It’s one of the highlighted tech at the Acer Booth in COMPUTEX 2024 and it’s also one of favorite tech finds at the convention — the Acer SpatialLabs showcase.
Not necessarily new to COMPUTEX, Acer has blown our minds with the native stereoscopic 3D display technology (meaning without the need for special goggles or 3D glasses) from last year’s convention. And while it was a novel idea back then, we didn’t see much adoption of the tech to throughout the entire 2023. Since 3D is such a uniquely niche experience, this type of immersive gaming hasn’t really caught on with the trend last year so it’s very interesting to see the brand still push through with the innovative technology for this year’s COMPUTEX.
While majority of the focus for this year’s convention revolves around conversations with AI (especially chipsets and hardware enhanced with AI tech), it’s great that Acer hasn’t abandoned its quest for truly glasses-free stereoscopic 3D world, and by god, did these geniuses deliver something…Spatial (special, get it? no?).
While gaming was still showcased within the Acer SpatialLabs booth (with Street Fighter VI and Hi-Fi Rush as main showcase games), it’s when this trippy tech comes in contact with educational and tourism applications does the tech truly shine.
Realistic Flight simulator, anyone?
Edutainment comes alive
We know, we know, we also don’t like the word edutainment but with the Acer SpatialLabs, it really encapsulates the word perfectly. The 3D effect helps students understand different aspects of a subject in ways that were once just science fiction. At the COMPUTEX 2024 Demo, we were shown a 3D model of a bee that we can move around and inspect every fiber of the creature. And while it took a while for the Acer SpatialLabs View Pro to adjust its camera and sync with our eyes, once it does, it literally feels like the image jumping right out of the monitor. The immersion is unlike anything we’ve experienced before and I found myself reaching out and grasping air just to simulate me touching an creature that could potentially sting me to death.
Another interesting application is ability of the Acer SpatialLabs-enabled monitor to track your movements allowing you to use gestures to execute certain actions within a given program. The example provided at the Acer Booth showed an interactive tourism map guiding you through rocky terrains in what I would assume is the Yehliu Geopark. These are but just some examples coming out from Funique VR Studios Taiwan. These are just some examples of the stereoscopic display from Acer.
More than Just Displays, Instant 3D
But perhaps if most innovative tech we found at the Acer Booth would be the new Acer SpatialLabs Eye Stereo Camera — a device that allows for instant stereoscopic 3D creation of pretty much anything it shoots. This cutie-patootie nifty gadget is equipped with 8MP per eye resolution, and it’s coupled with a built-in selfie mirror and a weatherproof exterior.
As mentioned, the Acer SpatialLabs Eye Stereo Camera can capture photos and videos and turn them into stereoscopic 3D. But what if I tell you it can also stream videos and take videocalls and render them in stereoscopic 3D as well? Well, that’s what greeted us at the Acer Booth at the Nanggang Exhibition Center during COMPUTEX 2024. They build a streaming setup as well as video-conferencing booths for guest to try the service out. Obviously, we had to give it a try ourselves and suffice to say, minds were blown and 3D video conferencing never looked so surreal.
Currently, we feel that Stereoscopic 3D video conference may not be the most ideal usage of the technology, we still greatly appreciate the brand opening the tech to more creators, artists, and enthusiasts should they wish to explore the medium further.
While we don’t have an official Philippine price for the Acer SpatialLabs Eye Stereo Camera, we did get a hint that there are active plans in trying to bring this device to our shores. We cannot to tinker with the camera when the time comes and create some fancy 3D stereoscopic content.
For more details, please visit the SpatialLabs developer site.