Lynx A 3D point-and-shoot camera/tablet does motion capture and 3D modeling, we go hands-on

Earlier this year, a group of enterprising students from the University of Texas unveiled the Lynx A 3D camera and asked for money to fund its construction on Kickstarter. Since then, they've soared past their funding goal of $50,000, and are getting ready to ship out their first set of cameras. Today at DEMO Mobile SF, we finally got to see a prototype unit for ourselves and watch it scan someone's head in real-time. For the uninitiated, the Lynx A is billed as a point-and-shoot 3D camera that uses Kinect-esque hardware to obtain depth mapping and imaging info from your surroundings. Using GPU computing power and some custom code, it turns that data into 3D scene and object models or motion capture, and it displays the finished models on its 14-inch screen a minute or two after it's finished recording -- all for $1,799.

The Lynx A we witnessed working in person today was a prototype unit, so fit and finish were far from being retail ready, as wide gaps and exposed screws abounded. Lynx assured us that the units going out to its backers will not only have a more polished appearance, but also be six times more accurate and 30 percent smaller due to newer hardware components. Despite the prototype's rough appearance, the modeling process went off without a hitch. It was able to scan 2/3 of a human head in about a minute and within a couple minutes more it was displaying a 3D model ready to be manipulated and printed out by a Replicator or a Form 1. Don't believe us? See for yourself in the video after the break.

Lynx A 3D camera/tablet hands-on

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By: Unknown On 1:58 PM

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US budget has NASA planning to capture an asteroid, USAF reviving DSCOVR (video)

NASA Associate Administrator Statements on the Asteroid Initiative in the FY 2014 Budget Request

WASHINGTON -- The following are statements from the associate administrators of NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, Science Mission Directorate and Space Technology Mission Directorate on the administration's budget request for the 2014 fiscal year.

From Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations William Gerstenmaier:

"The mission to find, capture and redirect an asteroid robotically, and then visit it with astronauts to study it and return samples takes advantage of expertise across all of NASA in an integrated approach to exploration. Along with the scientific research and technology demonstrations happening around the clock on the International Space Station that are teaching us how humans can live and work in space, this mission will give us valuable experience we need in deep space operations to send humans to more distant destinations in the solar system, including Mars. Through the balance of this fiscal year, we will work to define an affordable mission architecture. In Fiscal Year 2014, NASA will begin developing and testing prototype capture mechanisms and concepts for crew interactions with the asteroid."

From Associate Administrator for Science John Grunsfeld:

"The crucial first step in this endeavor is to enhance our ongoing efforts to identify and characterize near-Earth objects for scientific investigation and to find potentially hazardous asteroids and targets appropriate for capture. The capture mission will be a highly visible and significant collaboration of robotic and human exploration in translunar space."

From Associate Administrator for Space Technology Michael Gazarik:

"This mission accelerates our technology development activities in high-powered solar electric propulsion. The ambitious mission to rendezvous, capture and redirect a small asteroid to Earth-moon space could not be accomplished without solar electric propulsion technology. This technology also will support the commercial telecommunications and satellite industries, and is an essential step toward future NASA human and robotic exploration forays into deep space."

The NASA budget and supporting information are available at:

http://www.nasa.gov/budget

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By: Unknown On 11:03 AM

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Lynx A 3D camera hits Kickstarter, ready to motion capture your donations

Every time we write up a 3D printer, we get a deluge of folks asking just how easy it is to render a 3D model. The answer is, unless you're well-versed CAD, not very. Austin-based Lynx Laboratories is working to help bring the learning curve for 3D rendering down a bit, with the Lynx A, a "point-and-shoot 3D camera" it claims is even easier to use than many standard digital cameras. The list of things the tablet-shaped device can do is impressive, indeed, including digital measure, architectural rending, object modeling and motion capture -- the latter of which has some interesting applications in the movie and gaming spaces. The project's Kickstarter is now open, steadily heading toward its $50,000 goal, with 44 days to go. A starting pledge of $1,799 will get you one of the 14-inch devices to call your own. Not convinced? Perhaps the video after the break will put you over the 3D edge.


Source: Kickstarter

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By: Unknown On 8:19 PM

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