CGTalk - Actuality Systems Wins Patent Approval for Key Technology to Render in 3D Space

View Full Version : Actuality Systems Wins Patent Approval for Key Technology to Render in 3D Space

Gentle Fury

11-21-2002, 09:55 PM

http://www.actuality-systems.com/pressrelease_next.php3?id=38

is this really a good thing?????

havent the patent offices learned yet???

Its funny how this sort of thing is all about the $$$$ and no longer about progress!!

I think we are going to end up seeing another Pixar/Exluna battle again in the future!!

This type of thing is just not right in my opinion! Its like if Edison had put a patent on Projecting Images Onto Any Surface That Isn't Air. This is what hinders technology......one company gains the patent for a very obscure concept that could be used in MANY respects (its basically a 3d monitor!) now noone else can improve on it without permission or fear of being sued!!!

Imagine what computer monitors would be like if only one company in the world had the patent rights to cathode display technology, or LCD...........we would not be to the point we are now, with tablet pcs on the horizon!

Lets just hope that Acuality is in it for the advance of technology and they dont act like Apple and horde all rights and not let anyone else use em.

Happy Rendering!!! (now in real 3D!!!)

http://www.actuality-systems.com/admin/generalpics/bigA12.jpg

gmask

11-22-2002, 02:27 AM

Patents are a good thing. If it was not for patents then what would keep any large corporations from stealing ideas from lone inventors and small businesses. Sure there are examples where it would be ideal if compaines would share information such as research for cures to life threatening diseases but this technology in particular (at least to me) is trivial.. I could care less where it goes or does.. it's cool and probably has some practical applications but I cannot see how the world would be better if anybody could use this patent. My point being that if they cannot make a profit with this technology then it doe snot matter if they have a patent..nor will it matter to anybody else to develop a non profitable technology.

I'm no expert on patent law but you do have to met a certain criteria to obtain one. Too general of a description wil nto grant you a patent. You could not patent a machine that projects images onto any surface that is not air unless you could clearly explain how it worked.

In the early days of the patent when most inventions where mostly machines of some sort you actually had to present a scaled down version of the machine for submission. At soem point the warehouse for these miniatures burned down destroying most of the collection.

gabe28

11-22-2002, 03:33 AM

The patent seems to cover Actuality's particular approach to rendering in 3D. In other words, the patent is for their 3D rendering technology and not for the fact that they are rendering in 3D. I think that as long as they invented technologies that allow their product to work, they should be able to patent those technologies. This is not stopping anyone else from coming up with other methods of developing 3D rendering systems. Furthermore, other companies will likely be able to licence this technology thus saving them from the costs of figuring it out on their own. I don't see anything wrong with any of this.

I am curious what products we'll see using this type of technology though. How about some next generation arcade games for starters?

gmask

11-22-2002, 04:04 AM

Originally posted by gabe28
I am curious what products we'll see using this type of technology though. How about some next generation arcade games for starters?

Actually ..amusements and entertainment would be the next step.. if they could animate this then I could see a huge market for it as long as it was cheap. I reread their report and I guess their idea is for medical imagining.. I could see how perhaps being able to visualize a MRI scan might be helpful.. but how helpful? Perhaps in the field of remote medicine where the doctor controls a robotic surgeon this would be the display that the doctor has. I don't see the advantage that it has over other types of VR systems but I suppose it has some??

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