Winscape just announced a great project today, which, though the mobile component is only secondary, is very, very cool. Basically, with this system, you install two 46″ HD monitors behind some window frames in your home that display an image (up to 4096 x 4096) or a video (up to 1920 x 1080, including sound). With the help of computer software, an infrared sensor and a Wii remote, the image adjusts as you move, creating the illusion of perspective. The icing on the cake is an iPhone app which allows you to change the image or video at the drop of a hat. Feel like glancing out your window into outer space? Done. Want to go for a train ride? It’s just a click away. Need some soothing jellyfish? You got it.
What bogs down the perspective illusion is the fact that the infrared sensor is a hefty necklace, so you really have to stage the experience. Personally, I’d like to see if the iPhone app could detect accelerometer movements and adjust the image based on information streamed in via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, maybe even skip the Wii remote altogether. Alternatively, there are projects which plug an infrared receiver into the iPhone, which could at least avoid the necessity for a bulky, custom-made peripheral. Even without the perspective trick, this is pretty freakin’ sweet.
Though this is all the pet project of an ambitious engineer, a kit should be available to purchase sometime this summer in the neighbourhood of $2500 to $3000 so you could do it in your own home. There are plenty of tips and videos at Winscape’s home page if you’ve got the cojones to try this all out yourself. Be sure to nab the Winscape Remote app for iPhone whenever you’re all done.