code. It is a bit like dancing in shackles. Can be done, just leaves something extra on the table.

Re: Zeiss's "Holocam" turns glass windows into cameras

#65

Post by swyx »

IshKebab wrote: post #61
swyx wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Edit: theres an actually good demo video showing the real state of the tech rather than mockups: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NORPeCcIXRQ buried below in the comments so just surfacing higher. everything else is artists lying to you. --- > Glass surfaces can also generate energy. The microoptical layer in the window pane absorbs incident sunlight and transmits it in concentrated form to a solar cell. This combines…

Nah, this will only be good enough for sensor-level power (like 5W from a whole window). Only useful in very limited circumstances. It's not going to replace normal solar power.

but like, thats enough for the camera to power itself. pretty cool no? we can deploy this tech without plugging it in.

Re: Zeiss's "Holocam" turns glass windows into cameras

#66

Post by alexchamberlain »

verall wrote: post #44
ysofunny wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Zeiss isn't going to aspire to sell cheap glass on razor thin margins. why not?

It's not what they do, like they probably won't start selling lawnmowers either.

Whilst I kind of see where you and the sibling comment is coming from, Zeiss do make glass- they make precision glass. Making cheap glass would be quality diversification, which is not exactly unheard of.

Re: Zeiss's "Holocam" turns glass windows into cameras

#67

Post by 1letterunixname »

Reads like press-release wank. So not a Lytro, but imagining the possibilities of reflection-based computed image reconstruction. They accomplished getting their brand out there without offering anything new. Check out their about us:

> From time to time we also publish advertorials (paid-for editorial content) and sponsored content on the site.

https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/news/about-us

Re: Zeiss's "Holocam" turns glass windows into cameras

#68

Post by leadingthenet »

YurgenJurgensen wrote: post #51
wkat4242 wrote: post #38

Yeah it sounds like a great option to place a camera invisibly in the middle top half of your screen so you can actually look a person in the eye when videoconferencing. No more weirdly looking down or to the side for everyone. I'm sure it can be used for creepiness as well but I see the benefits too.

[flagged]

I'm pretty sure they meant for the front cameras. The camera bumps are here to stay, I'm afraid.

Re: Zeiss's "Holocam" turns glass windows into cameras

#69

Post by TaylorAlexander »

YurgenJurgensen wrote: post #51
wkat4242 wrote: post #38

Yeah it sounds like a great option to place a camera invisibly in the middle top half of your screen so you can actually look a person in the eye when videoconferencing. No more weirdly looking down or to the side for everyone. I'm sure it can be used for creepiness as well but I see the benefits too.

[flagged]

Quality is probably limited so this would be best for a front facing camera.
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