14 DAY TRIAL // If you thought that the amazing HP Multi Jet Fusion 3D printer was the only awesome thing that HP revealed this week, you're wrong. The company has also released a new all-in-one computer that will redefine the meaning of the term ”all in one.”
Normally, an all-in-one PC is called that way because it combines the monitor and the desktop (where the main hardware is located) into a single package.
This effectively allows the system to not only act like a computer is supposed to but also double as a monitor for a second PC (like a laptop) and even take the role of a TV if it's built with the required I/O parts.
Now, though, HP has added 3D printing technology to the list of things made part of the “all.” Or, rather, 3D scanning technology.
HP's plans for blended reality
The new all-in-one PC is essentially a standard Windows 8 AiO with some cameras capable of 3D scanning built into it.
In addition to the cameras, there is a projector facing down towards a huge tactile touchpad, which doubles as a projection screen. No, you're not hallucinating, that's really what we just wrote. The company is definitely challenging all conventions here, that's for sure.
HP stuffed all these things in the same product in order to achieve what it calls blended reality, which blends 2D digital depictions with 3D physical ones.
The primary point of interaction is not a mouse or keyboard, but the touchpad we mentioned before, which doubles as a secondary display thanks to the cameras and the projector. Meanwhile, the 23-inch LCD has touch support as well.
During a demo, the users of the AiO showed the ability to flick pictures from the main screen to the touchpad / projected screen. Another thing they did was place an object on the mat and use the camera to make a 3D scan of it, complete with the automatic removal of the background. The resulting model could be placed in a slide and resized or rotated.
Needless to say, the cameras can do everything else a camera is supposed to do, not just take 3D scans. And then some: take photos, record videos, parse text from a printed page (scan a text and insert graphics around it, or change the font, make fliers and pamphlets, etc.).
Finally, the projector is perfectly capable of projecting a keyboard for your use. The cameras will track your fingers and prompt the PC to respond as needed.
Availability and pricing
These details aren't available, but we're willing to bet that you'll have to pay some really pretty cash for one of these all-in-one personal computers.
