Bending Maps, Inception Style

One of the most memorable scenes in Inception sees Leonardo DiCaprio's character walking through Paris as the city appears to fold in on itself, with entire streets rising from the ground and bending over the characters below. The surreal effect makes the city seem like a three-dimensional model that can be manipulated like a sheet of paper. Orbify is exploring whether something inspired by this visual trick could have a practical use in car navigation. Orbify's patent-pending image-processing system takes a 3D map model and warps it onto a curved surface. Instead of having to choose between a conventional top-down map and a perspective view of the road ahead, both can be displayed simultaneously in a single image. Close to the vehicle, the map retains a normal perspective view, showing the roads and buildings around you in three dimensions. Further away, the map gradually bends upwards until it becomes an overhead view, providing a wider view of the route ahead. The result is an…