A Three-Dimensional Projector was created by Claudia Donovan by re-purposing Bell and Howell's Spectroscope and stringing together a series of Haswell processors on a Cray XT3 backbone. How Claudia managed to acquire these (incredibly expensive) computer parts is not explained.
Background[]
The Spectroscope used as the basis of the device was an artifact already in storage inside the warehouse before Claudia 're-purposed' it. Suffice to say, Artie was not amused about having an artifact tinkered with without prior approval.
Usage[]
The Projector combines two-dimensional digital images and converts them into a three-dimensional hologram. Claudia and Arthur Nielsen used the Projector to reconstruct a three-dimensional image of a scorched body in order to scan for clues as to its identity.
.png "Projector (1).png (256 KB)")
.png "Projector (4).png (250 KB)")
.png "Projector (5).png (245 KB)")
.png "Projector (7).png (291 KB)")
.png "Burnout (8).png (210 KB)")
.png "Burnout (7).png (253 KB)")
.png "Burnout (4).png (285 KB)")
Real World Connections[]
Converting two-dimensional images into three-dimensional models is an easy process for 3D modelers, and is a common practice.
The Bell & Howell company produced projector equipment for both slides and motion picture, as well as microfilm readers and scanning equipment for the military over the course of the company's existence.
Cray is a supercomputer manufacturing company, with systems in place at various important laboratories and installations, including Red Oak National Labs. In 2004, list pricing for the XT3 apparently began at $2 million.
'Haswell' is a codename for a processor micro-architecture developed by Intel Corporation's Oregon team as a successor to the previous Sandy Bridge architecture.