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Monday, July 30, 2012 by

Sarah Carabott

Tech whizzkid impresses Google with 3D invention

Right: Melvin Zammit’s prototype for a “real” 3D image display.

Right: Melvin Zammit’s prototype for a “real” 3D image display.

A young Maltese man chosen by Google over 10,000 other curious minds has returned to Malta loaded with advice from technology moguls and brimming with enthusiasm for innovation.

The concept could have infinite possible applications in the future

Last Monday, Melvin Zammit took his revolutionary three-dimensional display to the giant search engine’s offices after his keen interest in electronics won him a ticket to Google headquarters in California.

He was there as one of 15 finalists in the Google Science Fair, an annual global online competition that rewards “curious minds” aged between 13 and 18.

Mr Zammit, 18, represented Malta with an original system made up of multiple transparent images stacked in front of each other displaying a “real” 3D image.

“If an array of LEDs are spun in a circle and switched on and off accordingly, an image would form by illusion. When some of these layers are stacked after each other, you get a 3D display,” is how Mr Zammit explains it.

The set-up makes 3D displays look “real”, especially when compared with today’s 3D imagery built on stereoscopic technology, which tends to feel unnatural.

He says the concept could have “infinite possible applications” in the future, such as in 3D modelling, gaming, 3D telephony, hospitals “and many other applications that require a realistic volumetric display”.

Although on Monday Mr Zammit failed to make it into the top three, he says the experience has opened doors for him. The European organisation for nuclear research, Cern, has expressed interest in his idea.

Among the trip’s highlights were his meetings with Google co-founder Sergey Brin and Vint Cerf, an American computer scientist considered one of the fathers of the internet.

Mr Zammit said he not only made contacts in large companies but with other young researchers. He added that one of the most ex­­citing things was that “the Maltese flag was everywhere”.

Throughout the three-day tour the Google headquarters flew the Maltese flag alongside the US, Canadian, Ukrainian, Spanish, Indian and Swaziland flags.

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Joe Fenech

Jul 30th 2012, 22:31

Technology has been with us since the dawn of Man !

Joe Fenech

Jul 30th 2012, 18:14

James Attard:

This is not an original principal as it is very similar to the technique used in old 3D holograms and that used in the past in cinema to create invisibility. Unfortunately these internet competitions allow the John Bloggs to vote and clearly they don't have a clue (id-demokrazija taz-Zeza ta' Bubaqra!).

But, plough on, Melvin - you're clearly a serious person and I'm sure you'll find your niche in the Science world.

Dr Alex Bugeja

Jul 30th 2012, 22:46

We are no longer in the age of Thomas Edison. It takes teams of scientists with huge budgets in a professional lab to make truly "original inventions" these days. This is just an 18 year old by himself - even if what he accomplished is not really original, he certainly deserves to be praised for his level of achievement.

A. Schembri

Jul 31st 2012, 07:49

@James Attard and Joe Fenech,

Unfortunately you both have missed something. If you followed the previous article of when this young man was short-listed from 10,000 to down to 15. Obviously with people who jump to conclusions no wonder Malta does not have more of achievers like Melvin.

Melvin ignore these 2 people's empty comments and focus on the feedback people who are recognised as the technoclogy driviers have told you. I am sure they are in a better position to know if your prototype is a replica or something oroginal and a breakthrough

Michael Camilleri

Jul 30th 2012, 15:04

what, by giving them a stipend for studying at university, for example?

Chris Gatt

Jul 30th 2012, 16:08

@M Camilleri. The stipend is not an incentive when given to everyone. It merely removes money the university can put to be better use in equipment, the buying of books and journals and bringing in strong inspiring lecturers. But of course our politicians will not step up to the mark, and lecturers are happier this way as they have a perfect excuse to allow the status quo.
On the other hand if you remove stipends and introduce scholarships for those who the university would believe would add value to the class, that is a different matter.

Neville Cutajar

Jul 30th 2012, 16:57

@chris gatt

I don't know how old you are. And i don't know if you are a university graduate or not. But what i can tell you is that the stipend did help me and others and probably if we had to pay for our studies it would have been close to impossible for my parents to pay. So lets not be selfish and generalise on hypothesis. I wonder what you would say if when the time comes for you to get a pension the government decides to stop it. There is more money available elsewhere for the government , city gate project maybe and other useless projects like a bridge to nowhere, I am not saying that these projects should not be done but they could have been done in a different time and presently we use the cash to boost our economy and our education.

Good luck to Melvin you are an inspiration to your generation and it is incentives like this which motivate intelligent people to do something. Not taking anything away from Melvin there are others like him and it is these people who need to be brought out in the open and yes Stipend might be one of them, at least it gives them a breather into what lies in higher studies before they leave all studies just to find a job just for the cash.

C Sant

Jul 30th 2012, 18:00

He is just doing that - apart from a completely free University and MCAST, look at the numerous scholarship schemes, MCST and ME research funding and dedicated science industry parks, that when finished should attract foreign research companies - it shall take between 3-7 years for all of these initiatives to start producing the required results but for someone like Melvin, it should be just about the right time (25 years or so).

Melvin - congrats!

C Sant

Jul 30th 2012, 18:04

@ Chris Gatt

It seems that you either do not attend University or MCAST or else attend, but your mind is not there, otherwise you would have seen the 100,000,000 or so that were invested in both institutions to improve the labs as well as the Libraries - today the University has an electronic library of e-journals that compares extremely well with what one finds in the major UK libraries and this is available even from one's home - I know as my children attend University.

Indrì Zammit

Jul 30th 2012, 15:58

I too extend my sincere compliments to this young lad, a true role model for the youngsters to pursue their studies in a critical manner, succeeding in discovering new things. However, "what the others are doing" we really do not know and it is foolish of you to categorically rule out the work of the remaining students. Keep in mind that there are evident feats, publicised in the media and lesser evident accomplishments. Also, one cannot exclude juvenile projects in the pipeline. You cannot simply discard the work of others and arrogantly say, with no foundation at all, that the others are doing nothing. Your assertion reveals one thing: you are nothing more than an armchair critic. Do not generalise and please widen your perspective: attainments can be seen not only in the field of science (despite being a mainstay value in human life) but also in humanities, which ought to be put on the same level. Art, Literature, Philosophy and History etc must be promoted at the same pace. All can contribute to a better life and everyone is capable of working hard and accomplishing something worthwhile.

Franco Farrugia

Jul 30th 2012, 18:07

@ Mr Zammit: Well said. How quick we are, to judge and to compare.

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