http://unlimiteddetailtechnology.com/home.html

"Unlimited Detail is a new technology for making realtime 3D graphics. Unlimited Detail is different from existing 3D graphics systems because it can process unlimited point cloud data in real time, giving the highest level of geometry ever seen.

It is best explained as follows:

Every time a new 3d graphics card or games console (Nintendo, Xbox, Playstation) is built, they make it more powerful in order to run more geometry (Put more objects on the screen and make them look more rounded). Games today still have a long way to go before they look like 3d movies (Shrek, Nemo, Toy story); billions are spent every year on R&D to make hardware more powerful. Unlimited Detail is a software algorithm that gives unlimited geometry. When we say “unlimited geometry” we really do mean it. It really is Unlimited, Infinite, endless power, for 3D graphics.

 If we were to keep increasing computer power to make more polygons, and we were to make the polygons smaller to add more roundness, then in about 50 years time they would be so small that they would just be little dots, (think of like little floating atoms). When technology reaches this stage we now have true roundness and it is hoped that in about 50 year’s time we will have enough computing power to run these 3d atoms in vast quantities. When we reach this stage our graphics are now declared to be “true realism standard” because they are made of 3d atoms like our real world. 

All of that was thought to be in the distant future, until a recent discovery was made:

It turns out there is a very very different way to make 3D graphics, one that isn’t based on polygons, but can still import them, convert them and run them (thus making a compatible bridge between old and new technologies) , we call this process the “Unlimited Detail algorithm”. (See fig 1.3)

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Too many technical stuff. Basically this technology relies in running "infinite" ridiculously small cloud points to build complex landscapes and 3D objects instead of loading and processing polygons.

Alpha pics:

Link for tech demo video (low res): http://www.mediafire.com/?fyynywzymz0

Link for Tech Demo video (high res): http://www.mediafire.com/?lnyoze0wnym

This looks very amateur-ish, but I hope this can become true.

imagine a game that looks like avatar lol

Smells like bullshit.

impractical bull it looks like crap and the concept doesn't make much sense imagine how big the files would be and by the sound of things everything would have to be pre set and static so it could only be used of environments, Plus you couldn't have any animation like leaves blowing in the wind etc or destructible environments so the tech would be a step back in my opinion.

@ zarx

Actually it requires less space and no, it doesn't have to be pre set static, and yes, you can have animations.

Download the video, see or yourself.

I think this is a kickass technology in some unexperienced hands.

The explanation runs as follows

"The unlimited detail system works by providing unlimited detail to the system. that way you can get an unlimited amount of stuff on screen, because of how unlimited it is"

HD tech demo video: http://www.mediafire.com/?lnyoze0wnym

You better get your one PetaByte Hard drive ready then.

This won't work like they're talking about it. At the very least it's going to have a terrible lag, it may run smooth in frames per second, but after you press a command I very much doubt the response will be quick.

There's no way it can just guess what points will be needed that quickly in a full highly detailed 3D environment that you control. Seems to me like a limited proposition when it comes to gameplay.

....Don't we have these things called Nurbs that are pretty much close to doing the same thing.