News: First 3D-PND premiered in Korea Options

[Rob Ot]

Posted News:

First 3D-PND premiered in Korea

Electronics giant Samsung releases a world’s first to the PND market in Korea. The STT-D370, which shows 3D images whilst navigating.

Click the headline to read this news post...


Click 'REPLY' if you want to reply to this news post



The yourNAV team

[The_Spook]

I know this being a bit picky, but I feel I must point out for the sake of correctness, that it does not show 3D images.

An LCD screen is only capable of showing 2D images. Perspective projection is used to graphically approximate the image of a 3D object in 2D. This is very different from showing 3D images!

TomTom have been using perspective projection to show '3D' navigation views for years. All that Samsung have done is to add representations of buildings to the view, hardly a quantum leap.

That's my $0.02

[Wishlist]

S’funney that, just talking about this the other day! That’s twice in one week when I have had telepathic messages from YourNAv!!

Anyway as I was saying on Expansys, there is a huge amount to be said for less info on the screen. Do you need all this extra info on the screen for the eye to look at whilst you are driving? One of the things I love about the TT display is the fact that it isn’t cluttered and a momentary glance is all you need to confirm what Jane is telling me she wants me to do.

As I said over there maybe I am the 2007 version of the blokes that 100yrs ago said you would pass out if you rode on a fire breathing horseless carriage over 12mph!

[NickG]

I must point out for the sake of correctness, that it does not show 3D images.

Sorry but if you're at all familar with computers or technology in general, then you'll be well aware what 3D means in this context. It's been used to describe a 3D "effect" view going back 15 years or more since the effect was first available on computers (as a wireframe). I think everyone knows what the author meant and is not expecting a miniature model of a city to pop out of the screen and bite them.

An LCD screen is only capable of showing 2D images

If we're being pedantic, your eye is only capable of seeing 2D images. Your retina is effectively a flat surface (except curved). It's only a cognitive illusion caused by the stereo effect that makes humans feel like they can see in 3D. You can't really see in true 3D. If we could - we would only need one eye.

[conroyd]

"You can't really see in true 3D. If we could - we would only need one eye"

I love it, one eye .-)

[Jolly Roger]

Sorry but if you're at all familar with computers or technology in general, then you'll be well aware what 3D means in this context. It's been used to describe a 3D "effect" view going back 15 years or more since the effect was first available on computers (as a wireframe).

Ah , kids today, ..we were doing filled polygon 3D virtual environments on 7MHz home computers
over 20 years ago.. wire frame goes back a few decades before that on mainframes

[The_Spook]

It's been used to describe a 3D "effect"

No it's been misused. It's a perspective effect. The processor may be modelling a 3D shape, it is displayed on the screen, using perspective. It is quite possible to create a '3D effect', but that is not what is being done here.

I think everyone knows what the author meant and is not expecting a miniature model of a city to pop out of the screen and bite them.

Why not? '3D' effects are possible (without the biting) using stereoscopic images, anaglyphs, autostereograms, lenticular lenses, etc. '3D' screens are now also in production. But, AFAIK, this device doesn't use one of those techniques. It is just misleading to describe it as 3D. I know what is meant, others may not have done.

If we're being pedantic, your eye is only capable of seeing 2D images. Your retina is effectively a flat surface (except curved). It's only a cognitive illusion caused by the stereo effect that makes humans feel like they can see in 3D. You can't really see in true 3D. If we could - we would only need one eye.

If we are to be really pedantic, you eye is not capable of 'seeing' anything. It only registers intensity and color of incident light. You are right about the cognitive illusion, to an extent. All sight is a cognitive illusion, a construct of the brain, largely, but not entirely, based upon the light detected by the cells of the retina. All 'sight' occurs entirely within the brain. Thus, humans can 'see' in 3D, just not with one eye!


Anyway, my main point was that there is nothing new to this device at all. It is no more '3D' than most other PND's. I agree with wishlist on this. IMO, all that has been added is clutter.

Kick-started a nice discussion thou eh?

[daadoodoo]

Anyway, my main point was that there is nothing new to this device at all. It is no more '3D' than most other PND's. I agree with wishlist on this. IMO, all that has been added is clutter.

man... yeah, you're being pedantic, so lets be more pedantic

Unlike any other device, this device _does_ store 3D data, as it includes vertical points for buildings etc. It won't render real 3D, but stereoscopic viewing isn't 3D either, and really... I don't care if it is or it's not, as far as it helps me making sure I'm in the right street.

Sometimes a picture can help more than 1000 words, and the rest only tell you "words" (left, right etc) and a little bit of geometrical data, most times confusing (in roundabouts and multiple exit points)

Now lets not be too picky. We al know what it provides, we all know what 3D means. Peace

[Jolly Roger]

Hope they get the building positions accurate.. not like a certain companies builtin PoI's

[Gasman]

Pedantic?
Christ, do you lot not know what a pain in the ass sounds like?

It's a bloody PND, the worst thing is, is that they're being driven by technology, not need.

that's my penny worth !!

[daadoodoo]

the worst thing is, is that they're being driven by technology, not need.

uhm, don't you find it interesting to see building shapes? I think it'd be useful in big cities and complex crossroads. The idea of seeing the separate lanes sounds very interesting to me too.

Very recently I was driving in a 4 lane road. My tomtom decided to keep quiet, since I was not supposed to change lane... but the way was not going ahead, rather turning right. You can imagine the mess when I wanted to go across 2 lanes but there was so much traffic that I couldn't.

Not sure how confusing it will become due to extra elements on screen, but if those are properly implemented I don't see a problem.

[ForceMd]

uhm, don't you find it interesting to see building shapes? I think it'd be useful in big cities and complex crossroads. The idea of seeing the separate lanes sounds very interesting to me too.

This would only be truly useful when pre-planning a route in areas that you are unfamiliar with. IMO, however, once you are on the road; it is more useful to see a simplistic representation of a much wider field of view of the surrounding area (ala most of today's current PND views). I find that the 2D view of my 910's maps are more helpful to me while driving than the 3d maps are for this reason (more info shown on screen at once).


it would be pointless to have a PND with a 3d view of the same (or most likely a narrower) FOV than you are seeing out of the windshield. The real view is guaranteed to be a lot more detailed and accurate

This post has been edited by ForceMd: Jan 6 2007, 17:56

[daadoodoo]

it would be pointless to have a PND with a 3d view of the same (or most likely a narrower) FOV than you are seeing out of the windshield. The real view is guaranteed to be a lot more detailed and accurate

uhm? you must use the PND for a very weird purpose. I don't look at the PND to see what's around. I look at the PND when I don't know what the spoken directions means. Just to make sure when the device says "turn right" I take the correct lane. But sometimes there are too many lanes that head the same direction or roundabouts got so many exit points thawt you get confused which is the correct exit. In those cases a building or any shape can help you dientify which lane it refers to. Just that.

This post has been edited by daadoodoo: Jan 7 2007, 02:06

[dirtyweerainclou...]

Looks great but will not always be true to life.

How many building get demolished and never rebuilt?
How many new housing or office developments are there in say one year?
What about new bridges.
If this takes off and hits the market bigtime then how is the mapping company going to keep up with all the frequent changes.

"Turn left where the Plazza used to be"
"Turn right where the new Asda will be in 9 months"

I just can`t see how the mapping company can continuously keep a map like this constantly updated.

Companies like TomTom took as good as 2 years for a map update and even then there`s not much difference compaired to the older maps.

I`ll just have to stick to my 910!

[giversen]

If this is going to be useful the time from a change to a new map reflecting the change has to come down. Moreover map-updates have to be made available more frequently – a yearly updates isn’t enough.

I think it is more impotent to cut down the delay between real world changes (new roads, new roundabouts, changes in on-way streets, ...) and map updates and/or the release of new maps reflecting this change. When a monthly map-upgrade program (the possibility to subscribe to a monthly map-upgrade) is in place we can start looking at new features like 3D maps.

Of curse maps can’t always be 100% up-to-date. However is must be possible to make updates available more frequently.

3D maps will only result in more complains about outdated maps when it take 1 or 2 year(s) between the construction/demolishing of a shopping mall and a map reflecting this change.

[halli]

Here's a thought: Perhaps I could stick black cardboard to my car windows and drive to my destination by just staring at the '3D' representation on the PND?

All the PND needs to do then is identify the location of all other vehicles on the road with the 'buddies' function and I can drive my car having a non virtual-reality version of a console driving game. With real working pedals. And a force feedback steering wheel.

A little more seriously (but not much) - I find my TT 710 most useful when driving in unfamiliar rural/semi rural areas where road signs are often poor. Do you think the '3D' representation would change to reflect the seasons, since a winter landscape looks quite different from a summer one?

Or perhaps the '3D' database wouldn't extend to landscape features, just man made ones? In which case the Scottish glens would look like East Anglia.