The 3-D view from above [Resources_Hands On]

The gaming world may soon get a shake-up with the introduction of the Oculus Rift, a 3-D head-mounted display that promises to be compact, comfortable, and reasonably priced. Reading about the DIY origins of this gadget got me wondering how hard it would be to cobble together something similar. Because I'm not a gamer, though, I didn't immediately start investigating the possibility. Then I started to wonder whether a 3-D display could enhance a pastime I do enjoy-flying radio-controlled model airplanes outfitted with video cameras so they can be piloted in a mode known as first-person view (FPV). . I soon discovered a company offering this very thing through an Indiegogo campaign. The folks at EMR Laboratories, in Waterloo, Ont., Canada, have come up with a device they call Transporter3D. It can accept two analog video signals and combine them into a single digital output that can be displayed in 3-D on the Oculus Rift. Combined with EMR Laboratories' stereo video camera, which goes by the much less evocative name 3D Cam FPV, the Transporter3D can provide model-aircraft owners with stereoscopic FPV capabilities. . All this seemed intriguing, but it wasn't clear to me that a sense of depth would add significantly to the fun of FPV flying. And I didn't want to sink the US $1000 or so it would cost to purchase the 3D Cam FPV, the Transporter3D, and an Oculus Rift developer kit to find out.