1994. Apple, in collaboration with Kodak and FujiFilm, launches QuickTake compact digital cameras with a 0,3 MP resolution sensor. After few years, Apple decides to dismiss the production of digital cameras and to focus on computers. In the same years, the giant of Cuppertino is also selling bubble jet and laser printers, mainly manufactured by Canon. Many of these printers have been discontinued. Still not in the iPod, iMac and iPhone hype, during the late 90s Apple is recognized as on of the top brands in innovative, fashionable computers, accessories and operating systems.

2007. Some weeks before the annual PMA, General Electric annouces its entrance in digital cameras arena with hte brand GE Digital Cameras some budget models. They continue launching new models, remaining in the compact segment. The current models sport 10 or 12 MP sensors and some basic computational photography features (*). But no other avdanced features neither service bundles are available yet.

If you are bit familiar with Apple and GE, you probably know that those two giants are developing and offering complete and complex ecosystems: on one hand, Apple manages iTunes which is probably on of the strongest control points ever; on the other hand, GE activities sport from consumer electronic to home appliances to financial services.

What if the two companies were selling a digital camera fully integrated in their consolidated commercial and service offer? How could be the “Apple Digital Camera” today? What if I could control a GE refrigerator or access a GE service with my GE digital camera?

Probably it can sound like an oversimplified approach, but it gives an idea of two possible digital imaging ecosystem concepts which are not avaialble yet.

There is a holy grail in display technology: holography. Actually, holography is a technology to display 3D images having the power of immersing the viewer in an artificial reality that is basically indistinguishable from the “real” reality.

3D displays aim at providing a sense of depth to the viewer. This is a first step in the path toward real 3D display. This latter would allow the viewer the ability to go around the object displayed and see it from any side. Holography projection would be the ideal technology, if only it were feasible.

Pure holography resulting from the generation of interference of laser beams provides (small) images that resemble to ghosts, mono colour. Similar ghost images can be produced by fog screens, where the image is projected on microscopic water droplets. A different approach is to use fast rotating mirrors. The resulting object image has good colours and can be viewed from all around (in an horizontal plane of view. The size of the object displayed is as big as the size of the screen. The problem is that is impossible to display a moving object, like a person.

For the time being, and for the next few years, 3D will be recreated in our brain: stereoscopic screens and projectors trick the brain into seeing an image in 3D. The technologies used may differ but the objective is to present two slightly different images, one to the left eye the other to the right one. Some of these technologies rely on the overlaying of two screen with a grid that separate the image seen by the right eye from the one seen by the left eye. It works well but only at a very precise point in space. If you move your head the effect disappears and you get a fuzzy image. Other rely on the viewer wearing a pair of glasses that alternatively block the image reaching the left and right eye in synch with the images displayed on the screen. This system provides the better quality of vision but requires wearing glasses.

http://depthq.com/projector.html?_kk=3d%20display&_kt=fef08751-66e4-4db1-8e7a-3c6bb925745e&gclid=CKPe6bT1qZkCFQsJ3wodPyQcqA

In addition to the complexity of displaying images to generate a 3D perception there is the complexity of filming 3D scenes with moving objects at different distance from the recording camera. This complexity increases cost and makes 3D filming a rare occurrence.

In the next decade 3D displays will become better but are likely to remain in the domain of showcases and not enter the mass market for movies and television shows. It is therefore unlikely to see 3D display playing any role in terms of ecosystems.

However, 3D screens may find mass market success in the area of videogames. Here we might be seeing many enterprises and individuals producing virtual objects that can be used in a game scenario. Successful games may become seeds, aggregating an ecosystem made of objects, ads, involving social networks, services and information providers. This is already happening in 2D games: the third dimension leads to a greater involvement of the players and makes offering of “extras” more appealing. Other areas that may see adoption of 3D screens are education, health care (surgery), industrial design, pharmaceutical drugs design. Probably education may become part of an ecosystems whilst the other areas are more likely to remain in a strictly value chain environment.