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ConceptD 7 SpatialLabs Edition: Acer's Creator notebook with 3D autostereoscopy

Oct 14, 2021

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The ConceptD 7 SpatialLabs Edition, first shown by Acer in the spring, will become reality in the first quarter of next year. The special feature is the stereoscopic 3D display using eye and head tracking, so that no 3D glasses are required. Creative professionals can view their models in the SpatialLabs ModelViewer.

Compared to the devkits handed out to the first developers in spring, Acer has revised the ConceptD 7 Spatial Labs Edition again. Instead of the 10th, Intel's 11th core generation is now in it, and instead of Turing, there are now ampere graphics cards up to the GeForce RTX 3080. CPU and GPU can be supplemented by up to 64 GB of RAM and 2 TB of SSD storage. The notebook's screen delivers 4K on 15.6 inches and is Pantone-validated with a color accuracy of Delta E & lt; 2.

The Nintendo 3DS sends its regards

The real highlight of the notebook, however, is its stereoscopic 3D display without the need for 3D glasses – also called autostereoscopy and known from Nintendo 3DS or some smartphones from the experimental phase of many manufacturers in the early 2010s.

The technology, named “SpatialLabs” by Acer, works with a combination of eye and head tracking as well as real-time rendering in order to realize changes of the viewing angle, the rotation of 3D models or different lighting effects on the model. In the upper display frame there is a set of three cameras that track the position and movement of the head and eyes of the user. A separate image is created for each eye, which is projected onto the panel through an optical lens and refracted onto the other eye.

Support of known 3D applications

SpatialLabs is aimed at industrial, figure and product designers, for example. The software supports common 3D file formats such as OBJ, FBX, STEP, STL, COLLADA, IGES, glTF, 3DS, BLEND, PLY, DAE and IGS, so that designers can view their models themselves within the SpatialLabs ModelViewer, present them to participating developers or demonstrate to customers . For the ModelViewer there are currently add-ons for Autodesk Fusion 360, Autodesk Inventor, Autodesk 3Ds Max, Rhinoceros, Cura, Blender, SketchUp and Zbrush. Models that were created in these applications can be exported to the ModelViewer with one click and can be called up there immediately in stereoscopic 3D. At the same time, a classic 2D monitor can be connected to the notebook to check models in both views for potential design errors.

Acer is also launching a website for new developments around SpatialLabs. A developer program for the Unreal Engine has been in existence since May of this year. As part of the new developer website, developers are working with Acer on a range of innovative applications and tools, including a car configurator, virtual tours for interior designers, 360-degree film experiences and 3D landscapes created from geodata from observing the earth.

Start in the coming year

The ConceptD 7 SpatialLabs should come onto the market in the first quarter of 2022 Acer will quote prices for specific configurations on request. A variant with Core i7, GeForce RTX 3080, 32 GB RAM and 1 TB SSD costs around 4,000 euros.

Upgrades for the ConceptD 3

Acer intends to sharpen the ConceptD 3 in the fourth quarter of this year. There are upgrades to 16 inches in 16:10 instead of 16: 9, a convertible model including Wacom EMR pen and a hardware upgrade for the ConceptD 3 (Ezel) Pro and, in the future with up to Core i7 and up for Nvidia T1200 will be available.

ComputerBase has received information about this article from Acer under NDA. The only requirement was the earliest possible publication time.