Ever wondered how did George Lucas come up with the name for R2-D2?
Rumor has it that George Lucas and a co-worker were editing American Graffiti, when a co-worker asked Lucas for âReel Two, Dialog Twoâ, which is abbreviated âR2D2â. Lucas supposedly wrote down the abbreviation and used it as the name of the now famous droid in Star Wars.
In the following video, Institute for Creative Technologies shows you how they create a visual effect that resembles that of the Star Wars hologram. Neat!
360° Light Field Display
We describe a set of rendering techniques for an autostereoscopic light field display able to present interactive 3D graphics to multiple simultaneous viewers 360 degrees around the display. The display consists of a high-speed video projector, a spinning mirror covered by a holographic diffuser, and FPGA circuitry to decode specially rendered DVI video signals. The display uses a standard programmable graphics card to render over 5,000 images per second of interactive 3D graphics, projecting 360-degree views with 1.25 degree separation up to 20 updates per second. We describe the system’s projection geometry and its calibration process, and we present a multiple-center-of-projection rendering technique for creating perspective-correct images from arbitrary viewpoints around the display. Our projection technique allows correct vertical perspective and parallax to be rendered for any height and distance when these parameters are known, and we demonstrate this effect with interactive raster graphics using a tracking system to measure the viewer’s height and distance. We further apply our projection technique to the display of photographed light fields with accurate horizontal and vertical parallax. We conclude with a discussion of the display’s visual accommodation performance and discuss techniques for displaying color imagery.
More details at Institute for Creative Technologies Graphics Lab
Not really practical unless you do 3D modelling, but very cool nonetheless.
The intro to The Simpsons TV show with a Star Wars twist. An original cartoon parody by animator Rich Cando. More work can be seen at RichCando.com or DudeStudios.com.
The Simpsons Star Wars
[September 1 is Teachers' Day in Singapore. I saw a bunch of teachers with a lot of presents and wonder wasn't there this rule about teachers and presents? But they really deserve it I feel. Happy Teachers' Day!]
Get groovy with your favorite intergalatic companion - The Imperial Stormtrooper. Watch him groove with the tunes at the streets of Akihabara (ç§?è??å??).
Tokyo Dance Trooper
Find the music of life at starwars.com. Music to groove you by Earth wind and fire. One day I’ll visit Tokyo. 
Jodee Berry of Panama City, Fla., sits with her toy Yoda at her lawyer’s office Wednesday. Berry, a former Hooters waitress, has sued the restaurant where she worked saying she was promised a new Toyota for winning a beer sales contest in April. Berry, 26, believed that she had won a new car, but she was blindfolded, led to a parking lot and presented a toy Yoda, the little green guy from Star Wars.
[via Digg]
The Game Gods discovered some of the worst names for pornographic films:
I wonder if Star Warts actually stars Darth Vader.
Hahaa! It’s a funny skit. Take a look at how Obi Wan Kenobi buys a used car!
Obi Wan Kenobi buys a used car