Monitor turns satellite images into 3D models | CNET News.com

Monitor turns satellite images into 3D models | CNET News.com: "If you need to view aerial photographs in 3D and have $3,995, Planar Systems has the monitor for you.
The company's SD1710 consists of two monitors placed at a 110-degree angle separated by a piece of polarized glass. The glass lets the image from the bottom monitor pass through and it reflects the image from the top monitor. A person wearing special glasses gets an accurate, three-dimensional representation of digital photographs without the jagged edges, blurriness or other visual artifacts that can occur with competing technologies, according to the company.

By transforming flat photos into a 3D image, areas obscured by shadows can become easier to interpret, said Scott Robinson, a research scientist at Planar. With this, Robinson said, an intelligence operative could orchestrate a flight plan for a ground-hugging missile, or relief agencies could get more accurate visuals for levee breaches in New Orleans. "